Look and Listen

Biography

Bob Swiatek’s most recent book is "here’s your free gift – send $10 for shipping," a book about the three "Ls": language, laughter and lunacy and his third in the series of books on temporary brain deficiencies. "This War Won’t Cost Much – I’m Already Against the Next One" was published in November 2008. Just before that he published a book on the failure of technology, "Press 1 for Pig Latin" and one about the environment, "Take Back the Earth – The Dumb, Greedy Incompetents have Trashed It." In August 2008, "wake up – it’s time for your sleeping pill" came into print, another book on the three “Ls,” in the same mold as "for seeing eye dogs only, his 2005 book. "I Don’t Want to be a Pirate - Writer, maybe," his journey as a writer was published in March 2008. In October 2007, he was responsible for, "This Page Intentionally Left Blank – Just like the Paychecks of the Workers," in which he forcefully argues for a 30-hour workweek and a new minimum wage of $15 an hour. He was a computer software consultant for over twenty years, working at various corporations throughout the east coast. He studied and worked with computers for over thirty years and taught mathematics at high schools in New York and New Jersey. You can read about his numerous jobs in the first chapter of "Tick Tock, Don’t Stop: A Manual for Workaholics," a work about “work,” published in July 2003. His June 2005 book, "for seeing eye dogs only," a humorous look at missing intelligence, received great reviews, with readers describing it as hysterical. "Don’t Bet On It," a suspenseful thriller about the national lottery, was his only work of fiction and it came out in May 2003, preceded a few months before by "The Read My Lips Cookbook: A Culinary Journey of Memorable Meals." It was published in November 2002 and received excellent reviews by all who have read it. Information on his books can be found at the website he created and maintains, bobcooks.com. It has reviews, a new recipe each month, a menu suggestion, which changes from time to time, and other stuff of interest. You may want to visit regularly, but be advised, once you get there, you may never leave – another writer called it a goldmine. In the works for 2009 are books on cancer and the truth – however you find it. He also created and maintains the web site, authorsguildofwny.com of The Authors Guild of Western New York, of which he is the new president - the last one and founder moved to Lost Wages, Nevada in early 2008 (she wasn’t impeached.) In addition, he created johnmarszalek.com, the site of the historian and former Buffalo resident. He was born in Buffalo and lived in a few places in the eastern US, but currently resides in the city of his birth. His degrees are in mathematics, math education and computer science, but none in piracy, writing or journalism. Rather, he has real-life experience when it comes to quite a few aspects of writing.

Inspiration

They say, "Once a teacher, always a teacher." Despite displaying his sense of humor, all his efforts could be classified as "self-help" books, even the novel. He writes based on the world he has seen and experienced as well as from the books he reads. Some of his favorite authors and those whom he recommends are Jim Hightower, David McCullough, Nelson Demille, Barbara Ehrenreich, Richard North Patterson, Pat Conroy, Morris West, Dave Barry, T. C. Boyle, Ken Follett, John F. Marszalek, Peter Mayle, Sinclair Lewis, Farley Mowat, Michael Moore, Walter Mosely, Studs Terkel, Gore Vidal, Herman Wouk, John Grisham and Molly Ivins.