Yes, I’ve been reading a lot of books lately. The hot weather is keeping in indoors, so I’m making the best of it and working through the stack of unread books on my nightstand. This latest read, Family Album, by Gabriela Aleman, was definitely worth my time. It was an…
Category: Publishing
Review – Novelist as a Vocation
Yes, I’m reviewing another book by Haruki Murakami. This time it’s one of his non-fiction books, Novelist as a Vocation. It’s no secret I’m a fan of his fiction, but this is the first of his non-fiction books I’ve taken the time to read. I picked up this copy from StrandBook.com,…
Is Artificial Intelligence Killing Creativity?
I have mixed feelings about artificial intelligence (AI). On one hand, it’s the cutting edge of technology, computers that can think, reason, and make decisions. There are amazing implications for how that can help to advance healthcare, science, and technology. But on the other hand, I’m concerned about the implications…
Review – The Collected Stories of Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg is an author who shouldn’t need an introduction. But, for those who aren’t regular readers of science fiction, I’ll give you a very brief rundown. All you need to know is that he’s been writing professionally for over sixty years, he’s won the Hugo Award four times, the…
Fear Mongering and Art
I tend to shy away from politically-themed content. However, there’s a growing trend here in the U.S. where book banning and censorship of artistic self-expression is becoming the norm. Every day I read about another book title or another author’s works being pulled from library shelves. And it’s not just…
Review – First Person Singular
It seems I’ve been on a first-person kick lately. Despite the similarity in titles, Haruki Murakami’s First Person Singular is a very different collection of short stories than the last one I last read. In First Person Peculiar, the focus was strictly on speculative and science-fiction. Murakami’s stories are more…
Review – First Person Peculiar
Not only do I enjoy writing short stories, but I love to read them. To me, reading a good collection of short stories is like opening a treasure chest filled with gems. One of my most recent reads, First Person Peculiar by Mike Resnick, is one of those rare chests…
The Sanitizing of Classic Stories [Books]
If you’ve taken a look at my reading list, you’ve seen that I like to read classics a few times a year. I find that reading these older novels and short stories provides me with perspective and new ideas. They are like snapshots of the time in which they were…
The Second Draft [Writing]
A couple of years ago, I wrote the first draft of a novel. Not my first attempt at a full-length story, but it was one I felt had the most promise. It took me nearly six months to complete the first draft. There were many bursts of writing, followed by…
Review – Babel-17
Samuel R. Delany is one of the great modern science fiction writers. Oddly enough, he’s another of the greats that I hadn’t read. I’m not sure why. I’ve heard (and read) good things about his stories. He’s one of the many writers I always plan to get to at some…