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Category Archives: books
Review of Melanie Challenger's "On Extinction," Plus Attack of the Gadget Zombies!
So I’ve been more or less off-line for a couple weeks now, enjoying the holidays and some glorious snowfall, but my review of Melanie Challenger’s nonfiction book On Extinction appeared in the Dallas Morning News last Sunday, here. I liked … Continue reading
Review of Kevin Grauke's "Shadows of Men," Plus a Northern Harrier To Boot
So last Sunday my review of Kevin Grauke’s debut collection of short stories, Shadows of Men, appeared in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s an excellent book—at times funny, at times touching, and pretty much hits the nail on the … Continue reading
Posted in Birding, books, Photography, The West, writing
Tagged Birding, Book Reviewing, Good Fiction, Photography, The West, Wildlife photos
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While Reading Melanie Challenger's "On Extinction," Life in "The Other Season"
So I’ve begun reading Melanie Challenger’s On Extinction, to review for the Dallas Morning News, a timely book when Climate Change is panting its hot breath down our neck like an oily wolf: the weather has been so warm this … Continue reading
Posted in Birding, books, Climate Change, The West, Water Crisis, Weird Weather
Tagged Birding, Book Reviewing, Climate Change, Drought, The Bird Saviors, The West, Water Crisis, Wildfires, Wildlife photos
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Phillip Roth Hangs Up His Pen, While Kent Haruf and George Saunders Have New Books in the Offing
So on the literary beat there’s an interesting tidbit in the news this week (delayed, as you’ll see, from our attention), in that the great American novelist—he did name one of his books that: The Great American Novel (1973)—Phillip Roth … Continue reading
Interview on Montana Public Radio About "The Bird Saviors"
So I’m busy with writing a new novel and haven’t made much time for posting here lately, though I’ve been busy rereading Pete Dexter’s Paris Trout (1988) while also reading Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), as both are … Continue reading
Posted in books, The West, Weird Science, Weird Weather, writing
Tagged Good Fiction, The Bird Saviors
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Reading Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" for the First Time (Maybe)
So I’m reading Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird (1960) for the first time ever (maybe: I might have read it in high school because we did get assigned books like that, but I’ve seen the film many times, and … Continue reading
Where Do You Live? What Do You Do? & Other Ways to Define a Person
So I’m working on a new novel, which is really the only part about being a writer I like. I was just visiting a friend who went to one of my readings and commented on how cool it was to … Continue reading
Posted in books, Cormac McCarthy, The West, writing
Tagged Cormac McCarthy, Fiction Writing, Good Fiction, The Bird Saviors, The West
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On David Quammen's "Spillover," Today's Election, and the Great Horned Owls Beside Me
So I’ve been reading David Quammen’s new book, Spillover (2012), on emerging diseases (and particularly zoonotic viruses, a la Ebola, Marburg, HIV, SARS, etc.), and I keep feeling sicker and sicker. It’s like I’m catching Ebola from reading this book. But … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change, Owls, Photography, The West, Water Crisis
Tagged Birding, Climate Change, The West, Water Crisis, Wildlife photos
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Peak Oil & Climate Change Loom, While We Keep Our Fingers in Our Ears
So Hurricane (or Superstorm) Sandy has put Climate Change back in the headlines, where it will probably disappear after a couple weeks, replaced by something that Kim Kardashian or Lindsay Lohan does or wears. But for now it’s heartening to … Continue reading
Posted in books, Climate Change, Politics, The West, Weird Weather
Tagged Climate Change, The West
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On David Quammen's "Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic": Viruses of the Future
So on this post-Halloween day I’m reading David Quammen’s just-published book of nonfiction, Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, which is gripping from the get-go. He starts by describing the Hendra virus in Australia, one I had never heard … Continue reading
Posted in books, The West, Weird Weather
Tagged Climate Change, The Bird Saviors, The West
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