Like all the best books, this can be read chronologically or dipped into.
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Review: Things Seen, by Annie Ernaux
in Bookshelf, Reviews, On this day
At times beautiful, at times cynical, at times hard-hitting, Things Seen is an endearing and accurate portrayal of a modern city.
Read MoreReview: Tradecraft: Writers on John le Carré -- two reviews in one!
Review: Tradecraft: Writers on John le Carré -- two reviews in one!
Read MoreReview: Seven Brief Lessons on Physics: Anniversary Edition -- two reviews in one!
in Reviews
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote!
Read MoreReview: Vermeer: A Life Lost and Found -- Two reviews in one
I submitted my review of this book to Teach Secondary magazine, an educational magazine in the UK. The first review below is what the magazine published. The second one is what I actually wrote!
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Click the cover to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
Review: Exercises in Style Updated
in Bookshelf, Oulipo, Oulipo book, Reviews
Anyone interested in the craft of writing should read this book. It’s not a primer, or dictionary, or anything of that nature. But it does exactly what it says on the tin.
Read MoreReview: The Many Lives of Anne Frank
You could be forgiven for thinking that all that has been said, or needed to be said, about Anne Frank had already been said, given the number of books, articles and even a play that have been written about her. And yet in some ways she has never been more relevant.
Read MoreReview: Stranger than Fiction
At first glance, this book's table of contents seems puzzling. Despite running to nearly 500 pages, Frank seems to be using fewer than 50 different novels to represent a hundred years of literary evolution — but appearances can be deceptive.
Read More“The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that, and I like the sense of foreboding.”
Quick look: Hard Rain Falling, by Don Carpenter -- Progress report
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that, and I like the sense of foreboding.
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Click on the cover to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
Quick look: Conversations with Third Reich Contemporaries
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
Context is given regarding the manner in which the interviews were conducted, and there is a great deal of nuance regarding the concept of “bystanders” vs “perpetrators”.
Read MoreThe electrophone? The Gecophone?
in Audio, Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
Although I’ve been writing for donkeys’ years, I’ve never written anything for radio.
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Quick look: The many lives of Anne Frank
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The structure of this book is very interesting.
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Quick look: Hard Rain Falling, by Don Carpenter
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: A Town Without Time reviewed
in Bookshelf, Journalism, Reviews
The book includes the obituary writer who can hardly wait for his subjects to drop dead so that he can at last see his work in print.
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Compare and contrast: Pen Names reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two very slightly different reviews of the same book.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: The Library of Ancient Wisdom reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two different reviews of the same book.
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Compare and contrast: Adaptable reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two very slightly different reviews of the same book. The first is the review I sent in to the editor of Teach Secondary magazine. The second is what was actually published.
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Quick looks: The Great Exchange: Making the news in early modern Europe
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The real history of news is not about a chronology of technological inventions.
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Upcoming book reviews June 2025
in Quick looks, Reviews
This is just a very quick heads-up. I’m just about to send off four reviews to Teach Secondary magazine. I will post the reviews here once they’ve been published there (that’s the deal), but here are one-liners to whet your appetite.
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Review: Bookish words and their surprising stories
If, like me, you enjoy reading around a subject, and probing a little deeper than strictly necessary, and you are an avid reader or a determined writer, Bookish Words should appeal to you.
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