If you've read a science fiction book or seen a sci-fi movie, odds are you have some familiarity with Edgar Rice Burroughs' A Princess of Mars even if you don't know it. Published almost one hundred years ago (1917), A Princess of Mars is a classic pulp adventure story and its DNA flows through the veins of [...]
Category: Books
A Boy and A Bear In A Boat
When Dave Shelton named A Boy and A Bear In A Boat, he pretty much gave away the whole premise in the title. The book follows the adventures of a boy and a bear in a (you guessed it) boat as they take a journey of indeterminate origin and purpose. As the boy and bear venture to who-knows-where [...]
Powers
Let's get this out of the way upfront: Ursula Le Guin is a master of the bildungsroman. A Wizard of Earthea, The Farthest Shore, Malafrena, and several of her other books are among the finest coming of age novels in American literature. There are few authors capable of elucidating the challenges of personal discovery the [...]
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a story of childhood adventure and, as such, the story's titular hero finds himself in a number of troublesome predicaments, usually as a result of his own childishly unchecked curiosity. Through Tom's adventures in overcoming these predicaments, Twain paints a remarkably accurate picture of the joys, fears, and trials [...]
The Turn of the Screw
Throughout middle school, high school, and then college, I read and re-read an old hand-me-down copy of the Edgar Allen Poe collection Tales of Mystery a number of times. Like a lot of teenagers, I loved Poe. He and his work were dark and creepy and fascinating. And though it's been a long time since I read [...]
A Brief History of the Paradox
With A Brief History of the Paradox, Dr. Roy Sorenson presents a relatively chronological development of the paradox and while the good doctor does his best to punch up the material, the subject matter's inherent dryness overcomes all. As any undergrad will tell you, philosophy can get boring in a hurry. Once you get past [...]
She Is Beautiful
First things first: I highly recommend Michael Chabon's The Mysteries of Pittsburgh. Go. Read it. Oddly enough, my initial response was less rosy. After a few pages I didn't much care for the narrator's voice. By page 50 I was at least comfortable with it. And by page 92 I loved it. At the risk [...]
The Mirror of Galadriel
I recently finished reading Michael Chabon's The Mysteries of Pittsburgh which has given me plenty to think about, including a consideration of the roles that women are assigned in male-created art. It'll be a few days before I've pulled my thoughts into order regarding Chabon's work though, so in the meantime - and since we've only just passed Hobbit [...]
The Hobbit Begins
I've read The Lord of the Rings a number of times. As a result of all that repetition, I've internalized most of the story's primary aspects and plot points. And though I've not read it with the same frequency, I've also read The Hobbit a not-insignificant number of times. So I was surprised to find, [...]
I’ll Be Fine
A disclaimer: there is an old axiom about stones and glass houses that certainly applies here. I have achieved much less as a writer than, of all people, tennis legend Moncia Seles who - and pardon my surprise at this - has published two young adult romance novels. (I should specify that Seles co-wrote the books with James [...]
Songs & Stories 