Tag Archives: Book Reviewing

"The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History" by William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman

Posted on March 27, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’m reading William K. Klingaman and Nicholas P. Klingaman’s The Year Without Summer: 1816 and the Volcano That Darkened the World and Changed History (published just last month), which is billed as similar to Simon Winchester’s outstanding Krakatoa: The Day … Continue reading →

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Review of Jim Crace's "Harvest"

Posted on March 12, 2013 by williamjcobb

So my review of Jim Crace’s new novel, Harvest, appeared Sunday in the Dallas Morning News, here. I liked the book, mainly for its style more than its subject or story, which was taken to task in an interesting review … Continue reading →

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On Reading T.R. Fehrenbach's "Comanches: The Destruction of a People" and Jared Diamond's "The World Until Yesterday": A World Without Laws

Posted on February 27, 2013 by williamjcobb

So while teaching Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian recently, I learned he’d been inspired by T.R. Fehrenbach’s Comanches: The Destruction of a People (1975), so I picked it up. Suffice to say it was a gripping read, as I had a … Continue reading →

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Good Review of "The Bird Saviors" in the San Francisco Book Review, and Eerie Similarities to Alex Prud'homme's "The Ripple Effect" in Recent L.A. Tourist's Death Case

Posted on February 23, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been too busy reading/teaching to blog lately, juggling about four books at a time and finishing all of them (more on that later), but had a nice surprise to be told about a good review of The Bird … Continue reading →

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Life Imitating Art, But Softly: Russian Meteor a Mini-Version of the Fireball That Ends Civilization in Cormac McCarthy's "The Road"

Posted on February 16, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’ve been teaching Cormac McCarthy’s Blood Meridian (1985) for the last two weeks, although the more I know about the novel, the more I’m struck that it needs an entire semester to cover thoroughly—though if I did that, I … Continue reading →

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Review of "The Bird Saviors" in the High Country News, and a Literary Find in Cormac McCarthy's "Blood Meridian"

Posted on February 8, 2013 by williamjcobb

So there’s a nice review of The Bird Saviors in the High Country News (not to be confused with High Times, which is a fuzzy horse of a different color), a great journal about the West, here. I’ve been too … Continue reading →

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Review of Jared Diamond's "The World Until Yesterday" in the Dallas Morning News

Posted on January 31, 2013 by williamjcobb

So after a flu relapse that made me resemble one of those dudes on The Walking Dead, I’m struggling to maintain an upright position, and get back on with the business of the Living. Last Sunday I had a review … Continue reading →

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From the Flu Ward, a Guest Blog Post in The Superstition Review

Posted on January 28, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I’m still sick with the flu, ugh, or double ugh. If it were any worse I’d be chanting “Brains! Brains!” But I do have a guest blog post today in The Superstition Review, here.

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"Django Unchained": Cloudy With a Chance of Spaghetti Western & Meatballs

Posted on January 12, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I saw Tarantino’s Django Unchained yesterday—out of curiosity, not out of a being any huge Tarantino fan. (At their best, as in Pulp Fiction, Tarantino’s films are clever and zingy, and at worst—that unwatchable B-movie Grindhouse he made with … Continue reading →

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"The Bird Saviors" on a List of Best Books of 2012, Plus Is It Getting Hot, or What?

Posted on January 9, 2013 by williamjcobb

So I was glad to learn today (belatedly, but better late than never) that my novel The Bird Saviors was listed as one of the Best Books of 2012 by the San Antonio Express-News, to which I say, “Wow, man. … Continue reading →

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