I read a novel because of Hawkman. As some may know, I love Hawkman. I think I love Hawkman more as a concept than as a character — there’s something indescribably awesome about a character who straps mechanical wings to his back, flies around, and beats the crap out of evildoers with his giant spiky … Continue reading On Ann Brashare’s My Name Is Memory
Tag: Reading
I have a rule. Some may think it a silly rule, but it’s my rule. If I’m not hooked by a book by page fifty, I abandon the book. I move on. Maybe, if it’s a really long book, I may stretch it out to page 100. Maybe, if it’s a book that comes highly … Continue reading On Kicking Out of Books
Over the past twenty-odd years I’ve read a lot of Beatles books. My studies have ranged from Mark Lewisohn’s books on their recordings to biographies of the band like Philip Norman’s Shout! and Bob Spitz’s The Beatles to analysis of the music in Mark Hertzgaard’s A Day in the Life and Ian MacDonald’s Revolution in … Continue reading On You Never Give Me Your Money
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? The … Continue reading On a Books & Reading Meme
As mentioned a few days ago, I picked up Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff at Border’s going-out-of-business sale. I cannot count the number of times I’ve seen Philip Kaufman’s film the past twenty-five years. Fifty times? I’d almost think that was too low. One of the first CDs I bought? A recording of Holst’s “The … Continue reading On Reading The Right Stuff
On occasion, my mind is stunned into a stupor. Sometimes it doesn’t take much. Writing about Twilight: New Moon collector dolls sufficed this morning; a thousand brain cells cried out in terror and were silenced. While in that slack-jawwed state, however, something occurred to me. There’s no Philip K. Dick Reading Day. There’s a Tolkien … Continue reading On A Needed Holiday
I’ve decided that I’m going to use Barnes & Noble’s website more often for my book-buying needs. Our story begins two nights ago. I’d recently acquired Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story on DVD for less than five dollars. When it came out in 2006, I wanted to see it, despite never having read … Continue reading On Tristram Shandy and Book Buying
As long-time Allyn-ologists know, I have a Saturday routine. I get up, I drink coffee, I put on NPR so I can listen to Weekend Edition with Scott Simon. I love listening to Scott Simon. His voice has the most incredible cadence I have ever heard, and with every word he enunciates, you feel it … Continue reading On This Week’s Subway Reading
Stolen shamelessly from Steve Roby… If I were a book, filed under the Dewey Decimal System, where would I be? Allyn Gibson’s Dewey Decimal Section: 652 Processes of written communication Allyn Gibson = 12254792954 = 122+547+929+54 = 1652 Class: 600 Technology Contains: Health, agriculture, management, public relations, buildings. What it says about you: You are … Continue reading On Really Freaky Memes
An observation. I tend to notice what people read on the subway and light rail. It’s curiosity, pure and simple, and I try to be subtle about it. Often as not, it’s the newspaper. Either the Baltimore Sun, occasionally something from out of town like the Wall Street Journal or the Washington Post, but more … Continue reading On Subway Reading
I’m currently reading a mystery novel. I have a problem with it, though. It’s not much of a mystery. Here’s the problem. The way the murder is set up, at the end of the first chapter, there are only two characters that have the opportunity to commit the murder. At the end of the second … Continue reading On a Mystery That’s No Mystery
Tor is making available a number of their books as free eBook downloads. Science fiction and fantasy, they have both. The selection is interesting. Some stuff I’ve heard of. Some stuff I’ve not. Also, they have a nice selection of desktop wallpapers based on covers and other sfnal art. Check it out, before it’s gone. … Continue reading On Free eBooks