Author Archives: williamjcobb

On Stephen D. King's "When the Money Runs Out: The End of Western Affluence," With a Nod to Gus Van Sant's "Promised Land"

Posted on November 16, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been reading Stephen D. King’s When the Money Runs Out: the End of Western Affluence, which seems like a perverse act. Of all the things to read in the world, why this? It’s mainly about macroeconomics, the global … Continue reading →

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How Is Dan Brown's "Inferno" Like "Doomsday Preppers"? Hint: Fun Factor

Posted on November 9, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’m juggling the reading of about six different books right now, for various reasons, including Stephen D. (I think the “D.” is important here) King’s When the Money Runs Out: The End of Western Affluence (which I should really … Continue reading →

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Cormac McCarthy/Ridley Scott's "The Counselor": No Country for Old Men II, or No Country For Anyone in Love With Penelope Cruz, Either

Posted on October 28, 2013 by williamjcobb

So on its first weekend in my neck of the woods, I caught Ridley Scott’s new film The Counselor, with the screenplay being by none other than the great Cormac McCarthy, finest novelist of our times: It was a, um, … Continue reading →

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On Hanna Rosin's "The End of Men": The End of Men? Maybe Not, But Thanks for Asking

Posted on October 26, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been reading Hanna Rosin’s The End of Men (2012)—why? out of sheer obstinacy, no doubt—which is at turns annoying, blockheaded, fascinating, fun, and scary. And for all those responses, it must be doing something right. I would have … Continue reading →

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Review of Wilton Barnhardt's "Lookaway, Lookaway," Plus My Daugher as a Horse

Posted on October 21, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I feel like a bad blog Daddy now, neglecting my child for so long, though I’m not neglecting my real daughter, as the photo below will attest—or at least judged by the standard of taking cool pictures of her … Continue reading →

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"The Lousy Adult" Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You (If There's One Left: "Online Shopping, Anyone?")

Posted on October 4, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been neglecting this blog of late, working to finish a first draft of a new novel, one that involves a woman holding a teenage boy hostage, some experimental sex-drug studies, and other various mischief, but advance copies of … Continue reading →

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Review of Bob Shacochis's "The Woman Who Lost Her Soul"

Posted on September 17, 2013 by williamjcobb

So my book review of Bob Shacochis’s The Woman Who Lost Her Soul appeared in the Dallas Morning News last Sunday, and can be found here. One thing remarkable about the book is that it’s quite long (720 pages), and … Continue reading →

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On Being in the Center of Everything, With a Nod to the Master, Vladimir Nabokov

Posted on August 22, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve just returned to my home in State College, Pennsylvania, a name that must rank high on a list of Least Imaginative Monikers, but it does have an odd distinction: It’s (more or less) exactly in the center of … Continue reading →

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Encounter With a Lawman in Kent Haruf's Fiction Country: Hats Off to Sheriff Ken Putnam

Posted on August 16, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve just driven 900+ miles to reach the (shopping mall) mecca that is St. Louis, Missouri, and leaving Colorado I was tooling along at the wheel of my ultracool Subaru Forester (well, let’s say it’s nicely functional, which isn’t … Continue reading →

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Goodbye, Colorado, With a Great Horned Owl Sendoff

Posted on August 15, 2013 by williamjcobb

So it’s not exactly Phillip Roth’s Goodbye, Columbus, but yesterday, after a summer of writing/backpacking/river-rafting, I had to leave my beloved Colorado home to head back East, and it was a hectic packing morning. I was rushing about, filling bags … Continue reading →

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