How to read a book a week.
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Bookshelf
Review: The Many Lives of Anne Frank
You could be forgiven for thinking that all that has been said, or needed to be said, about Anne Frank had already been said, given the number of books, articles and even a play that have been written about her. And yet in some ways she has never been more relevant.
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Writer's Block, by Terry Freedman
An interesting way of dealing with writer's block (Revisited)
How did the English comedian Spike Milligan break through writer’s block?
Read MoreReview: Stranger than Fiction
At first glance, this book's table of contents seems puzzling. Despite running to nearly 500 pages, Frank seems to be using fewer than 50 different novels to represent a hundred years of literary evolution — but appearances can be deceptive.
Read More“The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that, and I like the sense of foreboding.”
Quick look: Hard Rain Falling, by Don Carpenter -- Progress report
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that, and I like the sense of foreboding.
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Quick look: Conversations with Third Reich Contemporaries
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
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 MoreThe electrophone? The Gecophone?
in Audio, Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
Although I’ve been writing for donkeys’ years, I’ve never written anything for radio.
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Quick look: The many lives of Anne Frank
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The structure of this book is very interesting.
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Quick look: Hard Rain Falling, by Don Carpenter
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The style is plain and simple, and all the more powerful for that.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: A Town Without Time reviewed
in Bookshelf, Journalism, Reviews
The book includes the obituary writer who can hardly wait for his subjects to drop dead so that he can at last see his work in print.
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Compare and contrast: Pen Names reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two very slightly different reviews of the same book.
Read MoreCompare and contrast: The Library of Ancient Wisdom reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two different reviews of the same book.
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Compare and contrast: Adaptable reviewed
Once again I am presenting you with two very slightly different reviews of the same book. The first is the review I sent in to the editor of Teach Secondary magazine. The second is what was actually published.
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Quick looks: The Great Exchange: Making the news in early modern Europe
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
The real history of news is not about a chronology of technological inventions.
Read MoreQuick look: The Penguin Book of Polish Short Stories
in Bookshelf, Quick looks
The stand-out aspect of this collection for me is the way it has been organised into categories, a brave choice I think.
Read MoreQuick look: The Penguin Book of Bengali Short Stories
in Quick looks, Bookshelf
These stories really provide a short glimpse into a culture of which I am almost completely ignorant.
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Review: Bookish words and their surprising stories
If, like me, you enjoy reading around a subject, and probing a little deeper than strictly necessary, and you are an avid reader or a determined writer, Bookish Words should appeal to you.
Read MoreCompare and contrast #4
In this article, I republish a review of mine that was first published in Teach Secondary magazine. Next, there follows the article I actually sent in. The differences are only minor, but I thought you might find it interesting to examine the differences, and consider what difference they make, if any, to your experience and understanding of the review.
Read MoreCompare and contrast #3
in Bookshelf
In this article, I republish a review of mine that was first published in Teach Secondary magazine. Next, there follows the article I actually sent in. The differences are only minor, but I thought you might find it interesting to examine the differences, and consider what difference they make, if any, to your experience and understanding of the review.
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Compare and contrast #2
Taking the reader from the Middle Ages to more or less the present day, Gray shows how the kind of places we do our shopping in, and what we buy, have changed over the centuries.
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