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Whenever I am feeling stressed out in the evening, I re-read something old, familiar, and soothing. For me, that is often the Sherlock Holmes stories. I read a story here, a story there, and pretty soon I’ve worked my way through the entire collection. Again. On each iteration, though, I discover something new. Recently, I…
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In case you haven’t noticed, Paul McCartney is having a bit of a moment. He performed on Saturday Night Live a couple of weeks ago, as well as on the final episode of CBS’s Late Night with Steven Colbert. Somehow, the aging Beatle has re-entered the cultural zeitgeist. He’s done it before, of course. After…
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(Author’s Note: I’ve been a bit busy lately, so I’m reposting this essay about one of my favorite modern novels. Enjoy…!) Even though I fancy myself a literary fiction writer (even when I’m writing detective or sci-fi novels), I don’t read that much literary fiction. I read a ton when I was young, especially in…
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Once again, I have the great library district of Alachua County to thank for my latest classic sci-fi book cover post. I was browsing through the library’s website, looking at their most recent e-book purchases, when I stumbled upon this oldie by famed sci-fi author Robert Silverberg. I don’t know how exactly, but I never read…
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Author’s Note: I’ve be rereading Saint Jack by Paul Theroux this spring. Again. Every time I read it, I feel like my own writing improves. Maybe it’s my imagination. Anyway, I thought I’d repost this essay about it. Enjoy…! Novice writers sometimes ask about the difference between “literary” fiction and “commercial” fiction, and so-called learned…
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I’ve been thinking about this song a lot lately, and GEE, I CAN’T IMAGINE WHY. Yes, it’s about the dark side of American culture. Conspiracy theories and paranoia and madness. Specifically, when he wrote the song, Tom Cochrane was worried about a new wave of antisemitism that was on the rise in the country. That…
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It’s almost a cliché to state that, as you get older, you re-evaluate a lot of things you liked in your youth. Often (alas), you discover that the books you read, the music you listened to, and the movies you listened to when you were in high school really weren’t that great—with a few exceptions.…
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Author’s Note: The Department of Defense released some more really cool ufo videos yesterday. So, I thought it would be a good time to re-post a review I wrote some years ago of a great book on the subject. Enjoy…!!! From 1989 to 1992 I went to graduate school at the University of Arizona. This…
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A couple of weeks ago I reposted an old essay of mine called The Anti-Heroes of American Cinema: A Tribute. Ever since then, I’ve been thinking that there is a counterpart to the anti-hero—the anti-villain. Whereas anti-heroes often display characters that seem to contradict the classical definition of a hero, such as occasional selfishness, comical…
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Ash Clifton, Writer 