The Book at War is a fascinating study of how books and other reading matter have variously influenced politics, propaganda and history over time.
Read MoreLibraries and readers in an age of conflict (book review)
Bookshelf
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Review: The Artist's Journey
in Bookshelf
Elborough’s central premise is that artists’ travels have always influenced their art – albeit more obviously in some cases than others.
Read MoreReview of Fantasy: Realms of Imagination
The shelves in libraries or bookshops labelled Science Fiction and Fantasy interest me only for the former, not the latter. Games like Dungeons and Dragons have never appealed to me, and much as I like maps and strange lands, the works of Tolkien leave me cold.
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Review: The Notebook: A History of Thinking on Paper
Who would have thought that a material as commonplace as paper could have such a rich history and profound effect on our lives?
Read MoreReview: Once upon a prime
As someone who had little in the way of mathematical prowess at school, I initially opened Prime with some trepidation.
Read MoreReview of The Girl at the Tram Stop
On the surface, this would seem to be nothing more or less than an example of performance art presented as literature. However, there is much more to it than that because Johnson has introduced elements of randomisation…
Read MoreReview: Solutions for Writers
Just about every sentence contains a gem of advice. For example, Stein writes…
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Christmas reading
in Bookshelf, Quick looks
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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Quick look: The Artist's Journey
in Bookshelf, Quick looks
Back in April 2023 I reviewed The Writer’s Journey, and this is a companion volume by the same author.
Read MoreReview: How words get good
This title charts what we might call the journey of a book, from the earliest shape of a story, through to cover design and blurb writing
Read MoreReview: A Little History of Music
A broad sweep like this will inevitably overlook some aspects, and the lightness of tone might not appeal to academics – but…
Read MoreReview: The Notebook
I love the subtitle: A history of thinking on paper (my emphasis). I do think there’s much to be said for writing on paper, and there is no paucity of research showing the benefits of analogue over the digital approach.
Read MoreSentence models for creative writing -- full review
Perhaps I’m judging by my own standards here, but I think a big mistake you could make with this book is to try to ‘get into it’. You can’t, because it hasn’t really been designed to be readable as such. It’s more of a source of reference material and ideas.
Read MoreQuick look: Retroland, by Peter Kemp
in Bookshelf, Quick looks, Reviews
This book arrived recently, and I’m very much enjoying reading it. It’s a kind of guided tour or survey of the types of fiction that have appeared in the last fifty years (mainly).
Read MoreReview: Sentence models for creative writing By Christopher Youles
Most books on creative writing tend to be less technical, at least in appearance, than ‘Sentence models’.
Read MoreReview: The Written World and the Unwritten World: Collected Non-fiction, by Italo Calvino
Some of the essay topics may be a little dated – the failure of the Italian novel being one – but such is the clarity and variety of his work that the actual subject matter starts to feel immaterial.
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Three collections of Oulipo writing: which is best for you?
in Bookshelf, Oulipo, Oulipo book
Three reviews in one article, plus a couple of news announcements.
Read MoreMy 6 word review of Lolita, plus commentary, updated with comments
Why I can’t read Lolita, but am reading Nabokov’s short stories.
Read MoreReview: The Writer's Journey
Where do authors’ ideas come from? Even Stephen King finds that a difficult question to answer. One possible answer might be ‘Everything they see on their travels’, because as Roland Barthes once suggested, writers are never truly on holiday…
Read MoreReview of Old Truths and New Clichés
It is bordering on the preposterous to think that a writer best known for his fiction, and who died nearly thirty years ago, has anything relevant to say to us today.
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