It’s long past time for this one to end — “Monuments to the Lost Cause will prove monuments of folly.” — Frederick Douglass Of all the myths that some Americans have stubbornly clung to, none has been more damaging over the past 150 years than the myth of the “Lost Cause.” Put in its simplest terms, the Lost Cause views…

Yes, they really are books — My love of printed books is well known to anyone who has read my bookish articles, so, it may come as a surprise that I also love audiobooks. I know there are some hardcore bibliophiles out there who continue to argue that audiobooks aren’t really books, but that’s nonsense; of…

Now it’s really serious — The results from the Elite Eight round of the Rate-An-Album March Madness series are in, and this one was even more back-and-forth than the Sweet Sixteen round. The matchups become excruciatingly difficult this round, and when you see them some of you will surely hate me even more than you…

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the bookstore… — Inspired by Simon Dillon, over next five weeks I’m sharing the first chapters of my novel, Writer in Residence. A new installment will appear here on the Fictions publication each Monday. I hope you enjoy it. Previous Chapters: Chapter One: The Church of The Last Word Chapter Two: Three Guys…

Pour yourself a cold one and have a seat — “He was a wise man who invented beer.” — Plato When we think about the greatest US presidents, we typically don’t associate them with the greatest invention in history — alcohol. That’s a mistake, because three of the four men on Mount Rushmore had a very interesting relationship with the…

Pondering a Different March Madness Outcome — As voting continues in the Elite Eight round of my “Rate-An-Album March Madness” competition (results on Tuesday), I was looking over some of the albums that were, frankly, crushed in the first round of voting. Back in Black, Nevermind, and Appetite for Destruction were all destroyed (pun intended) by, respectively…

This may be an unpopular opinion — Over the course of my time here, I have written numerous things that people disagree with; that’s to be expected and is totally fine. As grownups, we can have differences and still remain friends (even if you skewer me in the comments). …

A reminiscence and a look forward — Sometimes the most inspiring words come from the most unexpected sources. There is no question that Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards has said and sung some profound things during his life (and even more unintelligible ones), but for me the quote below from his excellent autobiography, Life, is more profound…

Things are heating up — The results from the Sweet Sixteen round of the Rate-An-Album March Madness series are in; there were some blowouts (think North Carolina vs. Eastern Wisconsin A&M) and one that went right down to the wire. The matchups only get harder in this round, and I expect it will be even…