Category Archives: Weird Weather

While Reading Melanie Challenger's "On Extinction," Life in "The Other Season"

Posted on December 3, 2012 by williamjcobb

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 →

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Interview on Montana Public Radio About "The Bird Saviors"

Posted on November 27, 2012 by williamjcobb

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 →

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Peak Oil & Climate Change Loom, While We Keep Our Fingers in Our Ears

Posted on November 4, 2012 by williamjcobb

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 →

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On David Quammen's "Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic": Viruses of the Future

Posted on November 1, 2012 by williamjcobb

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 →

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Reading from "The Bird Saviors" in Santa Fe, at Collected Works Bookstore, Oct 4th, 6-7 pm, & 4,000 miles of the Wild West

Posted on October 1, 2012 by williamjcobb

So for the month of September I’ve driven over 4,000 miles, traveling to Montana and Wyoming for the first three weeks, then finishing off the month with readings from The Bird Saviors in Durango & Boulder, Colorado. I have to … Continue reading →

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Lewis & Clark's Lolo Pass Campsite, 207 years later

Posted on September 17, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I’m traveling in Montana just now, and visited Lolo Pass and the Glade Creek campsite of the Lewis & Clark “Corps of Discovery” almost exactly 207 years after they were there (they passed through on September 13th, 1805, and … Continue reading →

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"The Bird Saviors" Imagines Another Dust Bowl: Could This Happen Again?

Posted on July 10, 2012 by williamjcobb

So one of the tricks of writing a novel set in the “near future” is that whatever reality you come up with should be relevant, conceivable, and interesting, and of course I hope I’ve pulled that off in my new … Continue reading →

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Reading "The Southwestern Journals of Zebulon Pike: 1806-7": A Vision of Colorado Springs Before It Was Afire, Plus "The Bird Saviors" Appears on KRCC, Colorado Springs Radio

Posted on July 1, 2012 by williamjcobb

So after returning from another trip to Santa Fe, I’m now reading “The Southwestern Journals of Zebulon Pike: 1806-7,” which recounts an expedition to explore the Arkansas River boundary of the Louisiana Purchase—otherwise known as a Poor Man’s Lewis & … Continue reading →

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Reading Stephen Graham Jones's "Growing Up Dead in Texas," While Colorado Burns, Plus an Interview on ShelfLife@Texas

Posted on June 21, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I’m reading Stephen Graham Jones’s new novel, Growing Up Dead in Texas, which has a wicked description of a cotton-bale fire in West Texas. It’s a bit eerie to read right now, as I’m in Colorado, which seems to … Continue reading →

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Alex Prud'homme's "The Ripple Effect" Excellent Summation of Western Drought/Drying Out, as NOAA Notes This Spring Was Warmest on Record, by 5 degrees!

Posted on June 8, 2012 by williamjcobb

So I’m continuing to read the tome (a word I rarely use) that is Alex Prud’homme’s The Ripple Effect, on the myriad water problems we face in the 21st century, and I’m up to the chapters on drought and the … Continue reading →

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