Author Archives: John Walters

Book Review:  A Resistance History of the United States by Tad Stoermer

This is a very emotional book. As the author explains resistance movements and principles from early American history, he does not claim impartiality. It is clear that he is all for resistance against unjust governmental policy. In fact, at the … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Digital Inc: From Print to E-Book – Inside the Transformation of the Book Industry by Richard Curtis

In this fascinating volume, Curtis tells of the radical transformations within the publishing industry over the past several decades: the transition from mass market paperbacks to trade paperbacks; the absorption of hundreds of independent publishers into a few publishing conglomerates; … Continue reading

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The Library of Seattle

Although the ancient Library of Alexandria is the most famous library in history and the United States Library of Congress in Washington D.C. is the largest library in the modern world, for me personally the Seattle Public Library system is … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Automatic Noodle by Annalee Newitz

If there is such a thing as literary comfort food, this science fiction novella qualifies. It tastes good and goes down smooth and easy. Ostensibly it’s a dystopia; after all, California has recently broken away from the rest of America, … Continue reading

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Book Review:  On Trails: An Exploration by Robert Moor

This book was not what I expected. Going by the title alone, I supposed that it would be a travelogue in which the author describes his adventures on some of the world’s great hiking paths. There is some of that, … Continue reading

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Book Review:  Vigil by George Saunders

This new piece of fiction by George Saunders is marketed as a novel, but it is shorter than most novels and it reads more like a novella – or a short story that got out of control. And that’s a … Continue reading

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Wake Up!

It all starts with mental comparisons of the present time with the late sixties and early seventies when I was growing into manhood. There was a war then: the Vietnam War, just as there is a war now. Until American … Continue reading

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On Vineland by Thomas Pynchon, One Battle After Another, and Pseudo-Profundity

What prompted this rereading of Vineland was director/screenwriter Paul Thomas Anderson’s assertion that the Oscar-winning film One Battle After Another was based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel. I had read Vineland several years ago, and I couldn’t see the similarity. For … Continue reading

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Book Review:  The End of Night: Searching for Natural Darkness in an Age of Artificial Light by Paul Bogard

This is a fascinating and deeply absorbing travel book, but one with a most unusual theme. The author roams the world searching for pockets of natural darkness. Along the way, he makes a compelling argument for the inestimable value of … Continue reading

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Happy Earth Day!

There’s no better time than today to pick up a copy of the thrilling fantasy novella “An Earth Day Eulogy” by Nestor Walters. Here’s a quick teaser: Jacob Wilder has nothing against Earth Day — he just has ‘real responsibilities’ … Continue reading

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