Although this book was published over ten years ago, it is still worth reading.
Read MoreResearch
Quick look: A History of the Novel in Britain
in Bookshelf, Research, Quick looks, Reviews
Because Hensher has read so many novels, the reader feels in safe hands.
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Books, by Terry Freedman
Patronising or what? An unintended consequence of wishing to be nice when reviewing books by female authors, Revisited
in News & views, Research
I’ve been reading Phillipa K. Chong’s “Inside the Critics’ Circle”, in which she attempts to discover the process by which books get reviewed. It’s a very interesting read. I haven’t finished it yet, so am not in a position to review it as such, but I was struck by the extract cited here.
Read MoreBooks, by Terry Freedman
Updated: An unintended consequence of wishing to be nice when reviewing books by female authors
in News & views, Research
I’ve been reading Phillipa K. Chong’s “Inside the Critics’ Circle”, in which she attempts to discover the process by which books get reviewed. It’s a very interesting read. I haven’t finished it yet, so am not in a position to review it as such, but I was struck by the extract cited here.
Read MoreOn this day: Covid19: who ya gonna trust?
To the extent that people distrust journalists, is it really surprising?
Read MoreNonfiction Notebook: Authors and their rituals
Some research looked at writers’ rituals. Hearing about that made me reflect on my own.
Read MoreCritical analysis of the Borgesian story: Using AI as a soundboard or critical friend
In this essay I have used three different AI apps to analyse a piece of my writing, and to make suggestions for improvement.
Read MoreLibraries and readers in an age of conflict (book review)
The Book at War is a fascinating study of how books and other reading matter have variously influenced politics, propaganda and history over time.
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Robot reporter, by Terry Freedman
Can artificial intelligence be used to write blog posts?
I decided to find out! In this post I show the results of:
Asking AI to create some personas, ie target readers.
Come up with some blog post ideas.
Write an outline for one of them.
Write an article for one of them.
Can AI write book reviews?
in Bookshelf, News & views, Reviews, Research
I thought I would test ChatGPT’s mettle in a rather self-interested way. I write a lot of book reviews — a lot. I have three books I need to review for an education magazine by 21st January, plus two books I need to review for other websites soonish, and I have to write a review of an exhibition for a different education magazine by next week <gulp>.
Therefore I have two (competing) concerns.
Read MoreStyle matters
If a piece of writing is too self-conscious, if it’s basically shouting “Hey, look at me. Isn’t this a fine piece of writing?” I lose interest. And I’m in good company: Trollope felt the same way.
Read MoreEssay for an advanced literary course
One of the things we should all do as writers is study other people's works to try to discern how they achieved particular effects, or how they use language. It's known as 'close reading'.
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Cover of The Author magazine, by Terry Freedman
On this day: Authors ands their rituals
in On this day, Research
What rituals do writers rely on to help them write?
Read MoreBooks, by Terry Freedman
An unintended consequence of wishing to be nice when reviewing books by female authors
in News & views, Research
I’ve been reading Phillipa K. Chong’s “Inside the Critics’ Circle”, in which she attempts to discover the process by which books get reviewed. It’s a very interesting read. I haven’t finished it yet, so am not in a position to review it as such, but I was struck by the extract cited here.
Read MoreReview: Book Parts
When you start to read a new book, what’s your routine? My routines differ according to whether the book is fiction or non-fiction, and whether I’ve been sent it to review or not.
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Distrust, by Terry Freedman
Journalists under fire
in Journalism, Research
A new report from the Reuters Institute is disturbing. As usual, journalists are being imprisoned or even killed for simply doing their jobs.
Read MoreOn this day #6: A useful search engine
A search engine I wrote about in 2010 still works, and is still useful.
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A fascinating read
Why don't people finish reading long articles on the internet?
in Research
Apparently, the average read-through rate (who knew such a measurement existed?) on Medium is 40%. So why do people tend to not see an article through to the bitter end?
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Library shelves, by Terry Freedman
Search engine vs librarian: who "wins"?
In the central library close to my home, around 30 years ago, there was a brilliant librarian in the Reference section. It didn’t matter what you asked him, he would know the answer.
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Buzzsaw screenshot, by Terry Freedman
Bad PR jargon, and how to detect it
If you’re tired of people “reaching out” or “circling back” or sending you sales “literature” that bears no relevance to you whatsoever, you will enjoy learning that you’re not alone.
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