How do I explain the appeal of a novel that is an exercise in the absurd? I could say that it is part Alice in Wonderland, part academic text and part murder mystery but to describe it as the sum of its parts doesn’t do this book justice at all. To quote another artist specialising in …
In April 2003 the BBC’s Big Read began the search for the UK’s best-loved novel. Below is the top 200. The books I’ve read are in bold. Where I have written about the book in the blog, you can click on the entry below to see more. The Lord of the Rings- JRR Tolkien Pride and Prejudice- Jane …
I’ll admit to being Machiavellian in choosing to read the Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. I knew nothing about it apart from the title, that Maggie Smith once did a fine job of starring in the film adaptation (which I haven’t seen) and that it has found its way onto many ‘must read’ lists. So I …
The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark – Review Read More »
As the title to Only Revolutions suggests, this is a book about circularity. There are three hundred and sixty pages and two narrators whose stories start at either end of the book and cross over each other in the middle. A publisher’s note on the inside cover suggests that the reader alternates between stories at …
Although it’s difficult to believe, there was a time in recent history when smartphones didn’t exist, social media platforms were just a twinkle in a Zuckerberg’s eye and downloading the trailer to Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet required gearing up the internet the night before and praying that no one needed to use the landline …
How to Procrastinate #4 – Old School Computer Games Read More »
If I’m honest, I find most books to be a distraction. They are an entertainment, driven by a primordial need to know what happens next, but they rarely do what literature purports to do – stop me in my tracks and make me think. Yet, every once in a while a book comes along that …
I feel like I have quite an affinity with China Mieville. In interviews he’s often described as a lefty-leaning social science academic with a penchant for ‘weird fiction’ – a tag that could easily be applied to myself. When I read his novels I often get a sense of shared experience. Several characters in this …
The City and the City by China Mieville – Review Read More »
If there is one thing that I have learned about creative writing it’s that there are no short-cuts. Yes, one can learn the tools of the trade and this might help us organise our thoughts and produce better work. Yes, there are certain rules that should be followed (which, as we know, are made to be …
How to Write a Bestseller: What can big data teach us about writing the novel? Read More »
The second book in the ‘my favourite things’ series is another dark novel. Jude the Obscure created such a scandal when it was released in 1895 that Hardy, so affected by the critical reaction to the book, never wrote another, focusing instead on poetry for the rest of his career. In brief, the story follows …
My Favourite Things – Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy Read More »
This post should come with a warning. It is an unabashed big hearted love letter to YouTube. It is an outpouring of affection for the video sharing platform that comes with no caveats or criticisms – only rose-tinted admiration for the best outlet for procrastination ever invented. Needless to say, YouTube is my go-to procrastination …