centre of the universe

Category: Books

  • Lit Up Canada

    I was listening to the radio yesterday, to a documentary about this fellow who’d had the privilege of reading most of the letters of John Updike, at Harvard University. By the time Updike had a firm plan for what he wanted to do with his own writing career (in his late teens!), there were several…

  • Changes

    Last week, I did something I’ve never done before. I retired.  “But cenobyte! You’re so young! How could you *possibly* have retired?!” Good point. I *am* young. And full of awesome. I retired my radio programme. When 91.3FM CJTR first went on the air in November of 2001, I was one of the first spoken word…

  • Avoiding Dan Brown

    A while ago, I was a little unclear on what to write about. “What to write, what to write,” I asked myself. Then Rilla suggested the following: Angels and Demons: What you need to know about avoiding Dan Brown The first thing you need to know to address this issue is that Dan Brown has…

  • It Has Left a Lasting Impression

    Mister Sexy said he would NOT wear tight-fitting shirts and talk in an Irish accent if I didn’t read John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany . It’s a decision I do not regret. And for more reasons than seeing Mister Sexy in a tight-fitting shirt and trilling out a lovely brogue. Well, maybe ‘trilling’ is not…

  • A Math Lesson About Books

    Dear Mister Crabbyapples: I heartily suspect that the only thing you *really* wanted to hear from me was: I personally price these books the way I do because even though I’ve never met you, I don’t like you, and I don’t want you owning or reading my books. Also, I don’t believe in libraries. But…

  • Book Review Roundup

    I haven’t done this in a Really Long Time. But since I’ve told the same thing to more than five people lately, I figured it would be a Good Thing. Also, I’m not about to review *every* book I’ve read in the last two years. That would just be silly. Because it’s been such a…