Category Archives: books/film

Review of Francisco Cantu's Memoir "The Line Becomes a River" in the Dallas Morning News

Posted on February 4, 2018 by williamjcobb

So my review of Francisco Cantu’s The Line Becomes a River, a memoir about his experience working as a Border Patrol Agent, appears in the Dallas Morning News today, and can be found here. It’s a good book, thoughtful and … Continue reading →

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On Why I Read Dan Brown's "Origin": Or My Adventures as a Consumer of Best-Selling Drivel

Posted on January 31, 2018 by williamjcobb

So I was recently having dinner with a best-selling writer—a bit of literary socializing before said writer gave a reading on our campus—and we had reached the point of small-talk detailing what books we’d been reading. This is often the … Continue reading →

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Review of Kent Haruf's "Our Souls at Night" as Tribute to the New Film Version Starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford

Posted on October 29, 2017 by williamjcobb

So two years ago Kent Haruf published his last terrific novel, Our Souls at Night, which I reviewed for the Dallas Morning News, and as a tie-in and tribute of sorts, the DMN has republished my review today, which can … Continue reading →

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On Alissa Nutting's debut novel "Tampa": So Bad She's Good

Posted on October 13, 2017 by williamjcobb

So as a decidedly intermittent blogger (occasional blog-poster?) I feel ambivalent to weigh-in on most of the controversial news items and issues of the “day,” such as Harvey Weinstein’s sins, Donald Trump’s daily stupidities, or the blown-out-of-proportion NFL-player protests—but for … Continue reading →

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Hurricane Harvey Hits Home Town, Like I Predicted in "Goodnight, Texas"

Posted on August 26, 2017 by williamjcobb

So my misspent years in high school were dithered away in the Texas coastal town of Rockport, which appears to have been the epicenter of Hurricane Harvey’s landfall last night. Back in 2006 Unbridled Books published my novel Goodnight, Texas … Continue reading →

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In the Country of "No Country for Old Men" and On the Trail of Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian": What I Did for My Summer Vacation

Posted on August 25, 2017 by williamjcobb

So late July found me (and my family) in (mythical) Cormac McCarthy country, at the Three River Petroglyph site near Three Rivers, New Mexico, which is a cool (and hot) place to be. We camped there for three days, watching … Continue reading →

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Guest Blog Post on the Superstition Review Website

Posted on June 2, 2017 by williamjcobb

So the nice editors over at the Superstition Review have not only published several of my stories and a recent essay—on stuffed animals, of all things—but they have also asked that I write a guest blog post for them, which … Continue reading →

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On the Film Version of Dave Eggers's "The Circle" and a Nod to Cormac McCarthy's Essay "The Kekule Problem: Where Did Language Come From?": From the Ridiculous to the Sublime

Posted on May 2, 2017 by williamjcobb

So I’m not in the habit of beating dead horses (though I did once write a scene in which a couple got romantic while leaning up against one, but that’s a different story), and I don’t bother to review or … Continue reading →

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One Big Monkey: "Kong: Skull Island" Is

Posted on March 14, 2017 by williamjcobb

So my daughter and I are fans of the original, classic King Kong (1933), and have seen the other remakes, with the most recent Peter Jackson version being the least favorite, while the Jessica Lange/Jeff Bridges version of 1976 being … Continue reading →

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On the Film Version of Kobo Abe's novel "Woman in the Dunes" & the Passing of Robert Osborne

Posted on March 7, 2017 by williamjcobb

So I’m sorry to say I just heard the news that the great emcee of Turner Classic Movies, Robert Osborne, has passed away at the age of eighty-four. He was like the Walter Cronkite of Old Hollywood classics. He always … Continue reading →

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