Tag Archives: Book Reviewing

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 →

Posted in books/film | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Review of Gabriel Tallent's "My Absolute Darling" in the Dallas Morning News

Posted on August 27, 2017 by williamjcobb

So my review of Gabriel Tallent’s debut novel, My Absolute Darling, appears in the Dallas Morning News today, and can be found here. The marketing of this novel seems odd: The combination of its sweet title, the brightly colored branches … Continue reading →

Posted in books, The West | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in books/film, Cormac McCarthy, The West, Tolstoy's War and Peace | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in books, books/film, Cormac McCarthy, writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

On Charles Murray's "Coming Apart" and the Recent Middlebury College Brouhaha, from a Liberal Who Has Actually Read His Books

Posted on May 5, 2017 by williamjcobb

So I’ve followed with some interest (and some dismay) the recent brouhaha about Charles Murray’s visit to Middlebury College, that was interrupted by a student demonstration that got out of hand—labeled a “riot” by some media and commentators—and in which … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

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 →

Posted in Art, Bad TV, Bears, books/film, Cormac McCarthy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Review of Jack E. Davis's "The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea" in the Dallas Morning News

Posted on March 29, 2017 by williamjcobb

So last Sunday my review of Jack E. Davis’s The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea appeared in the Dallas Morning News, and can be found here. It’s a terrific book about the Gulf of Mexico, on the shores … Continue reading →

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

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 →

Posted in books/film | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

O Gulag, My Gulag: On Daniel Beer's "The House of the Dead: Siberian Exile Under the Tsars"

Posted on February 20, 2017 by williamjcobb

So I’m a sucker for Russian literature, and while I was recently reading a biography of Leo Tolstoy written by his daughter—Alexandra Tolstoy’s The Life of My Father (1953)—I had to set it down when I heard about this just-out … Continue reading →

Posted in books, Tolstoy's War and Peace | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

"The Sailor's Gift": Short Essay in the Dallas Morning News

Posted on February 9, 2017 by williamjcobb

So as I noted in my previous post (The Goodwill Genius: On Discovering Vladimir Nabokov’s Bend Sinister) I actually wrote the “wrong” essay for my editor at the Dallas Morning News, remembering it only to be about a book that … Continue reading →

Posted in books/film, The West, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment