Today closes the opening round of the Goodreads Choice Awards for 2014. If you’re a member of Goodreads, you’ve already received your email notification and most likely already placed your vote(s) in the opening round to be part of the … Continue reading
In last Sunday’s New York Times Sunday Book Review there was a special treat for book-loving music fans and specifically fans of “The Boss” in the aptly titled “Bruce Springsteen: By The Book” interview. When you think of Springsteen you … Continue reading
If I recall correctly, the first Stephen King book I read was “The Stand”, though that was actually his fourth novel. After that I HAD to go back and read his first three; “Carrie”, “Salem’s Lot” and “The Shining” but … Continue reading
From The Writer’s Almanac: Jack Kerouac’s beat classic “On the Road” was published on this date in 1957. It’s the mostly-true story of a cross-country hitchhiking trip Kerouac and his friend Neal Cassady took in the late 1940s. Legend — … Continue reading
It’s the birthday of Mary Shelley, born Mary Godwin in London on this date in 1797. Her mother — feminist advocate Mary Wollstonecraft — died of complications after giving birth to young Mary. Her father, philosopher and author William Godwin, … Continue reading
If there is anywhere in the world I’d love to be during the next 16 days, it would be the Edinburgh International Book Festival 2014 in Scotland. When we were in Scotland in 2006, we visited Edinburgh twice while there; … Continue reading
I’ve been following the career of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson since his first appearance as a professional wrestler in the WWE back in 1996. Over the past 18 years he has evolved from neophyte wrestler to WWE Champion to movie … Continue reading
The big story about writers this week concerns the firing of Tim Torkildson, Social Media Director for the Nomen Global Language Center in Provo, Utah, for his blog post on the Language Center’s website about homophones. Yes, homophones; words which … Continue reading
I’ve been a fan of “Weird Al” Yankovic since I first heard “I Love Rocky Road”, his parody song of “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts in 1982 and, like many other fans, really, really … Continue reading
Beginning writers typically seek out advice from the masters of the craft to try and learn the secrets of writing successfully. Books like “On Writing” by Stephen King, “Zen in the Art of Writing” by Ray Bradbury and others are … Continue reading
From the first time I was watching some old film (I can’t remember what it might have been, but I was young and the film was in black and white, so it’s been a while) where a secret passage was … Continue reading
Back in January I set a goal on my Goodreads page to read 52 books this year. I’m a fast reader and if I can’t read a book a week, there’s something wrong with me. So far, I have read … Continue reading
I always enjoy learning the etymology of our words and language. The video below is a short, 2 minute explanation and history of how the word “Lady” came to be. And, for good measure, they throw in the same for … Continue reading
If you’re like me, you like to read. I mentioned a few days ago that having all day to read would be great. But realistically, most of us very seldom have an entire day to devote to reading. However, finding … Continue reading
There I was…minding my own business…surfing the web…when this popped into my email inbox. Message received.
What kind of book is better? A hardcopy book you can hold in your hand, place on a shelf, feel the pages turn, loan to a friend, and use a cool bookmark to hold your place of where you left … Continue reading
If you’re reading this blog I assume you’re a reader of books, but my question today is “Do you listen to audio books?” I have never listened to audio books and though I have often considered it, I really never … Continue reading
