enforced vacation

An unexpected benefit of everything closing

March 20, 2020 in Handy hints, The lighter side, Useful websites

Some ideas about what to do if you’re stuck at home because of Covid-19-related advice regarding social contact.

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Review: The Notebook *CORRECTED*

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I love the subtitle: A history of thinking on paper (my emphasis). I do think there’s much to be said for writing on paper, and there is no paucity of research showing the benefits of analogue over the digital approach.

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Just William

Bookshelf, Bookshops, News & views

A few months ago I wrote about Barnabees Books, in Westleton, Suffolk. It’s a lovely warm place, not only heat-wise but atmospherically, not least because of its delightful owner, Ty.

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Bookshelf, Quick looks

Quick looks: Jane Austen; Write, Cut, Rewrite; Handwritten; The Book At War; From Edtech to Pedtech

Bookshelf, Quick looks

Since I read Northanger Abbey when I was in my twenties, I have to say that in the interim it has much improved. Clearly, Jane must have taken a creative writing course or two because it is now much funnier, more cutting and more modern, what with her stepping outside the story to comment on her characters and the novel form itself.

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Bookshelf, Creative Writing, Oulipo, Reviews, Reference, Audio, Oulipo book

Review: Oulipo and Modern Thought (Update)

Bookshelf, Creative Writing, Oulipo, Reviews, Reference, Audio, Oulipo book

If your interest in the Oulipo goes beyond simply trying out their techniques, and you wish to learn about the context in which it was conceived and the developments in went through, you will find this book very useful.

Bookshelf, Creative Writing, Oulipo, Reviews, Reference, Audio, Oulipo book

Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews

Quick looks: Triggered Literature PLUS an extract from my new version of Macbeth

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A very timely publication. The first section is replete with anecdotes about trigger warnings and similar. Some of these are, in my opinion, ill-informed (such as the charges levelled against Jane Austen) while others are ridiculous (like the rewriting of parts of the Noddy books).

Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews

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Libraries and readers in an age of conflict (book review)

Bookshelf, Research

The Book at War is a fascinating study of how books and other reading matter have variously influenced politics, propaganda and history over time.

Bookshelf, Research

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Review: The Artist's Journey

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Elborough’s central premise is that artists’ travels have always influenced their art – albeit more obviously in some cases than others.

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Bookshelf, Events, Reviews

Review of Fantasy: Realms of Imagination

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The shelves in libraries or bookshops labelled Science Fiction and Fantasy interest me only for the former, not the latter. Games like Dungeons and Dragons have never appealed to me, and much as I like maps and strange lands, the works of Tolkien leave me cold.

Bookshelf, Events, Reviews

Bookshelf, Reviews

Review: The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper

Bookshelf, Reviews

Who would have thought that a material as commonplace as paper could have such a rich history and profound effect on our lives?

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Bookshelf, Reviews, Oulipo

Review: Once upon a prime

Bookshelf, Reviews, Oulipo

As someone who had little in the way of mathematical prowess at school, I initially opened Prime with some trepidation.

Bookshelf, Reviews, Oulipo