Author Archives: Brendan

When a textbook publisher sends me a review copy of one of their textbooks, in the hope that I will use it in a future class of mine, I usually send a reply like this one. I invite all professors … Continue reading →

As long-time Bren-watchers may know, I rather like Kickstarter. I’ve launched three campaigns there in the last several years; one failed, but two were hugely successful. I’d like to do another one soon. There are three projects in particular that … Continue reading →

I’ve invented a game we could all play on that newfangled social network, Ello. I think this will work on Ello better than on FB or Twitter. The idea is to write a story, using only 21 words, and post … Continue reading →

About that NYT article, “The Cult Deficit” by Ross Douthat, which has been making its rounds on my social media feeds lately: It’s a fun article; I quoted it on my own FB feed as well, along with a cheeky … Continue reading →

So, a lot of my Facebook friends have tagged me to ask about ten books that influenced me in some important way. It’s hard to pick only ten – I live in a library, after all, and have done since … Continue reading →

Last week, for my 40th birthday, I visited Elora, the village where I grew up, and which I still think of as “home”. My parents have sold the house, and after they move out it will be much harder for … Continue reading →

Turning 20 and then 30 didn’t feel like much of a milestone. When I turned 30 I was living in Ireland, and I went out to the local with a handful of friends. It was a great night. I wish … Continue reading →

Recently, the famous American scientist and media personality Neil DeGrasse Tyson made a grand sweeping dismissal of philosophy. Read about it here. My knee-jerk reaction, of course, was to dismiss Tyson as one who doesn’t know what he’s talking about. … Continue reading →

As most of you know, the majority of my books are nonfiction, and my background is in philosophy and drama, and not literature. Why, then, did I write fantasy fiction? And can fantasy fiction be philosophical? Many critics believe that … Continue reading →