Malcolm R. Campbell's Blog, page 256

What do prospective readers really want to know

As a reader, I seldom know anything about the authors whose books I read. Many of them are well known and appear in old-media news releases and advertising, and sometimes I read about them in the New York Times or an online news page. But more often than not, I usually know only what they've written and little or nothing about them as people.

So why is it, then, that less-known authors are pushed to get involved in social networking and tell the world about their personal lives?

Perhaps I'm too...

Jefferson, Georgia Book Reading February 25th

I'm looking to the upcoming "Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire" reading at the Jefferson, Georgia Public Library February 25th, at 6:30 p.m. Guests wanting copies of the comedy/thriller can purchase them during the event to benefit the library.

"Jock Stewart is like Guy Noir freed from the confines of public radio. A must-read for anyone who likes their sleuths hard-boiled, their women salty, and their plots with as many twists and turns as a plate of the Purple Platter Diner's...

Back into the high country

Late last fall, I wrote an article called "Bears, Where They Fought" about the Swiftcurrent Valley in Glacier National Park for the upcoming Earth Day 2010 anthology from Vanilla Heart Publishing called "Nature's Gifts." I focused on Glacier because 2010 is the park's centennial year.

The National Park Service's centennial committee's approach to 2010 is Celebrate, Inspire, Engage, and I hope that my article, along with the other articles, poems and short stories in the anthology, does just th...

Hesitantly posted, a provisional reading list

Reading lists, I believe, belong in probable worlds, worlds that may or may not manifest into the light of the common day.

For one thing, whims come and go, as do temptations. One can never be sure which book he'll end up sleeping with next.

During the latter part of 2009, I found myself endlessly reading Roberto Bolano's endless novel "2666." I posted a brief note about it on my March of Books review page. I wrote a fair number of reviews during 2009, the last of which was for Nancy Whitney-Re...

Okay, now we can get some sleep

Jefferson, Georgia's Crawford W. Long Museum re-opened yesterday at the end of a two-year, $200,000 restoration and exhibits update project managed by my wife, Lesa Campbell. She's put in countless hours on the project, and so has the museum staff (Vicki and Karen), the craftsmen (Frank and Terry) and the volunteers (Reggie, Barbara, Jackie, Gerry, Jim and a dozen others.)

I don't have a clue whether the project was more like birthing a baby or writing an epic novel. But when a crowd shows up ...

Jock Stewart Doing Well in Readers Poll

Wow, I'm surprised (but pleased) to find "Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea of Fire" currently sitting at number 6 on the P&E Readers Poll in the ALL OTHER NOVELS category. It's exciting to see so many Vanilla Heart Publishing books doing well in many of the categories.

If you haven't voted yet, perhaps you can find a few favorites out there that strike your fancy. Or nominate a book or author or zine not yet on the list. Needless to say, if you read and loved "Jock Stewart and the Missing Sea ...

Night at the Museum

In "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian," Ben Stiller returns as a security guard to the thrills and chills of nightlife at a museum where all manner of things happen while the patrons of the day are asleep.

During my recent volunteer work at Jefferson, Georgia's Crawford W. Long Museum, I have yet to see the displays tracing Doctor Long's heritage, medical practice, family life and his 1842 discovery of the use of ether for painless surgery come alive in the way they do at the Smit...

Guest Blogger Jock Stewart Discounts Resolutions

Have you noticed? Folks are slobbering all over themselves writing self-aggrandizing new year's resolutions designed to make them look politically correct and or something other than schmucks.

A guy on the street came up to me and said, "You don't know me, but in 2010 I'm going to do everything in my power to bring about world peace."

"Great," I said. "What action items do you have on your list so far?"

"Those are for next year," he said. "What about you?"

"I'm practically perfect in every way," ...

A death on Christmas morning

When we reached my wife Lesa's parent's house in northeast Georgia on Christmas Day, we learned that Lesa's favorite aunt Hazel died earlier that morning. After a year filled with health problems, she had been at home on hospice care.

On her Facebook page, Lesa wrote that she "spent much of Friday looking out over the lawn where my cousins and I played at many a summer's twilight. My beloved aunt died Christmas morning, breaking one more scarce tendril connecting me to my childhood."

A friend t...

The Complete Booker 2010 Challenge

I've been planning to read some of the Booker winners for years. But I get derailed by other books that spring out of the woodwork.

As a little incentive, I signed up for the challenge this year. I plan to begin with Wolf Hall , the 2009 winner by Hillary Mantel. Basically, I want to see what Mantel brings to the table of King Henry VIII. I like the fact that some Amazon reviewers say the book is hard to read--they list their reasons--so perhaps that will make the book both interesting and cha...