Reviews
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.
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Click the image to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
It is easy to believe that ‘fake news’ is a modern phenomenon, brought about by social media and promulgated by politicians. Yet as the British Library’s event, ‘Breaking the News’ exhibition demonstrates, fake news – or that unforgettable phrase ‘alternative facts’ – have been features of news reporting for at least 500 years.
Read MoreYou 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 MoreI 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 MoreBerkman has written an interesting and very academic examination of the links between maths and literature.
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Bookcase, by Terry Freedman
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
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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Why shouldn’t nonfiction writing be as well-crafted, interesting, even exciting as fiction?
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The life of a freelance writer is one of unreliable remuneration, shifting loyalties and sudden endings, as this book makes abundantly clear.
Read MoreI 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 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
I think a lot about book reviewing, and am continually experimenting with different forms.
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Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash
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 MoreBeing a teenager is not easy.
Read MoreThe book covers language, voice, audience and other aspects of writing.
Read MoreIt's always been my contention that practitioners should know as much about what they do as possible.
Read MoreThis 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.
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.
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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If you have forgotten what bad writing looks like, read on…
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