Category Archives: Books

Harris County libraries are now “book sanctuaries”

Posted on September 25, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s great that they’re doing this, and terrible that they have to. As book bans and challenges occur across the state and nation, Harris County libraries have joined a movement dedicated to preserving people’s right to decide for themselves what … Continue reading →

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Book ban lawsuit opinion released

Posted on September 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a strong one, not that that will mean anything to the troglodyte nihilists at the Fifth Circuit. In temporarily blocking enforcement of a new Texas law that limits books with sexual content in school libraries, a federal judge called … Continue reading →

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Book rating law blocked

Posted on September 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge said Thursday he will stop a new Texas law aimed at keeping sexually explicit materials off of school library shelves on the eve of the law going into effect, according to state attorneys and lawyers for … Continue reading →

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The bookstores’ view of the book rating lawsuit

Posted on August 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Some useful context from one of the plaintiffs in that lawsuit challenging a new “book rating” law. When Valerie Koehler bought Blue Willow Bookshop, she wanted to offer an expansive selection of children’s books. “We made it our mission to … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for November 15

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

As a reward for making it through these past few weeks, please enjoy this amazing aerial photo of the Astrodome, from its early days. “After four years of a president who couldn’t abide pets, dogs will once again cavort on … Continue reading →

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Interview with David Cay Johnston

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

This interview is a little different than the ones I usually present. Barbara Radnofsky got in touch with me a couple of weeks ago to say that Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author David Cay Johnston was going to be in … Continue reading →

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We missed you, Bill Watterson

Posted on June 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Stephan Pastis wins the Internet, and pretty much everything else, this week. Let me tell you. Just getting an email from Bill Watterson is one of the most mind-blowing, surreal experiences I have ever had. Bill Watterson really exists? And … Continue reading →

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My father, the book critic

Posted on September 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

My dad emailed me the other day to inform me that he had written his first book review on Amazon, and to ask me if I might mention this on my blog. What’s even the point of having a blog … Continue reading →

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Amazon has a strange idea of what constitutes “erotica”

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

In last week’s Texas blog roundup, we saluted Amy Valentine for successfully turning her blog about surviving breast cancer into a book about surviving breast cancer. Amy is a friend of mine from my class at Trinity University, and I’ve … Continue reading →

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“Windows on the World”

Posted on May 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Andrea White – author, wife of our former Mayor, and all-around nice person – asked me to share this with y’all. WINDOWS ON THE WORLD by Andrea White is science fiction set in a post-apocalyptic world in which an orphan girl, … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Let’s have a little talk about tweetle beetles

Posted on January 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I give you Dr. Seuss’ “Fox in Socks”, read by someone who can read it a lot faster than I can: She goes so fast I can’t really swear that she’s actually reading what’s on the pages in question. The … Continue reading →

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RIP, David Thompson

Posted on September 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

What a terrible shock. We loyal patrons of Murder by the Book, Houston’s go-to place for all things murder and mystery, are devastated to learn of David Thompson’s sudden passing yesterday. David, a Murder by the Book fixture for 21 … Continue reading →

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“Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter”

Posted on April 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the twisted mind that brought us Pride and Prejudice and Zombies comes a new work that sounds just as excellent. Here’s the nickel description, from the Murder by the Book email newsletter: Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (by Seth Grahame-Smith; … Continue reading →

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The university printing business

Posted on March 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. An experiment at Rice University to make scholarly research available to anyone with an Internet connection is trying to change the world of academic publishing. […] “The costs of publishing are reduced by digital dissemination, but they are hardly … Continue reading →

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Bill Watterson speaks

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The reclusive “Calvin & Hobbes” creator gives his first public interview in 20 years. I had hoped they’d ask him about those “peeing Calvin” stickers, but according to Wikipedia, he has actually addressed that before, so no big deal. (See … Continue reading →

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The future of textbooks

Posted on August 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I figure the traditional textbook is eventually going to go away, but how and when it will be replaced is not yet clear. The average college student spent $702 on books in 2006-07, according to the National Association of College … Continue reading →

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Terrible Yellow Eyes

Posted on August 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Please allow me to introduce you to Terrible Yellow Eyes. What I’ve wanted to do for sometime is make a collection of paintings inspired by Where the Wild Things Are as a tribute and celebration of the book. And now … Continue reading →

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RIP, Frank McCourt

Posted on July 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Bestselling author and former high school teacher Frank McCourt has died at the age of 78. Frank McCourt, the retired high school English teacher who became a best-selling memoirist, liked to say he had disproven F. Scott Fitzgerald’s adage about … Continue reading →

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Frank McCourt “gravely ill”

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sad news. Frank McCourt is gravely ill with meningitis and is unlikely to survive, the author’s brother said Thursday. Malachy McCourt said that his 78-year-old brother, best known for the million-selling “Angela’s Ashes,” is in a New York hospice, “his … Continue reading →

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“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You know, if they’d given me books like this to read in high school, I might have actually read them. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen’s beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie … Continue reading →

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“Pride and Prejudice and Zombies”

Posted on February 8, 2009 by Greg Wythe

You know, if they’d given me books like this to read in high school, I might have actually read them. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies features the original text of Jane Austen’s beloved novel with all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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RIP-to-be: Opus the penguin

Posted on October 10, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

You’ve probably already figured this out from the tone of the recent strips, but for the third and apparently last time, cartoonist Berkeley Breathed is preparing to quit the funny pages. The 51-year-old cartoonist said he will pull the plug … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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“The Strangerer”

Posted on October 5, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

You may recall the news from 2006 that President Bush read Albert Camus’ “The Stranger” while on vacation in Crawford, the announcement of which caused a few heads to explode. If you think you’ve sufficiently recovered from that, then you … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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And so we come to the end…

Posted on September 26, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

It all started nearly five years ago, and now it has finally come to an end: Slacktivist has reached the end of the first “Left Behind” book. How do you wrap up something like this? Here’s a taste: Left Behind, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Kos comes to Houston

Posted on July 23, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned before that I had the chance to meet Markos Moulitsas Zuniga from Daily Kos. He mentioned to me as we chatted that he’d be back in Texas soon, Houston in particular, as part of his book tour. Turns … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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The book was different

Posted on June 1, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

So one of the things I did while on vacation last weekend was finish reading Gregory Maguire’s book Wicked, which I’d been meaning to do for awhile. It’s a very interesting book, if a tad bit slow at times, and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Judy Norsigian in town

Posted on April 4, 2008 by Charles Kuffner

One of the fine people I met at my precinct convention on March 4 was a woman named Cathy who served as the convention secretary. She sent me the following information about an upcoming appearance by Judy Norsigian that I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Houston. It’s Worth It: The Book

Posted on November 29, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Houston. It’s Worth It. is now in book form. Houstonist has a conversation with its authors, Randy Twaddle and Dave Thompson. There’s also info in there about a couple of “big blowout parties” related to the book, one of which … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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“The Tales of Beedle the Bard”

Posted on November 3, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s one book by JK Rowling that won’t sell a gazillion copies. A set of fairytales mentioned in the final Harry Potter novel, which have been handwritten and illustrated by JK Rowling, are to be auctioned off to raise money … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Dumbledore comes out

Posted on October 22, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is a surprise. J. K. Rowling, author of the worldwide best-selling Harry Potter series, met some of her American fans Friday night and provided some surprising revelations about the fictional characters who a generation of children have come … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Watterson on Schulz

Posted on October 15, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

This is fascinating on many levels: Bill Watterson, the reclusive genius behind “Calvin and Hobbes”, makes a rare public appearance to write a review of a new biography of Charles Schulz, the genius behind “Peanuts” who inspired him to be … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Books by people I know

Posted on September 11, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Technically, John Anderson isn’t someone I know, since I’ve never actually met or spoken with him. But he’s the cousin of my buddy Michael Croft, and that’s close enough for me. His book is called Follow the Money, and it’s … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Stephen King and Harry Potter

Posted on August 24, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Nice piece by Stephen King on the Harry Potter series, the generally uninteresting reviews of those books, and the future of reading. Check it out. Link via dghall. Continue reading →

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JK Rowling’s new gig

Posted on August 20, 2007 by Charles Kuffner

Say what you will about JK Rowling, she hasn’t been sitting on her laurels since she finished the last Harry Potter book. J.K. Rowling has been spotted at cafes in Scotland working on a detective novel, a British newspaper reported … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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