On Ann Brashare’s My Name Is Memory

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 spikyContinue reading “On Ann Brashare’s My Name Is Memory”

On You Never Give Me Your Money

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 inContinue reading “On You Never Give Me Your Money”

On Reading The Right Stuff

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 “TheContinue reading “On Reading The Right Stuff”

On A Needed Holiday

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 TolkienContinue reading “On A Needed Holiday”

On Tristram Shandy and Book Buying

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 readContinue reading “On Tristram Shandy and Book Buying”

On This Week’s Subway Reading

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 itContinue reading “On This Week’s Subway Reading”

On Really Freaky Memes

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 areContinue reading “On Really Freaky Memes”