Books & Authors

Posts about books I love, authors I admire, and so on

Looking back at Neil Gaiman’s Sandman – part 3 of 11, The Doll’s House

January 11, 2017 1 Comment

Eight years ago, Stephen Segal, then creative director at the legendary Weird Tales magazine, asked if he could use some modest writings I had been doing on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman for a 20th anniversary retrospective he was putting together. Naturally, I said yes. Sadly, the series was lost in a website revamp. Not wanting it to disappear into the ether, I’m now presenting it on my site in 11 parts (alas, without the benefit of Stephen’s editing; these are pre-publication versions). Hope you enjoy. Recurring Dream: An Anniversary Re-reading of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman Part 3 of 11, The Doll’s House Originally published on the Weird Tales website, January 2009 The Doll’s House picks up seemingly throwaway threads from Preludes and Nocturnes and creates story out…
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Books & Authors, Comics & Graphic Novels, Geek Stuff

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Looking back at Neil Gaiman’s Sandman – part 2 of 11, Preludes and Nocturnes

January 10, 2017 2 Comments

Eight years ago, Stephen Segal, then creative director at the legendary Weird Tales magazine, asked if he could use some modest writings I had been doing on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman for a 20th anniversary retrospective he was putting together. Naturally, I said yes. Sadly, the series was lost in a website revamp. Not wanting it to disappear into the ether, I’m now presenting it on my site in 11 parts (alas, without the benefit of Stephen’s editing; these are pre-publication versions). Hope you enjoy. Recurring Dream: A 20th Anniversary Re-reading of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman Part 2 of 11, Preludes and Nocturnes Originally published on the Weird Tales website, January 2009 I would be exaggerating if I said I approached a reread of Sandman with trepidation….
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Books & Authors, Comics & Graphic Novels, Geek Stuff

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Looking back at Neil Gaiman’s Sandman 28 years later – part 1 of 11

January 9, 2017 13 Comments

Eight years ago, Stephen Segal, then creative director at the legendary Weird Tales magazine, asked if he could use some modest writings I had been doing on Neil Gaiman’s Sandman for a 20th anniversary retrospective he was putting together. Naturally, I said yes. What followed was a 11-part online series looking back at that remarkable body of work. The series wasn’t meant to be comprehensive or to uncover things you’d never seen before. Rather, it was meant to be a fun “rediscovery” of those now classic comics – so read these with that in mind. Weird Tales has undergone some changes over the years. Stephen is gone. They’ve faced some controversy. And their website was stripped down and rebuilt into a complete disaster. With it…
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Books & Authors, Comics & Graphic Novels, Geek Stuff

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Why did I stop reading books?

January 28, 2016 2 Comments

After never being away from a book for more than a few days at a time my entire life, the last year has been devoid of finished books. What went wrong? If that sounds like the setup for a piece that is going to explore some interesting ideas about reading, let me spoil it for you: It’s not. I genuinely ran into a wall. Not for lack of trying. I read on a daily basis, often for work (research, etc.), and regularly for pleasure. I subscribe to a number of magazines — yes, print magazines are still a thing! — and have my face buried in text for at least a portion of every day. Actually finishing a book, however, has become near impossible, and…
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Books & Authors, Uncategorized

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These Are the 5 Authors Who Made Me Want to Write

January 4, 2016 4 Comments

Writing begins with reading. There is a vague rule of thumb that good writers read. A lot. Granted, reading a lot doesn’t mean you’ll be able to write. It’s a start, though. And without question, the thirst with which I drank in books as a daydreaming kid, and later as an in-way-over-my-head young man, had a huge huge huge (three huges) impact on my later, and very ridiculous, decision to devote my life to writing. It led me to journalism and books and other stuff, and these days, it has me working as a freelance writer. Which is amazing and stupid and can barely buy me coffee in the morning, but it’s so worth it (and SHAMELESS you should totally write me at ericsanjuan@gmail.com and…
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Books & Authors, Uncategorized, Writing

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