books

pre://d.o.mai.n: The Interview, Part 2

With his sci-fi thriller pre://do.mai.n, author Christopher Godsoe isn’t interested in painting a dystopian vision for the future — society as we know it can be ugly enough. That is, until you’re prepared to fight for it. In part 2 of this wide-ranging interview, Chris talks about his influences as a writer and his experiences […]

pre://d.o.mai.n: The Interview, Part 1

With his sci-fi thriller pre://do.mai.n, author Christopher Godsoe isn’t interested in painting a dystopian vision for the future — society as we know it can be ugly enough. That is, until you’re prepared to fight for it. In this wide-ranging interview, Chris expands on the themes in the book, considers the implications of technology’s march

The ending of The Great Gatsby (audio recording)

The Great Gatsby book cover by Flickr user heather.dyan

I never read The Great Gatsby in school, so with the movie coming out, I decided now would be a good time to catch up. I’m glad I did, because I absolutely loved the book – it’s an instant classic for me thanks to the poetry of Fitzgerald’s prose. Before I returned the book to

RIP, Gregory McDonald

Sad news out of Pulaski, Tennessee: Author Gregory McDonald passed away September 7th at 71. McDonald’s Fletch series of books have been a huge influence on my interests in mystery writing and dry humor; in fact I just finished re-reading (for the third or fourth time) Fletch’s Fortune last week. If you’ve seen the classic

Bridie Clark’s ‘Because She Can’ is now on sale

Congratulations to my friend Bridie Clark, whose book Because She Can is available in bookstores today! Because She Can is a fun, funny, revealing look at a young woman who takes on a hellish boss, a hectic industry, and…well, you’ll have to read it to find out! Learn about the book and more at Bridie’s

My statement on OJ’s new book

Via MSNBC, I just learned that my former publisher, ReganBooks, is putting out a book by O.J. Simpson titled “If I Did It.” According to news reports, the book will describe how Simpson “would have” killed Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman, murders he was aquitted of in 1995. Although I value free speech, I also

Exposing the hecklers

Writing in The New York Times over the weekend, Jennifer Senior lays absolute waste to Louis Lapham’s new book, Pretensions to Empire: Notes on the Criminal Folly of the Bush Administration, and in the process makes a truly fascinating and satisfying point about not just Lapham, but about a sad majority of President Bush’s harshest

Some books I’ve read recently

Some books I’ve read lately, in approximate reverse chronological order: Starlet, Robert B. Parker – 4 out of 5 stars My favorite Spenser novel so far. Again, a slow start builds to a thrilling, surprising, and organic conclusion. The fun of Spenser, combined with the constant literarly jabs, plus a usable plot make this an