Tag Archives: reading

I wish I was cool enough to quote LL Cool J

I’ve said in previous posts that I’m a bit of a number cruncher.  But there’s one number that I always avoided crunching:  the ratio of my submissions to my rejections.  I know without looking that the number is high.  It’s bound to be–competition is fierce, and rejection is practically as much a part of theContinue reading “I wish I was cool enough to quote LL Cool J”

New publication

Just a quick note to say I have a new publication online. Something like two years ago, a friend of mine in Wisconsin, Russ Brickey, had the idea to start a regional literary magazine, which he decided to call Driftless Review after the geological region where our little town lived.  He also kindly enlisted myContinue reading “New publication”

Research wrap-up: More resources than you ever wanted (but not nearly as many as you’ll need)

For more on researching for fiction, go to the main research page.  (UPDATED with new links!) As I said in the first post of this series, there’s a lot of advice out there. I’ve just hit some highlights that have intrigued me over the years, but if you want to push further and see whatContinue reading “Research wrap-up: More resources than you ever wanted (but not nearly as many as you’ll need)”

On a life, our liberty, and the pursuit of reading: a reflection on the life and work of Judith Krug

Two years ago, I had the great privilege of eating dinner with Judith Krug. My wife was giving a two-hour presentation on librarians in film at the annual conference of the Wisconsin Library Association, and as a member of WLA’s Intellectual Freedom Roundtable, she also got to meet and work briefly with Judith Krug, theContinue reading “On a life, our liberty, and the pursuit of reading: a reflection on the life and work of Judith Krug”

A writer is a writer: on understanding and humility

Today my university hosted a panel discussion with the six authors who were shortlisted for this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF). I’ve long hungered for the kind of “visiting writer” experiences I used to enjoy in grad school at University of North Texas, and with this I had a chance to meet andContinue reading “A writer is a writer: on understanding and humility”

Judy Blume

Last night I drove with my wife and another university librarian (our education librarian, who oversees our children and young-adult literature collection on campus) to Madison to attend a lecture by Judy Blume. Blume’s speech was part of the larger Wisconsin Literary Festival underway this week, but her specific appearance was at the invitation ofContinue reading “Judy Blume”

I’m watching The Watchmen, that’s who!

Thanks to a generous loan from a former student/current fraternity advisee, I’m reading The Watchmen. I’d long heard of the book, but back in the apex of my high-school comic nerdism, my tastes tended more toward the X-Men, a healthy dose of Spidey and the Punisher, and a handful of mainstream DarkHorse titles (if thereContinue reading “I’m watching The Watchmen, that’s who!”

Lost won; Fringe is frayed: a study of character vs. plot

Okay, lame title for a comparison of JJ Abrams series. For the past several weeks I’ve been embroiled in an on-and-off argument with a friend of mine. It relates to how we define quality writing and how we use the terms “literary” and “genre,” among other things. (I use “literary” in a positive way andContinue reading “Lost won; Fringe is frayed: a study of character vs. plot”

My eyes, they are strained

I’ve been going through my students’ online discussion posts this semester, looking at the statistics, and I think I’m about ready to collapse. So far this semester, I’ve written 276 discussion posts. Many of them are short replies to questions or comments on other posts, but several have been lengthy essays. But that’s not theContinue reading “My eyes, they are strained”