Tag: books

Note: This Post Originally Published 4-12-07 If you haven’t heard, the great American writer Kurt Vonnegut passed away. He died from brain injuries suffered from a fall a few weeks ago. I think it’s only fitting that we know every move Spears and Hilton make on a daily basis, but no one I know, many of…

Meeting Michael Chabon

Aug 19, 2008

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Note: Originally Published 5-24-07 About a year ago, Michael Chabon (who is, in my opinion, America’s greatest living author) had been scheduled to do a book signing at the Harold Washington Library in Chicago in order to promote his latest novel, The Yiddish Policeman’s Union. One problem-the book got delayed for many different reasons. That…

The Best Book You’ve Never Read

Aug 19, 2008

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Note: Originally Published 6-9-07 About once a year, I like to remind my friends that there is a superb book out there they’ve never read. It’s by a terribly talented man from my neck of the woods named Ken Bradbury. The book is a short story collection called homerville, and if you grew up or…

Feed Your Habit While Supporting Your Libraries

Aug 18, 2008

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Knowing we had a baby on the way and I was taking a year off work to be a stay-at-home dad, I understood we had to start cutting back on nonessential purchases. Among those things I deemed unnecessary to buy were graphic novels. However, as a lover of the genre for over twenty-seven years, there…

Lisey’s Story by Stephen King – A Book Review

Aug 14, 2008

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Stephen King once again offers us a story with a famous author, Scott Landon, as the protagonist, only this time he’s dead. His wife, Lisey, still struggles to deal with his passing even as she fights to help her troubled sister immersed in a crisis. To top it all off, a deranged fan stalks Lisey…

That Old Ace In the Hole by Annie Proulx – A Book Review

Aug 14, 2008

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Proulx has once again given us a captivating story about the most mundane and unexceptional set of circumstances imaginable. In this story we have Bob Dollar, a young man who has lived much of his life without purpose, suddenly hired by Global Pork Rind to scout out possible hog farm locations in the Texas Panhandle. …

A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon – A Book Review

Aug 14, 2008

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I truly enjoyed Haddon’s novel the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, so I had rather high hopes for his latest release. While entertaining, A Spot of Bother cannot compare to the originality of Haddon’s previous work. With a curious incident of the dog in the night-time, Haddon gave me something I’d never…

Among the Missing by Dan Chaon – A Book Review

Aug 13, 2008

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This National Book Award finalist is a short story collection by an author I was not familiar with. As usual, my friend Tom, known for helping meet quality authors, brought him to my attention literally on my thirtieth birthday. I am so glad he did. My initial reaction to the short stories in this novel…

The Brooklyn Follies by Paul Auster – A Book Review

Aug 13, 2008

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