You might wonder why I’ve included a review of it at all on this website, given that the target readership of the website is writers, and people thinking about writing.
Read MoreReview: How to Teach Economics to Your Dog
Reviews
Review: Blurb Your Enthusiasm
I was commissioned by Teach Secondary magazine to review this book. I’ve included here both the review I submitted, and the lightly edited version published in the magazine.
Read MoreQuick looks: Oulipo and the Mathematics of Literature
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Oulipo, Reviews
Berkman has written an interesting and very academic examination of the links between maths and literature.
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Bookcase, by Terry Freedman
7 books set in 6 different countries: England, Colombia, France, Germany, Spain, USA
The news a few months ago that Annie Ernaux was going to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature prompted me to think that a round-up of reviews of books by non-English authors, or set in foreign countries, would make quite an interesting article. Some of these have been reviewed here before, but I thought you might enjoy having them all in one place according to a theme. Enjoy!
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Reference books, by Terry Freedman
5 reference works for writers, and 4 kinds of useful works
Specific books, and general categories. Some of these books have been reviewed here before, but I thought it might be useful for people to have all of them in one place.
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Review: Story Craft
Why shouldn’t nonfiction writing be as well-crafted, interesting, even exciting as fiction?
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Review of How to be a writer, by Marcus Berkmann
The life of a freelance writer is one of unreliable remuneration, shifting loyalties and sudden endings, as this book makes abundantly clear.
Read MoreWhat's the point of book reviews?
in News & views, Reviews
I should have thought that part of the purpose of a book review is to tell potential readers whether the book is actually any good or not.
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On this day: Oulipo books
in Bookshelf, Oulipo, On this day, Reviews
On 17 June 2021 I wrote a round-up of my reviews of books about the Oulipo. Here’s a link to that article.
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Image by Megan Rexazin from Pixabay
#FlashbackFriday: Book reviews
in Reviews
I think a lot about book reviewing, and am continually experimenting with different forms.
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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
Ways into advanced literary study: a review
in Reviews
For some years I’ve been considering studying for an MA in English Literature. Thus when this course came to my attention I was very interested in using it as a way of dipping my toes in the waters of academia once again.
Read MoreBook review: A Head Full of Everything: Inspiration for Teenagers With the World on Their Mind
Being a teenager is not easy.
Read MoreReview: Murder Your Darlings
The book covers language, voice, audience and other aspects of writing.
Read MoreReview: A Little Book of Language
It's always been my contention that practitioners should know as much about what they do as possible.
Read MoreReview: How to read like a writer
This is a very interesting, and useful, book. It covers a range of types of writing.
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Click to see this book on Thames and Hudson’s website.
Review of Gothic: An Illustrated History (expanded review)
If watching a film in a cinema makes you wish you’d brought a friend along to walk home with, or reading a story makes you leave all the lights on when you go to bed, then there’s a good chance the film or the story was gothic.
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Click the cover to see this on Thames and Hudson’s website.
Review of Gothic: An Illustrated History -- Education version
in Bookshelf, Reviews, Short form
This review was first published in Teach Secondary magazine. I’ve included it here because it meets some of the requirements of the English Programme of Study.
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On this day: The Greek Myths
in Bookshelf, On this day, Reviews
If you have forgotten what bad writing looks like, read on…
Read MoreReview: The New Penguin Book of American Short Stories
It is also worth bearing in mind that some of the best nonfiction writers, notably Gay Talese, make copious use of the fiction writer's tools.
Read MoreReview: Story Craft
An especially useful idea is the ladder of abstraction, which is equivalent, in cinematic terminology, to the level of detail in a scene, from close-up to long shot.
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