Quick looks
In this post I preview two books which you may be interested in. One is a series of autobiograohical stories, beautifully written, while the other comprises six writers explaining why they did what they did in their short story included in the book.
Read More“The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that, and I like the sense of foreboding.”
The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that, and I like the sense of foreboding.
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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 MoreAlthough I’ve been writing for donkeys’ years, I’ve never written anything for radio.
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The structure of this book is very interesting.
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The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that.
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The real history of news is not about a chronology of technological inventions.
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The stand-out aspect of this collection for me is the way it has been organised into categories, a brave choice I think.
Read MoreThese stories really provide a short glimpse into a culture of which I am almost completely ignorant.
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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.
Read MoreOne of the things I think can add to one’s enjoyment and also improve one’s writing is to read stories from other cultures.
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This article is an excerpt from a longer one that appeared on my Eclecticism newsletter.
Read MoreI’ve been sent the following books by publishers, and will review them in due course. Here is some information about them.
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Here are a few of the books I’ve been sent for review recently, covering AI, maps, time travel and language.
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My Jane Austen collection
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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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).
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Here are a couple of suggestions for your reading pleasure. They are not Christmas books, but big hefty tomes that need a bit of time to wade into.
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Back in April 2023 I reviewed The Writer’s Journey, and this is a companion volume by the same author.
Read MoreI recently received this book, and I’m enjoying it very much. It looks at the (usually hidden) existence of maths in literary works.
Read MoreThis is packed with useful information. I’m especially looking forward to reading the the sections called How to Show Instead of Tell, and Using the Techniques of Fiction to Enhance Nonfiction.
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