My friend Julio Angel Ortiz tagged me with this on Facebook: The Rules: Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen authors (poets included) who’ve influenced you and that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Try to tag at least fifteen friends,Continue reading “On 15 Influential Authors”
Category Archives: Reading
On Winter Reading
I have never read The Sandman. It's a curious lapse in my comic book reading. I generally like Neil Gaiman's other comics work (though I was cold on 1602). The idea of a Lord of Dreams is compelling. I love Wesley Dodds, the superhero Sandman of the 1930s (and I religiously read Sandman Mystery Theatre),Continue reading “On Winter Reading”
On a Book by the Mercury Seven
I walked to the Border’s near the office on my lunch break this afternoon, on the off-chance that they would have the newest issue of MOJO in stock, the one with the retrospective on the Beatles’ Let It Be album. I knew it was a long-shot, honestly; MOJO usually shows up on this side ofContinue reading “On a Book by the Mercury Seven”
On Rereading Elric
Over the holiday weekend, I reread some of Michael Moorcock’s Elric of Melniboné stories. The proximate cause was my recent consumption of The Coming of the Terraphiles, a forthcoming Doctor Who novel by Moorcock. I was given an advance reading copy at work before the holiday; I alternated between reading that and George R.R. Martin’sContinue reading “On Rereading Elric”
On a Raunchy Ray Bradbury Music Video
I saw this on Andrew Sullivan’s Daily Dish. Yes, it’s unremittingly raunchy, but it’s also stupendously hilarious in a way that only a geek could love. Rachel Bloom’s “Fuck Me, Ray Bradbury.” And it’s a super-catchy song, too! I’m now wondering if the deejay at, say, Farpoint come February could be persuaded to play thisContinue reading “On a Raunchy Ray Bradbury Music Video”
On Favorite Characters In a Book
To my chagrin, I made it through college without ever having to read F. Scott Fitzgerald in an English course. I did, however, read Fitzgerald for my American history course. I had to write a paper on "Echoes of the Jazz Age," an essay where Fitzgerald used this memorable phrase to describe the 1920s —Continue reading “On Favorite Characters In a Book”
On the Wisdom of Douglas Adams
Nine years ago today, Douglas Adams — script editor for Doctor Who, writer of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency — passed away. In commemoration of that: Don’t forget your towel today.
On a Books & Reading Meme
Because I can, a meme about books! 1) What author do you own the most books by? Either Philip K. Dick or Larry Niven, with Ernest Hemingway close behind. 2) What book do you own the most copies of? More than likely, it’s Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. Other contenders? TheContinue reading “On a Books & Reading Meme”
On The Stalwart Companions
Long time Allynologists know two things. 1) I am a Sherlock Holmes student/fan/scholar. 2) I am a Teddy Roosevelt Republican. Over the weekend, I bought a book that brought the two together — H. Paul Jeffers’ The Stalwart Companions. Originally published in the late-1970s, The Stalwart Companions is an hitherto untold Sherlock Holmes tale thatContinue reading “On The Stalwart Companions”
On Puzzling Reading
I’m reading P.D. James’ The Children of Men. I’ve never read this before — or, if I did, it’s completely unfamiliar to me. I’ve also not seen the movie, though I’ve wanted to; just have never gotten around to it. Haven’t even bought it. But I saw the movie tie-in edition of the novel, withContinue reading “On Puzzling Reading”