What Paul is Reading Now...

Fiction...   Nonfiction...
     
Not currently reading any fiction
 

Recently Read...

The Man in my Basement
Walter Mosley
(11/12/11)

Hound
George Green
(7/16/11)

A Tale of Two Cities
Charles Dickens
(6/25/11)

Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austen
(5/10/11)

Siddhartha
Hermann Hesse
(4/20/11)

Things Fall Apart
Chinua Achebe
(4/17/11)

A Clockwork Orange
Anthony Burgess
(4/11/11)

The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
(4/9/11)

Falconer
John Cheever
(4/8/11)

The Sun Also Rises
Ernest Hemingway
(4/1/11)

Exodus
Leon Uris
(3/21/11)

1984
George Orwell
(2/2/11)

Room
Emma Donoghue
(1/15/11)

The Plot Against America
Philip Roth
A truly fascinating tale of alternate history--what if Lindbergh had become President and the US had stayed out of WWII? (1/3/11)

Shampoo Planet
Douglas Coupland
Interesting tale of a young man trying to find himself . (12/11/10)

Lush Life
Richard Price
An interesting police procedural and study in character and grief. (11/23/10)

The Turn of the Screw
Henry James
Finally got around to reading this classic ghost story. Wonderful atmosphere in this tale. (11/7/10)

The Time Traveler's Wife
Audrey Niffenegger
An interesting premise and engaging tale. (10/29/10)

The Stone Gods
Jeanette Winterson
"Smart" science fiction that induces a serious contemplation of what we're doing to our planet and what our future may look like. (9/2/10)

Giving up Architecture
Dr. Eliza Mood
Mythical fiction sure to please for anyone looking for uniqueness and an engaging tale. (8/12/10)

The Lovely Bones
Alice Sebold
Outstanding! Highly recommended! What an incredible debut. (8/5/10)

Madame Bovary
Gustave Flaubert
The classic masterpiece of French literature. (7/19/10)

Child of God
Cormac McCarthy
Story of a serial killer in rural Tennessee, told from his perspective. (7/3/10)

Blood Meridian
Cormac McCarthy
A gruesome, nothing-held-back tale of the old West which makes us contemplate the distance that man's inhumanity to man can really traverse. (6/29/10)

Beyond Black
Hilary Mantel
The ghosts of a psychic's past haunt her present. (6/26/10)

Nausea
Jean-Paul Sartre
One of the classics of existentialist thought. (5/31/10)

Poor Things
Alasdair Gray
Wonderful! An interesting interpretation on a modern retelling of the Frankenstein story. (5/9/10)

Heart of Darkness and Other Tales
Joseph Conrad
Excellent! Found each of these tales highly engaging. (4/30/10)

To the Lighthouse
Virginia Woolf
At least now I can say I have read this classic. (4/14/10)

The Gravedigger's Daughter
Joyce Carol Oates
Every Oates novel I read increases my admiration for this American master. (3/30/10)

Lolita
Vladimir Nabokov
Finally read this classic. Far different than I had expected. A fascinating character study. (3/7/10)

Cloud Atlas
David Mitchell
Like reading five novels in one; a unique tale which leaps and bounds across time yet somehow all seems to fit together. Recommended. (2/26/10)

Last Exit to Brooklyn
Hubert Selby, Jr.
Hard to believe this book was published in 1964. Not for the faint of heart, it takes an unflinching look at the "other side" of American culture. (2/10/10)

Under the Dome
Stephen King
Classic King, this one, despite its massive size, is fast-moving and chocked full of interesting and memorable characters. (2/6/10)

Oryx and Crake
Margaret Atwood
My first Atwood novel. Intoxicatingly written. Love her prose style. A compelling, haunting tale. (1/16/10)

American Psycho
Brent Easton Ellis
Brilliant satire coupled with a chilling look deep into the mind of an utterly depraved psychopath. (1/4/10)

The Raw Shark Texts
Steven Hall
Probably the strangest, most original and slightly brilliant novel I've read in some time. (12/21/09)

The Road
Cormac McCarthy
Finally let myself read this. Wow. Powerfully moving. As dark a story as I've ever read, yet it somehow, in the end, gives you hope as well. (12/6/09)

Pyres
Derek Nikitas
A mystery / "literary thriller." Interesting coming of age mixed with fantasy and mystery. (12/1/09)

Utopia
Lincoln Child
Another great thriller--this one takes place in the ultimate adventure/theme park. Recommended. (11/13/09)

Terminal Freeze
Lincoln Child
Arctic exploration, scientific research and a thawed out monster. What could be better? Well-paced but lacked the twists and turns of Deep Storm. (10/16/09)

Lost Echoes
Joe R. Lansdale
Not bad. JRL has an interesting narrative style that I found similar in some ways to my own. Excellent character voice. Good story. (10/6/09)

Deep Storm
Lincoln Child
Top-notch thriller! What a page-turner! Highly recommended. (9/19/09)

I Am No One You Know
Joyce Carol Oates
The best collection of her short works I've come across yet. Excellent! (8/30/09)

The Museum of Dr. Moses
Joyce Carol Oates
An excellent story collection showcasing Oates' considerable talent. (7/28/09)

The Namesake
Jhumpa Lahiri
Moving tale of family, love and identity. Recommended. (7/19/09)

The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Been wanting to read this one for years. Awesome story, intriguing character study. Outstanding! (7/11/09)

The Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison
Read this in a single day--hard to believe this was her first book. Simply amazing. (7/9/09)

One Hundred Years of Solitude
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
An excellent read, deserving of the accolades it has earned over the years. (7/8/09)

The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
John Le Carre
Considered a top 100 novel of all time. Interesting twists and turns in this complex story of international intrigue. (6/30/09)

Invisible Cities
Italo Calvino
An interesting and imaginative exploration. (6/21/09)

Interpreter of Maladies
Jhumpa Lahiri
An astonishing debut collection, winner of the 2000 Pulitzer Prize. (6/20/09)

No Country for Old Men
Cormac McCarthy
A bloody tale of violence, greed and a man's search for resolution. (6/14/09)

The Wasp Factory
Iain Banks
Voted one of the best 100 novels of the last century by the UK-based Independent. A chilling, fast-movnig read. Highly recommended. (6/9/09)

Duma Key
Stephen King
Seemed to start a little slow, but that's just because the story was creeping up on you all the while. Classic, creepy King. (6/1/09)

Your Heart Belongs to Me
Dean Koontz
A fast and entertaining read that keeps you turning pages. (4/19/09)

Drood
Dan Simmons
A magnificent and monumental achievement. A subtle, at times magical, mystery. (4/12/09)

Beloved
Toni Morrison
I finally got around to reading this masterpiece. Well worth the wait. (3/21/09)

Skeletons at the Feast
Chris Bohjalian
An engaging account of the holocaust from a different point of view. (3/14/09)

Cities of the Plain
Cormac McCarthy
A fitting and highly satisfying end to the trilogy. (3/6/09)

The Crossing
Cormac McCarthy
Awesome. Recommended. (2/27/09)

The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
David Wroblewski
An awesome debut. Highly recommended. A sad but satisfying ending. (2/20/09)

5 Stories
Peter Straub
An interesting and eclectic collection from the master. (2/17/09)

All the Pretty Horses
Cormac McCarthy
Awesome! Just loved the easy-reading flow of this story. From this I plan to read more of McCarthy's works and look forward to the experience. (1/24/09)

Magic Terror
Peter Straub
An outstanding collection, as usual, from Mr. Straub, whom I haven't read in a while. (11/22/08)

Independence Day
Richard Ford
I had a difficult time with this Pulitzer Prize winner. Great language throughout. (11/2/08)

Foucault's Pendulum
Umberto Eco
I have to be honest here--this was a difficult book to read. I started it in February. Full of interesting historical information regarding secret societies. (9/3/08)

World Without End
Ken Follett
Outstanding achievement! Even at 900+ pages, I was disappointed when I finished for I so wanted to stay in Mr. Follett's story world just a little bit longer. I may have to go back and re-read Pillars of the Earth. Highly recommended! (4/19/08)

American Gods
Neil Gaiman
My first Gaiman book. Interesting and different. A satisfying ending. (2/18/08)

Fires of Eden
Dan Simmons
Rich with Hawaiian mythology. A creepy tale filled with unforgetable characters. (1/31/08)

The Ice Limit
Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child
Amazingly entertaining! What a story these two wove--incredibly enjoyable read that kept me turning the pages at the same time I wanted to slow down in order to make it last. (1/23/08)

Moon
James Herbert
Another solid horror tale that keeps you turning pages. Really love this guy's style (11/19/07)

Once...
James Herbert
An enchanting and erotic horror thriller; thoroughly enjoyable! (10/1/07)

Contact
Carl Sagan
I had always wanted to read this as the movie, starring Jodie Foster and Matthew McConaughey, is one of my all-time favorites. I was quite surprised at the differences in the story-line between the book and the movie! (9/6/07)

Ender's Game
Orson Scott Card
Excellent! The best sci-fi book I have read in years. Not sure why I waited so long to read this one. (8/17/07)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
J. K. Rowling
Superb! Excellent! A satisfying end to the story of Harry Potter. (8/10/07)

The Alienist
Caleb Carr
Excellent! Thoroughly enjoyable tale of the hunt for a serial killer in 1896 New York. (7/26/07)

Blaze
Richard Bachman (Stephen King)
A quick read of a standard but well-constructed character novel which centers around the background and activities of a small-time criminal who loses his only friend and partner. Heart-felt and entertaining to the end. (7/14/07)

The Hungry Moon
Ramsey Campbell
A small English town must face a horror awakened from a bottomless cave. (7/9/07)

Heart-Shaped Box
Joe Hill
The debut horror thriller by Stephen King's son writing under the name of Joe Hill. Classic, straightforward horror about a menacing ghost. Fast-moving; good suspense. (6/1/07)

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
Robert A. Heinlein
A classic of '60s sci-fi. Found it enjoyable. The language took a little getting used to, but quickly found it engaging and fresh. As much a treasurable read today as it was forty years ago. (5/23/07)

Icebound
Dean Koontz
A 1995 updated re-issue of a novel originally published in 1976. An adventure-suspense tale filled with high tension and lots of action. Less complex than his current tales, but no less enjoyable. (5/2/07)

Waiting
Frank M. Robinson
A dark ending to an intriguing storyline where it is discovered that another species has been living among us, posing as humans for the last 35,000 years. (4/23/07)

The Terror
Dan Simmons
A good adventure tale with a rather interesting ending. A long read, but worth the journey. (4/1/07)

Lisey's Story
Stephen King
Haven't read such an emotionally poignant tale from King since The Green Mile. Story of marriage, love, death, child abuse, sisterhood and survival where escape to a fantasy plane is possible--as long as you only visit it during the day. (3/4/07)

 

Come Here
Richard Berendzen

 
Recently Read...
 
A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive
Dave Pelzer
(11/13/11)
 
Held Captive: The Kidnapping and Rescue of Elizabeth Smart
Maggie Haberman, Jeane MacIntosh
(11/11/11)
 
Lost and Found: The True Story of Jaycee Lee Dugard
John Glatt
(10/15/11)
 
Mockingbird
Gregg Olsen
(9/24/11)
 
Somebody Else's Kids
Torey Hayden
(9/1/11)
 
Writing Fiction: Creative and Critical Approaches Amanda Boulter
(8/6/11)
 
One Child
Torey Hayden
(8/1/11)
 
The Author is not Dead, Merely Somewhere Else: Creative Writing Reconceived
Michelen Wandor
(7/27/11)
 
The Literature Review: Six Steps to Success
Lawrence A. Machi, Brenda T. McEvoy
(2/14/11)
 
From Student to Scholar: A Candid Guide to Becoming a Professor
Steven M. Cahn
An excellent little book for anyone with aspirations of becomming a college professor. (12/18/10)
 
From Schema Theory to Language
Michael A. Arbib, E. Jeffrey Conklin, Jane Hill
Review of computational schema theory. (11/24/10)
 
Possible Worlds: An Introduction to Logic and its Philosophy
Raymond Bradley / Norman Swartz
Excellent overview of possible worlds theory from the philosophical theory point of view. (11/18/10)
 
Possible Worlds, Artificial Intelligence, and Narrative Theory
Marie-Laure Ryan
Excellent overview of possible worlds theory. (9/21/10)
 
Literature and Possible Worlds
Doreen Maitre
Another important work in the field, this source though is much lighter on the theory side than Pavel or Ronen, making it highly available to a wider audience. (9/7/10)
 
Possible Worlds in Literary Theory
Ruth Ronen
Another canonical text covering possible worlds theory, with equal emphasis on the philisophical theory side as well as the literary theoretical side. (8/31/10)
 
Fictional Worlds
Thomas Pavel
An important work in the theoretical field of fictional and possible worlds theory. (8/17/10)
 
Language and World Creation in Poems and Other Texts
Elena Semino
Beginning contains a good summary and introduction to possible worlds theory and its philosophical background. (8/4/10)
 
Adaptation and Appropriation
Julie Sanders
An interesting study, but did not provide as much as I was looking for with respect to my research. (5/31/10)
 
Heterocosmica: Fiction and Possible Worlds
Lubomir Dolezel
Good introduction to possible worlds theory as opposed to mimetics. (5/26/10)
 
Narratology: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative
Mieke Bal
One of the classic introductions to this topic. Found parts of it a bit over-complicated, but still an important and useful work in the field. (5/19/10)
 
Intertextuality
Graham Allen
Good introduction to this subject which is far more complex than I had ever imagined. (5/3/10)
 
The Cambridge Introduction to Narrative
H. Porter Abbott
Good introduction to this subject, though many sections lack adequate depth. Written in clear, understandable language. (4/16/10)
 
Popular Fiction: The Logics and Practices of a Literary Field
Ken Gelder
Interesting overview of popular fiction as compare to literature. (3/10/10)
 
The PhD Application Handbook
Peter J. Bentley
Excellent resource for anyone contemplating pursuit of a PhD, especially in the UK. (10/18/09)
 
The Anchor Book of New American Short Stories
ed. Ben Marcus
An excellent collection. Read this book in my recent Advanced Fiction II class. (1/25/09)
 
Take Joy: A Writer's Guide to Loving the Craft
Jane Yolen
Found this one at Bargain Books. An excellent writer's book filled with useful advice. (11/2/08)
 
Steering the Craft
Ursula K. Le Guin
An excellent writer's book filled with useful exercises and advice. Read this book in my recent Advanced Fiction class. (11/2/08)
 
40 Short Stories: A Portable Anthology
ed. Beverly Lawn
An excellent collection. Read this book in my recent Advanced Fiction class. (11/2/08)
 
Iranian Cinema: A Political History
Hamid Reza Sadr
Read this book in my recent World Film class. (9/14/08)
 
Cross-Talk in Comp Theory
Victor Villanueva, ed.
Used this book in my recent composition pedagogy class. Excellent! (8/31/08)
 
Literary Nonfiction
Patsy Sims, ed.
Used this book in my recent nonfiction class. An informative reader. (8/3/08)
 
How to Write a Movie in 21 Days
Viki King
Used this book in my recent screenwriting class. (5/31/08)
 
Making a Good Script Great
Linda Seger
Used this book in my recent screenwriting class. (5/31/08)
 
Colors of a Different Horse
Edited by Wendy Bishop & Hans Ostrom
Essays and articles on creative writing theory pedagogy. (1/25/08)
 
What Our Speech Disrupts
Katharine Haake
An in-depth look at creative writing pedagogy and critical theory. (1/25/08)
 
Fondling Your Muse
John Warner
A hilarious, David Barry-like rendering of the writerly life. A laugh-out-loud look at the lighter side of writing and publishing. (12/1/07)
 
A Writer's Paris
Eric Maisel
Literally, a book on taking three, six, or more months off and moving to Paris, France to spend time on your writing. Even though I would never do it, I found the book an enjoyable and motivational read.