R. J. Nello

It appears books are not just about authors and readers now. They are “cool” on social media. And by that I mean literal books – not Kindles or e-books, as Elle Canada (not a usual source I cite here, I grant you) asks: View this post on Instagram An interesting question is evidently going around: “Are Books the New Must-Have Accessories?” “Old” is increasingly, we sense, the new new. Lots of…

With today being U.S. Memorial Day, which is rooted in remembering Civil War (1861-65) dead… [Lt. Martin Kelly, of New York, died May 1864. Buried outside Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s house in what is now Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, USA. Photo by me, 2017.] …and is now about remembering all the dead from all U.S. wars, this post is, in that way, appropriate. For starters,…

I recall my (now late) mother once studying the back cover dust jacket of one of my (now late) uncle’s late-career novels. In seconds, she broke into laughter. “You are still using that same picture,” she said. “You haven’t looked like this in 20 years.” Obviously he wanted to look more youthful to regular readers and especially to potential ones. That was also around c.2000-ish, when the…

You just had to KNOW the casting of (Kenyan parentage, born in Mexico, recently naturalized U.S. citizen) Lupita Nyong’o in The Odyssey was going to cause bigots (like this apartheid-South-Africa-born, naturalized U.S. citizen) to have a meltdown: [From Bluesky.] We have long been told that marketer Elon Musk is some sort of a genius. However, that idiot statement alone demonstrates any…

I have to admit that this suggestion from Professor Timothy Snyder, a well-regarded scholar on fascism, caught me out: [From Instagram.] I was not alone in that reaction, as one “Andreea Simone” comments above. However, I do not think a “Janine Nicoll,” also above, in chastising “Andreea Simone” apparently for having the temerity to question the “world renowned” professor’s assertion “real…

That is one of the laziest “book lists” memes I have seen. It keeps popping up. I just saw it also on Bluesky: [From Instagram.] I certainly understand the sentiment that reading is generally better than not reading. But all books are absolutely NOT created equal, of course. There are, for example, bad books out there produced by half-literate vicious nutcases. Continue reading Too Much Junk…

I deleted my post of May 7/8 because the publish date got messed up somehow, leading it to appear as if it was posted nearly a day before I actually did so, and I could not figure out how to correct that. (If you know WordPress, you are not surprised.) More important, though, it was too long-winded, and I just did not like it. In short, my post, my site, and I wanted it gone. If you got the…

In the “great minds think alike” department, HUMAN REAL author Jamie Neve posted this yesterday… At first I was impressed with the AI and tried out various storylines on different topics. But in the end I found it frustrating as I was not doing any of the writing. It passed thirty minutes harmlessly but I shall not be using it again. …which I saw after I had finished off most of this post last…

Okay, having seen this the other day, I am going to risk going here. Lots of Americans seem to think the British had it in for Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, from “Day One” – especially over her race. Even some British, especially in UK-based media, over the years have made that charge, too. Meghan has been cast as the inverse to Diana, a photonegative of adoration. Why do we need…

We got back home here to Dartmouth on Monday morning, just before noon: [Waiting for the Dartmouth Higher Ferry. Photo by me, April 20, 2026.] After a week with my dad, we spent 10 days in Florida. We had already decided that rather than just “connecting” in Philadelphia on our way back to the UK from Florida, we would stay over in the city. So we had pre-booked a hotel near the Convention…

Seeing stuff like this leads me to recall how times, and knowledge, has moved on. Social media has enabled lots of Americans in the 2020s to see how life is lived outside of the U.S. and to compare such to life at home in the U.S. What many of them see is eye-opening: [From X.] I am not sure if that is the original. (I think it may be.) I have seen other sites that offer that same observation.…

Amazon in late May will no longer “support” Kindle devices bought before 2012: In an email to customers, Amazon announced that it would be ending service for Kindle devices older than the 2012 edition. Those devices will lose access to the Kindle Store. http://www.wired.com/story/amazon…— WIRED (@wired.com) 2026-04-08T16:55:10.852Z By “support” Amazon means we won’t be able to download…

We flew down on Tuesday from my dad’s in Pennsylvania here to Amelia Island, Florida. We’ve been here twice before – in 2022 and previously in 2015 with my dad and mom (about 6 months before she died). My Mrs likes this island, not far from Jacksonville, a lot; and we are especially fond of Saint Augustine just down the road. We will be here until the end of next week: [Amelia Island, Florida.…

Surprise! [Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Approaching the airport. Photo by me, April 1, 2026.] Hello from Pennsylvania! Continue reading Easter In PA

One of the many memorable lines in Jane Austen’s novels: [From Instagram.] That is said by “Henry,” speaking to novel-loving “Catherine” in Northanger Abbey. One of the great things about reading a book is it provides the chance to “disconnect” from the outside world for a time and immerse oneself in “that” other world. Just the other day, I was reading more of this… Continue reading Just…

Saturday evening, here in Dartmouth, at the smallish Flavel Centre, we went to a concert by the singer Lady Nade (“Nade” pronounced as in “lemonade”) and her four piece band. They did a two-hour tribute to the legendary singer and civil rights activist Nina Simone, who died in 2003. Even if you don’t “think” you have heard of Nina Simone, trust me you have heard her music… somewhere: [From…

Donald J Trump is a knucklehead failed casino owner, weird combination of neo-Confederate fascist and “Gilded Age” corrupt robber baron fantasist, and 34x convicted felon (who has certainly committed other major crimes for which he has not yet been convicted). He is also either unconsciously (because he is so gullible, stupid, inept, and fundamentally unqualified to be president) or – far more…