use and abuse

Minding our language

September 19, 2020 in Bad writing, Language, On this day, News & views

Using words correctly is essential. Why?

Mind your language

November 04, 2011 in Language, News & views

Here are a couple of odd uses of language I came across recently. At least, they made me sit up and take notice, and perhaps that was the point.

Latest Book Reviews

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Bookshelf, Bookshops, News & views

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.

Bookshelf, Bookshops, News & views

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.

Bookshelf, Quick looks

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

Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews

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

Bookshelf, Research

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

Bookshelf

Review: The Artist's Journey

Bookshelf

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

Bookshelf

Bookshelf, Events, Reviews

Review of Fantasy: Realms of Imagination

Bookshelf, Events, Reviews

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?

Bookshelf, Reviews

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

Bookshelf, Oulipo

Review of The Girl at the Tram Stop

Bookshelf, Oulipo

On the surface, this would seem to be nothing more or less than an example of performance art presented as literature. However, there is much more to it than that because Johnson has introduced elements of randomisation…

Bookshelf, Oulipo