Tag Archives: Book Reviewing

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

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"

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"

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

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

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

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?

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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Review of Melanie Challenger's "On Extinction," Plus Attack of the Gadget Zombies!

So I’ve been more or less off-line for a couple weeks now, enjoying the holidays and some glorious snowfall, but my review of Melanie Challenger’s nonfiction book On Extinction appeared in the Dallas Morning News last Sunday, here. I liked … Continue reading

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Review of Kevin Grauke's "Shadows of Men," Plus a Northern Harrier To Boot

So last Sunday my review of Kevin Grauke’s debut collection of short stories, Shadows of Men, appeared in the Dallas Morning News, here. It’s an excellent book—at times funny, at times touching, and pretty much hits the nail on the … Continue reading

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

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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