Category Archives: Books

The Worlds Revolve

Posted on May 13, 2013 by

As I scanned reviews of The Great Gatsby, I tuned in to one comment about the visionary quality of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s book:  he saw the end of the roaring 20′s in 1925, before almost anyone else. Almost anyone else… … Continue reading →

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Posted in Books, Culture, Poetry | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Jorinda and Joringel, Part 2

Posted on May 11, 2013 by

This post continues my discussion of Jorinda and Joringel, a fairytale from the Brothers Grimm.  If you haven’t read Part 1, I suggest you do so.  What follows will make more sense.  Here is a summary of the story: A … Continue reading →

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Posted in Books, Folklore, Psychology, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Secret of Getting Ahead?

Posted on April 10, 2013 by

Those who are old enough to have watched “Hee-Haw” will remember a song that Tennessee Ernie, Buck Owens, and the gang sang almost every week, “Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me.”  One of the lines was, “If it weren’t for … Continue reading →

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Posted in Books, Buddhism, Economics, News, Psychology | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Save the Cat Goes to the Movies by Blake Snyder: a book review

Posted on April 7, 2013 by

What do these movies have in common: Alien, Fatal Attraction, and Godzilla? How about these: Star Wars, The Bad News Bears, and Lord of the Rings?  The first trio belong to the genre that Blake Snyder called “Monster in the … Continue reading →

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Posted in Book Reviews, Books, Movies, Screenwriting, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Skinwalkers by Tony Hillerman: A book review

Posted on March 30, 2013 by

As I worked on a recent post, Favorite Fictional Detectives, I realized I didn’t remember the details of Skinwalkers, a key Tony Hillerman novel that I read soon after it was published in 1986.  I read it again and found … Continue reading →

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Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, Books, Characters, Myth | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Favorite Fictional Detectives

Posted on March 25, 2013 by

In literary gatherings, I usually introduce myself as part of the fantasy camp, but I’ve probably read and enjoyed just as many mysteries over the years.  In my previous post, I gave a lukewarm review to James Patterson’s latest Alex … Continue reading →

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Posted in Authors, Books, Movies, Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments