German Literature Month readalong – part 1
I am participating in the readalong of Theodore Fontaine’s Effi Briest as part of German Literature Month. Here are my reactions to the first 15 chapters. Questions posed…
“The Problems of Philosophy” by Bertrand Russell
This book is pitched just at the right level for me. I am interested in philosophy, but don’t have enough knowledge of…
The Secret Life of Pronouns, etc…
My Dad sent me an interesting article from New Scientist magazine recently called “The Secret Life of Pronouns”. It’s based on a…
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…
“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,…
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 rival the Man Booker Prize. I…
“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…
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…
“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…