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Category Archives: books

Finding C. S. Lewis’s Essays

By Jeff | Published: April 22, 2013

I’m on a mission to acquire a copy of everything C. S. Lewis ever published. The standalone books aren’t too difficult but the essays are a different story. They have been published and republished many times in diverse and overlapping collections. Some collections are out of print. Some are available in the UK but not [...]

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I Cannot Read on My iPad

By Jeff | Published: July 10, 2012

I didn’t buy my iPad to read books—I bought it as a developer, to develop games. But I’m a user as well as a designer, and I certainly expected to read books on it. That seems to be a lot of what people do. But I can’t read books on my iPad. I have about [...]

Also posted in technology | 15 Comments

Mysterious or Merely Cryptic

By Jeff | Published: August 25, 2011

My visit to Oxford this summer inspired me to read the Inspector Morse novels by British author Colin Dexter. I’ve now read the first two: Last Bus to Woodstock and Last Seen Wearing. Both are enjoyable, but the first was more engrossing than the second. Other readers seem to agree: on Amazon.com, Last Seen Wearing [...]

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In Praise of Dust Jackets

By Jeff | Published: July 20, 2011

I am writing this for the benefit of my son, who hates dust jackets. There is no need to hate dust jackets. Apart from protecting books from dust—the feature for which they are evidently named—they bring many other benefits. Most jackets contain helpful quick-reference information, such as a summary of the book or information about [...]

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Summer Reading

By Jeff | Published: July 19, 2011

Now that I’m done with seminary I can choose my own bedtime reading. Well, almost. My wife has put me on a strict diet of fiction. I’m catching up on the books that have delighted her over these past several years but that I’ve missed due to my over-employed brain. The summer got started with [...]

Posted in books | Tagged books | 4 Comments

The Last Book I Will Ever Buy

By Jeff | Published: December 10, 2009

Time, Inc., in association with The Wonderfactory, has just announced a new eBook reader that is getting people excited. Could this be the end of print media such as books and magazines? You can check out the video below. Exciting. Apparently. But, you know, in over fifteen years of working with cutting-edge technology I’ve seen [...]

Also posted in technology | 1 Comment

The Curse of Too Much Blessing

By Jeff | Published: November 21, 2009

The most striking thing about the modern world is that our ability to live as we want has far outstripped our ability to live well or wisely. Ours is the most advanced society in history—where technology is concerned. But in our art, architecture, philosophy, public discourse—or even ordinary concerns like romance or happiness—we are infants [...]

Also posted in culture, politics, technology, thinking, writing | 4 Comments

Agnostiphobia

By Jeff | Published: May 28, 2008

Mike Hyatt, CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers, talked recently about how they choose which books to publish. He reveals two key criteria: brand equity and competitive advantage. Brand equity asks, “Will people buy this book because they recognize the author?” Competitive advantage asks, “Will people buy this book because it has great writing and ideas?” [...]

Also posted in games, writing | 1 Comment

Book Business

By Jeff | Published: May 3, 2008

Christian book publisher Thomas Nelson laid off a tenth of their work force this week. Their president and CEO, Mike Hyatt, has been blogging about the decision. His candor and openness are quite refreshing—not to mention educational for aspiring authors like me. He gives us an glimpse into the tough inner world of book publishing. [...]

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