I am pretty sure that all this binge-watching and doom scrolling reduces the number of active brain cells.
Read MoreBook stack with cat -- Terry Freedman
Starting or restarting a reading habit
in How to, News & views
Quick look: A History of the Novel in Britain
in Bookshelf, Research, Quick looks, Reviews
Because Hensher has read so many novels, the reader feels in safe hands.
Read More
Click the here to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
Quick look: G., by John Berger
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The funny thing about reading the first few pages of a book is that the outcome can sometimes be the opposite of what you’d expect.
Read More
Click the here to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
Quick look: About Looking, by John Berger
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
This is a collection of essays or meditations on looking and seeing or, fundamentally, visibility.
Read MoreQuick look: Here is where we meet, by John Berger
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
A strange sort of book, this. A mixture, it seems to me, of fiction and autobiography.
Read More
Click the here to see this book on Amazon (affiliate link)
Review: The Complete C Comics, by Joe Brainard & Bill Kartalopoulos
I have enjoyed reading the C Comics, especially the mock advertisements and the parodies of famous comic book characters like Nancy, Archie and Veronica.
Read MoreQuick look: Celtic Wonder Tales
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
I am not familiar with Irish myths and tales, so this beautiful collection of stories is quite an eye-opener.
Read MoreQuick look: La Brava
in Quick looks, Reviews
Before I read a book properly, especially if it has only just arrived, I like to get its measure. I look it up and down. Are its shoes polished?
Read MoreThe stuff of fiction
. I recently asked three AI programs to review my latest book, which is called The Reconstructed Muse: AI and the Renaissance of Literature.
Read More
Books, by Terry Freedman
Patronising or what? An unintended consequence of wishing to be nice when reviewing books by female authors, Revisited
in News & views, Research
I’ve been reading Phillipa K. Chong’s “Inside the Critics’ Circle”, in which she attempts to discover the process by which books get reviewed. It’s a very interesting read. I haven’t finished it yet, so am not in a position to review it as such, but I was struck by the extract cited here.
Read MoreAn AI experiment in designing a flyer
When I decided that I would like to create a flyer for my forthcoming creative writing courses, and that I would like it to have the look of a zine, it made sense to me to enlist the services of artificial intelligence..
Read MoreNon-constructive writing
in News & views
An article caught my eye recently. Entitled “The sneaky trick for solving problems without answering them”, Jacob Aron describes a mathematical approach to solving a publem without actually doing anything about it. What’s this got to do with creative writing?
Read MoreQuick look: Split Images
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
I’ve just started reading this, and it has me gripped already. I like the fact that it doesn’t mess about: no long-winded descriptions…
Read MoreGetting word-of-mouth referrals
What we might call “natural” word of mouth is one thing — it has served me very well — but can we provide a helping hand?
Read MoreReview: Hard Rain Falling
This is a very compelling book to read, but to describe it as noir fiction is almost an understatement.
Read MoreRandom writerly aphorisms
Fifty aphorisms for writers.
Read MoreThe loneliness of the blogging teacher
in News & views
A post I wrote while suffering from heat exhaustion.
Read MoreQuick look: Howl: Selected Poems by Allen Ginsberg
These poems benefit from being read aloud, even if only to yourself.
Read MoreThe Professional Writer: Negotiating Revisited
Why is negotiating essential for the professional writer?
Read MoreReview: The Wisdom of Charlotte Brontë: Thoughts Gathered from Her Novels -- two reviews in one!
Below you will find two versions of a book review. The first is the one I submitted to the editor of Teach Secondary magazine, while the second is the version he actually published.
Read More