The Atlantic magazine recently published its list of “Great American Novels.” It is a great marketing tool for the magazine, no doubt designed to generate controversy and advertising revenue. For anyone interested, I’ve listed all of the 136 books on the list below. You can also access and download a spreadsheet version on my GoogleContinueContinue reading “List of The Atlantic’s Great American Novels (2024)”
Category Archives: Books
What If I Thought of My Book as a Work of Art Rather Than a Commodity?
I have been told by more publishers than I can (or care to) count that there is no market for my book on American gun culture, Gun Curious: Understanding America’s Evolving Culture of Firearms. For some, there is no market for books on guns generally; for others, no market for my particular low-heat, balanced takeContinueContinue reading “What If I Thought of My Book as a Work of Art Rather Than a Commodity?”
Remembering Robert N. Bellah
I rarely blog here but I want to call attention to the uncorrected page proofs of a forthcoming book review I wrote of Matteo Bortolini’s biography of Robert Bellah, A Joyfully Serious Man. Anyone interested in Bellah’s work or life should read this book. page-proofs-for-review-of-bortolini-bellah-book-iss1158856-2-22-23-Download I conclude my review writing: “The truth Robert N. BellahContinueContinue reading “Remembering Robert N. Bellah”
Small Teaching Online Book Summary
Over the past three weeks I have participated in a Wake Forest Center for the Advancement of Teaching summer reading group led by Director of Educational Development Dr. Kristi Verbeke. Over 30 faculty (IIRC) read and discussed Small Teaching Online by Flower Darby and James Lang. What follows is my reading notes and reflections onContinueContinue reading “Small Teaching Online Book Summary”
Choosing Adventure: Safe Travel in Dangerous Places book by Greg Ellifritz
As one of Greg Ellifritz’s Patreon supporters, I received an electronic version of his new book Choose Adventure: Safe Travel in Dangerous Places as a benefit of patronage. But Greg was good enough also to send me a hard copy when it became available recently. At first glance, I am not the natural audience forContinueContinue reading “Choosing Adventure: Safe Travel in Dangerous Places book by Greg Ellifritz”
Additional Resources on Japanese-American Internment Camps During World War II
I began this series of posts talking about how little I knew about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, even when I was an upper-division college student at UC-Berkeley. At the same time I “discovered” the internment, I also discovered resistance within the internment camps. Almost 30 years later, now, and much moreContinueContinue reading “Additional Resources on Japanese-American Internment Camps During World War II”
Trying to Put My Writing on a Diet
Like many academics, I write alot. Books, book chapters, articles, book reviews, lectures and lesson plans, manuscript reviews, letters of recommendation, my blogs (this one less than my Gun Culture 2.0 blog), emails, and more. Like some academics, I enjoy writing. Although I enjoy writing, it is hard. Or perhaps, I enjoy writing because itContinueContinue reading “Trying to Put My Writing on a Diet”
My Love of Whisk(e)y and the Alcohol Epidemic in the United States
I love whisk(e)y. My love knows almost no boundaries. American, Canadian, Indian, Irish, Japanese, Scotch, Texas. Barley, corn, rye, wheat. Neat, rocks, mixed. To fuel my love I have been reading Reid Mitenbuler’s recent book, Bourbon Empire: The Past and Future of America’s Whiskey. Early on, Mitenbuler introduces the first alcohol distiller among the BritishContinueContinue reading “My Love of Whisk(e)y and the Alcohol Epidemic in the United States”
Concealed Carry Fun with Google Ngram
My writing accountability partner recently turned me on to Google Ngram. The search engine lets you you electronically comb through millions of books in Google’s database for certain words or phrases. (You can read about the technical details on Google or Wikipedia.) I searched for the phrase “concealed carry” as a case-insensitive phrase and theContinueContinue reading “Concealed Carry Fun with Google Ngram”
Read Julie Schumacher’s Dear Committee Members: A Novel
Whether you write letters of recommendation or not – but especially if you write letters of recommendation – read Julie Schumacher’s Dear Committee Members. It is a novel written in the form of letters of recommendation by Jason T. Fitger, Professor of Creative Writing and English at Payne University. Although not a typical narrative, theContinueContinue reading “Read Julie Schumacher’s Dear Committee Members: A Novel”