Author Archives: John Walters

Book Review: Tenth of December: Stories by George Saunders

I peruse the yearly shortlists of the major awards in search of good reading material. I don’t read it all, or even most of it – only what catches my eye. But because I am always reading something and can’t … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, On Writing | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The Cold

The main life event I am experiencing right now is the excruciating cold here in Yakima, Washington.  As I write this at the desk in my bedroom, the window is frozen shut and icicles hang along the inside of the … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Embers of War: The Fall of an Empire and the Making of America’s Vietnam by Fredrik Logevall

Even more than the Korean War, the Vietnam War defined the political, cultural, sociological, and diplomatic landscape of America in the second half of the twentieth century. I grew up in its shadow, as anti-war protests enflamed college campuses and … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

On the Publishing of Independent Short Stories

Usually I do not make a special announcement when one of my short stories gets published digitally as an individual entity.  I wait until I collect the stories together in both print and digital form, and then I let you … Continue reading

Posted in On Writing, Reading | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Sunflower: A Novel by John Walters – Now Available!

“Sunflower”, my third novel, is now available on Amazon in a print edition here, and in an electronic edition here. This is what the back cover copy says: “In early 1970 a new era, the Age of Aquarius, is dawning. … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir, On Writing | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri; Part Two: The Book Itself

Before I delve into an appraisal of the novel, I need to mention something that struck me before I even read the first page.  The cover (of the first edition hardcover) is not worthy of the book.  It is bland, … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: The Lowland by Jhumpa Lahiri; Part One: Background

I’m only about halfway through this latest novel by Jhumpa Lahiri now, but reading it stirs up so many memories I can’t help but write about it.  Lahiri is one of the few writers now working for whose books I … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, Memoir, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Walters Walk, or, What It’s Like to Self-Publish

Long ago, even before we had the beach house which is also long gone, our family spent our summer vacations for a few years at Lake Crescent on the Olympic Peninsula.  It’s a beautiful place surrounded by evergreen forest at … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir, On Writing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Book Review: Reflections and Refractions: Thoughts on Science Fiction, Science and Other Matters by Robert Silverberg

Back in the early 1970s when I was intensely interested in reading a lot of science fiction, one of my favorite writers was Robert Silverberg.  His short story “Sundance” is one of my favorite short stories of all time, but … Continue reading

Posted in Book Reviews, On Writing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Tale of Three Jackets

In order to help you understand this completely I need to tell you an anecdote about my father.  He had a great sense of humor back in the days when most of us lived together under one roof, before we … Continue reading

Posted in Memoir, On Writing, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment