Category Archives: books
del Rey, or is that Knapp?
Pseudonyms are invented for various reasons. Edith Mary Pargeter became “Ellis Peters” to separate her mystery stories from her other work. Samuel Longhorne Clemens experimented with the pen names “Josh,” “Sergeant Fathom,” and “Thomas Jefferson Snodgrass” before hitting upon “Mark … Continue reading
Winesburg, Ohio
Have you ever heard of Sherwood Anderson? I had not, until I noticed his book Winesburg, Ohio listed at #24 on Modern Library’s self-serving 100 Best Novels of the 20th Century. The Greatest Books of All Time meta-analysis ranked it … Continue reading
Anna Katharine Green
One of the first female authors of detective fiction was America’s Anna Katharine Green. She is now nearly forgotten, but I loaded some of her works onto my Kindle and read her first novel, which was a big hit almost … Continue reading
Comparing eBooks
From now until 2073, any books published over 95 years earlier are public domain under U.S. copyright law. So in 2026, anything published in 1930 or earlier can be freely distributed. I’ve taken advantage of three different services to freely … Continue reading
A James Blish Fix-Up
After reading A.E. van Vogt’s fix-up novel Mission to the Stars, I was still in the mood for some classic science fiction, but I hoped for something of higher literary quality. Matt of Bookpilled has described James Blish as one … Continue reading
Meador Manor 