Andrew Blackman, literary fiction writer, traveller, book reviewer and essayist

Reading

July 2024 Reading

Will AI destroy us? Why do some novels not quite work despite having all the right ingredients? Can a bad title ruin a good book? These are just some of the questions prompted by my reading this month.

Reading

Review of Eclipse by John Banville

My thoughts on Eclipse, a beautifully written novel by Irish writer John Banville.

Degrowth Communism vs. Climate Capitalism

Can degrowth communism solve the climate crisis by ending the growth obsession and distributing resources more fairly? Or should we put our faith in climate capitalism instead?

Reading

June 2024 Reading Roundup

Can capitalism save the planet? What would a world of dreams be like? How can we start forming better habits? My June reading answered these questions and more.

Reading

Borges Marathon, Part 14: The Lottery in Babylon

How do you explain the effects of random chance? Borges invented an all-powerful Lottery governing all possible events in life to help us think through it.

Reading

The Echoes by Evie Wyld: Review

My review of a beautifully dark and thought-provoking new piece of literary fiction by Evie Wyld, set between a remote Australian outback village haunted by terrible memories and a London…

Thinking

Prevent Prevent

How a system designed to identify potential terrorists is catching innocent people and destroying freedom of speech.

Reading

May 2024 Reading Roundup

Here are the books I read last month, from historical fiction to a futuristic novel and a non-fiction book about a radical solution to climate change. Pretty much everything except the present, then, which is just what I needed right…

Reading

The Future by Naomi Alderman

What kind of future do we want? How would it look if it was based on trust instead of fear? For a novel that starts with the end of the…

Thinking

I’ve forgotten how to blog

How to write a blog post when the world is disintegrating around you.

Reading

Borges Marathon, Part 13: The Circular Ruins

What happens when one man tries to dream another into existence? Jorge Luis Borges imagines this scenario in this thought-provoking story.

Reading

October Reading Roundup

My reading for October 2023 was dominated by the climate crisis and the horrific situation in Gaza.

Reading Australia

A roundup of my reading of Australian literature during a long road trip around the country.

Reading

Best Books I’ve Read So Far This Year

At the halfway point of 2023, here are the highlights of my reading year so far, including a Saudi Arabian novel, a history of Algeria and an Australian masterpiece.

Andrew Blackman

Andrew Blackman

Andrew Blackman