book Archives • DAVIDPDX

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READING FICTION IN DECLINE?

March 26, 2026 by David Gillaspie

Reading fiction has been in decline since the first person put a book down and said, “Not for me. Thanks.” A reader doesn’t finish every book. They don’t go into a library with the goal of reading everything. Maybe read everything one author ever wrote, but not everything from everyone. Which brings up one question:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: book, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, challenge, contemporary literary, education, family, fiction, fiction writer, James Joyce, learning, leisure reading, millennials, music, popular fiction, reading, reading fiction, story, well being, wife, William Faulkner, writer, writers, writing

NORTH BEND IN THE OREGON HISTORY CENTER

March 10, 2026 by David Gillaspie

This is North Bend in 1940. Something is missing, though. I-5 is missing, but there’s something else. These baby boomers and their memory, you never know what you’re getting.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, blogger, book, boomerpdx, boomers, family, hwy 101, kids, memory, museums, north bend bridge, North Bend Oregon, Oregon, Oregon Coast, oregon historial society, Oregon History, story

FAVORITE WRITERS TO LOVE AND HATE

December 9, 2025 by David Gillaspie

Favorite writers have an audience of you, and you are demanding. You know what you want and don’t want. Most of all, you don’t want to be disappointed, forced to find someone new. You don’t want someone new, and the writer doesn’t want to lose you. How does this workout? With new material.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer blogger, Baby Boomers, bigger picture, blog, blogger, book, books, boomer blogger, boomerpdx, death by lightning, destiny of the republic, direct experience, embarrassment, favorite, favorite writers, Fitzgerald, Gilgamesh, guilt, loose ends, make a scene, Mark Twain, new book, new writer, next book, reading list, shame, writer, writers, writing

YOUR BOOK TO WRITE, YOUR STORY TO TELL

December 9, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Your book means just that; it’s your book to write. If you have a story to tell and share, write your book. The secret to finishing a book? Start writing it. Another secret? Everyone has a book in them. At least one. A BoomerPdx reader sent this message:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: Baby Boomer Women, blog, blogger gold, blower, book, BOOMER, Boomer Women, boomerpdx, dream come true, family, first draft, fitness, friends, friends for life, girlfriends, good story, history, mental fitness, mental health, story, travel, unreliable narrator, women, write, write a book, writer, writers, writing, your book, your story

QUIET LIFE? GOOD LUCK WITH THAT

September 1, 2024 by David Gillaspie

The quiet life is an aspirational goal. Even the biggest party person eventually welcomes a less social time in their life. But it doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten anyone. Hell, I remember the neighbors from the first house I ever lived in.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: a plan, aspirational goal, bad book, book, books, good book, good luck, quiet life, reading, rock fight, the classics

SISTERS BROTHERS BOOK, MOVIE, AND MORE

June 25, 2024 by David Gillaspie

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt spooked me from the moment it showed up. What kind of tricky title was that. Would it be about brothers and sisters, sisters who wanted to be brothers? I had to find out, and so I did. I picked it up and read it. Then what?

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: aboutions, book, book review, book reviews, library, Mark Twain, movie, movie review, new author, novel, Patrick DeWitt, picaresque, picaresque novels, Portland, sisters brothers, story, t c boyle, the librarianist, twitter, unlettered, writer, writers, writing class, writing dream, writing reality

YOUR STORY: WHERE TO START

June 1, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Your story is like every story: waiting to be told. You: But, Blogger Dave I sound dumb when I write it down. Me: What’s dumb sound like. You: It makes me sound like a blogger. Me:

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: belgium, blogger, book, changed up, cleaned up, comfortably numb, dumb blogger, facebook, favorite adage, good enough, harsh judgment, judgement, librarian, london, novel, numb, poem, rare object, short story, sound dumb, start, story, twitter, where to start, writer, writing, your story

TOO MUCH? TOO MANY? WHEN CAN YOU TELL

April 13, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Too much of anything is a problem, but not when someone else tells you. You’ve got to tell yourself. It’s that simple. And that difficult. But, as usual, there’s more to it.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: book, books, bookstore, boomerpdx, boomers, downsize, downsizing, education, good luck, history, hoarding, too many, too much, travel, wife, writer, writers, writing

HAIR STYLE AND MORE: THE ‘HAIRAPIST’ IS IN

March 20, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Hair style is a lifestyle for Debbie McRoberts. For thirty-two years she’s been beautifying Oregon one head at a time. And listening to all who sit in her chair. Her motto: “What’s Said In The Chair Stays In The Chair.”

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: beautifying oregon, blog, blogger, book, business book, comedy, Debbie McRoberts, education, good read, hair, hair style, hairapist, like oswego, Oregon, stand up, story, storytelling, writer, writers, writing

TOO OLD FOR A NEW STORY?

February 18, 2024 by David Gillaspie

Too old to start over? The big hurdles begin with the definition of ‘start’ and ‘over.’ To start, just to start, is a fight against inertia to move forward on a project. There’s that page for a new story. The letters won’t get on there by themselves.

Filed Under: What's Up Tagged With: blog, blog functions, blog life, blogger, blogging life, Bluehost, book, boomerpdx, broken blog, continuity, daily post, delete content, education, hack, hack job, hackers, history, MARRIAGE, new story, spam, start over, story, upgrade storage, upsell, upselling, wordpress, writer, writers, writing