Literary events Congratulations, Julian Barnes! So he won his Booker after all, the man who’s been shortlisted three times but never won before, and who once famously referred to the prize as “posh…
Reading “C” by Tom McCarthy Well, that was a bit different. Don’t come to this book expecting plot, character development or anything like that. The main character,…
Literary events New Booker rival announced I was interested to see today that a new Literature Prize is being established, possibly from next year, with the intention to…
Reading “Half Blood Blues” by Esi Edugyan This book has it all: a compelling story, a great setting (black jazz musicians in Nazi Germany and occupied Paris), lyrical prose…
Thinking Guardian feature on independent bookshops I’ve lamented the decline of independent bookshops on this site in the past, so was pleased to see a Guardian special section…
Reading “The Flanders Road” by Claude Simon Not an easy read, this. The style is experimental, with prose that mimics the way we think rather than the way we’d normally tell a story. So there’s…
Living Giveaway! I haven’t done much writing this week. I’ve been helping my wife launch her new photography website, fotodisiac. I have learned more…
Reading “Social Ecology and Communalism” by Murray Bookchin This book is a good, short introduction to the ideas of Murray Bookchin. He draws on anarchist and socialist thought to come…
Thinking 10 hours to live – please act now! Troy Davis is almost certainly innocent, but he is still scheduled to be executed at 7pm EST today (midnight UK time). There…