I have been horrible at keeping up with these. I’m going to try and catch up on the last nine months or so of reading. When I used to have satellite radio, I ended up using the function that alerted…

Like many others, we watch “A Christmas Story” each year on Christmas. I find it fascinating how I can turn it off at one point during the 24-hour marathon on TBS, then turn on the TV at the exact same…

I expected to spend today in a delightful state as I prepared to go listen to Jonathan Tropper speak in Harrisburg after work. The acclaimed novelist has an appearance there tonight. I can’t make it (and have a good excuse…

I hesitated before picking up a copy of Joshua Braff’s novel “Peep Show.” On one hand, I didn’t really like his first book. On the other hand, I had two books in my hand for my daughter and Braff’s book had…

You need a lot of skill to write a book. You need to come up with a good idea, plan it out and use your command of language to make that story come alive. When everything comes together, the end result…

I had pretty high hopes when I picked up “How I Became a Famous Novelist.” First of all, the fake best-seller list on the back cover showed that the author had a keen eye for the absurdity of mass market…

Even though I know better, I am putty in the hands of book marketers sometimes. “Candy Everybody Wants” by Josh Kilmer-Purcell stands as a perfect example. All the marketing department had to do was create a colorful, eye-catching cover and…

I came to know Chuck Klosterman through his appearances on The B.S. Report, a podcast by ESPN columnist Bill Simmons. I might have read some e-mail exchanges between the two before I heard the first podcast, but I definitely first…

I added a new folder to my Kindle a few months ago. I named it “Started and Hated.” So far I have moved two books in there, too stubborn to delete them, but eager to get them out of my…