Authors
Theo of Golden: A Review
Theo of Golden: A Review. Do you know of this impressive novel and its unusual history? How unusual? Well, it was initially self-published in 2023 and sold over 170, 000 copies before a subsidiary of Simon & Schuster took over as publisher in November, 2025. The book, now on The […]
Read More about Theo of Golden: A ReviewRe-reading a Russian novel, after 65 years, Part 2
As I mentioned earlier (1), my first taste of The Brothers Karamazov came more than six decades ago. I swallowed that jumbo novel in big bites, dazzled by Dostoevsky’s grasp of psychology and religion, not to mention his way of dissecting the Russian soul of his time. And the […]
Read More about Re-reading a Russian novel, after 65 years, Part 2Re-reading a Russian novel, after 65 years
I read The Brothers Karamazov (here) a long time ago, when I was an undergraduate. By that time I had learned (finally!) that rounding up a cluster of neurons and throwing them into action (with purpose) could be exhilarating. I plowed through that prodigious novel over a three-day weekend. A […]
Read More about Re-reading a Russian novel, after 65 yearsMy First Year of Blogging, and My Books (Part 2)
Below is the second installment from the beginning of my revised memoir. This part is newly added and does not appear in the original Bending the Twig (See here). As I explained in my previous post, the revised manuscript is as yet unpublished. I was twenty-six when I enrolled […]
Read More about My First Year of Blogging, and My Books (Part 2)Ben Franklin on inoculation
From time to time, when itching for a snippet of diversion, I’ll head to one of my book cases and scan the spines, searching for something to perk me up. I found myself doing that this afternoon. While skimming along a neglected lower shelf, I zeroed in on a small […]
Read More about Ben Franklin on inoculationRanking Russian Novelists
I was an undergraduate when I read The Brothers Karamazov, my first Russian novel. I powered through that mighty book in one intense weekend, shielded from interruptions by the closed door of my small room. Never before had a novel affected me like Dostoevsky’s classic. Its effect lingered for weeks. […]
Read More about Ranking Russian NovelistsGroup Think
I apologize for the lack of activity here for two long weeks. I’m working on other projects and haven’t taken time to post anything fresh here. Yesterday, Independence Day, I heard someone sputter about “group think”, a common phrase these days. But when I heard the words yesterday, they set […]
Read More about Group ThinkJohn D. MacDonald
Do you know of John D. MacDonald? He was a highly prolific 20th Century writer with amazing talents. He usually is classified as a mystery writer, or a writer of crime and suspense novels, genres I’m not a fan of, but MacDonald was a master storyteller. His characters cleverly untangle […]
Read More about John D. MacDonald