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THE SNOW LEOPARD by PETER MATTHIESSEN
I read THE SNOW LEOPARD when it first came out in the late 1970’s. I much enjoyed it then and rereading it in 2025 reminded me of what a treasure it is. If you have a shelf in your library reserved for American classics like WALDON and LEAVES OF GRASS this book belongs in the same row. Like most classics it sheds light on many subjects and can be enjoyed in different ways. Anyone who appreciates beautiful writing will find … Continue reading
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THE SUCCESS AND FAILURE OF PICASSO by John Berger
John Berger’s exploration of Pablo Picasso was first published in 1965 when the painter was still alive. The 1989 edition, which I read, contains a short opening chapter and a concluding one both written following the artist’s death. I found it helpful to keep the internet close at hand while reading because the black and white reproductions in the book are dark and dreary while the paintings themselves are often filled with jovial detail and lively color. I am not … Continue reading
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The Posthumous Memoirs of Braz Cubas by Machado de Assis
The story takes place in the early half of the 19th century in Rio de Janeiro and the narrator is a rather spoiled wealthy bachelor who has a love affair with a woman married to his friend. A reader hesitant to take on a story set in South America and published in 1880 need not worry. This novel could have been written yesterday, or maybe tomorrow—after all the narrator claims to be speaking to us from the timeless eternity following … Continue reading
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SHORT AND SHORTER
Short and Shorter is a collection of short stories I have written over the past fifty years and is available as a trade paperback and as an eBook. The book contains ten stories of varying lengths plus six examples of very short “flash” fiction. The stories are not connected so the reader is free to select and enjoy them in any order. I have donated a copy to the Humboldt County Library. Any bookstore can order the book through Ingram, … Continue reading
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MASS BELIEFS
Our former President is again stirring up his followers. He accuses those “racists” investigating him of being on a witch hunt. I did considerable research about witch hunts as I was writing my novel THERE CAME A CONTAGION. The “contagion” in the title refers to an eruption of mass hysteria that resulted in more than three hundred people being hunted down and murdered as witches in the Territory of Trier in the 1580s and 90s. It … Continue reading
AUDIOBOOK PRODUCTION
Some people have asked me about the process of creating an audiobook. While I have helped to shepherd more than fifteen books from manuscript into print, THERE CAME A CONTAGION is my first attempt to create an audiobook. What follows is a brief description of what this newbie has learned so far. In the US, the elephant in audiobooks is Audible. Not surprisingly, Audible is owned by Amazon. You can create and sell audiobooks without Audible and apparently you can … Continue reading
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