Category Archives: writing

“Mysteries of the National Parks”: A Geographical Hoot

Posted on September 28, 2026 by williamjcobb

I have to hand it to Mike Bezemek, whoever he is. (Full disclosure: I know nothing about the guy.) It’s not so much about the mysteries of national parks as more of a humorous glimpse into one man’s odd obsessions that somehow, often tangentially at best, relate to national parks. Continue reading →

Posted in Kooky books, Mike Bezemek's "Mysteries of the National Parks", The West, Wildlife, writing, Yasunari Kawabata's "The Lake", Yellowstone National Park backcountry trips, Yellowstone wildlife | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

On “Die My Love”: Jennifer Lawrence Channels Her Inner Kristi Noem, and Does Not Write the Great American Novel

Posted on January 27, 2026 by williamjcobb

So after a lot of pre-release buzz the Jennifer Lawrence film Die My Love fizzled at the box office and did not get much attention. (Note: Minor spoilers ahead.) That’s a bit unfortunate, as it has the terrific performance of … Continue reading →

Posted in "Die My Love" film, books/film, Film, Jennifer Lawrence film, Love of Dogs, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

“The Salt Path” (2025): An Underappreciated Film That Includes Actual Humanity

Posted on January 24, 2026 by williamjcobb

So my wife and I are inveterate backpackers—the seasoned, often bedraggled kind. We’ve backpacked in many locations from Denali National Park in Alaska (perhaps the “wildest” backcountry) to Yellowstone and the Wind Rivers in Wyoming and many others. But truth … Continue reading →

Posted in "The Salt Path" Film (2025), Backpacking Adventures, books/film, Economics, Film, Raynor Winn's "The Salt Path", Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

How To Write a Book About the Wind: On Simon Winchester’s “The Breath of the Gods: The History and Future of the Wind”

Posted on January 14, 2026 by williamjcobb

So I have to begin with a confession: I’m most definitely a fan of the much-acclaimed nonfiction writer Simon Winchester. One of my first Winchester reads and still one of his finest (and my favorite) was Krakatoa: The Day the … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Climate Change, Simon Winchester, Simon Winchester's "The Breath of the Gods", Uncategorized, Weird Weather, writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Ten Years Left of Humanity, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the A.I. Bomb: On Two Visions of the Upcoming A.I. Apocalypse: Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares’ “If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies” and Mustafa Suleyman’s “The Coming Wave: AI, Power, and Our Future”

Posted on January 12, 2026 by williamjcobb

So I recently read the somewhat-infamous bestseller by Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies: Why Superhuman AI Would Kill Us All (2025). It’s a white-knuckled warning about the imminent peril of ASI (Artificial Super Intelligence). … Continue reading →

Posted in A.I., A.I. 2027, A.I. Apocalypse, A.S.I. (Artificial Super Intelligence), Annihilation, books, Economics, Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares' If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, Mustafa Suleyman's The Coming Wave: A.I., Power, and Our Future, Uncategorized, Universal Income, writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

On Yasunari Kawabata’s “The Lake” and the Pleasures of “Old” Books:

Posted on January 10, 2026 by williamjcobb

So one of the downsides of our irritating Consumer Culture is that we’re programmed to be always looking for the next New Thing—be it car, refrigerator, book, movie, or significant other. It can lead to a niggling feeling that our … Continue reading →

Posted in Andrew Ross Sorkin's "1929, books, Consumer Culture, Simon Winchester's "The Breath of the Gods", Vladimir Nabokov, Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita", writing, Yasunari Kawabata, Yasunari Kawabata's "The Lake" | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Shocking Bird Population Decline as in The Bird Saviors

Posted on September 20, 2019 by williamjcobb

So for years I’ve been reading about and studying Climate Change (though I do find Global Weirding to be witty and accurate), for various reasons, some of them personal of course: I have a daughter who will live in this … Continue reading →

Posted in Birding, books/film, Climate Change, The West, writing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

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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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 William Gay's "Little Sister Death": a Novel That Puts the P in Posthumous

Posted on November 3, 2015 by williamjcobb

So I should begin by the admission that I’m a diehard William Gay fan, and have been for years, ever since reading his first novel—The Long Home (1999), which was edited/published by none other than my own editor, Greg Michalson—though … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, books/film, Cormac McCarthy, Horror Films, Uncategorized, writing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment