“The Pesthouse” by Jim Crace
Poor Jim Crace. Almost every review I’ve read of this book compares it to Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and I’m going to do the same. I can’t help…
Books vs. nuclear submarines
I paid a visit to the excellent Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green recently. The owners put out an appeal to everyone…
“Long Time, No See” by Dermot Healy
Have you ever read a book all the way through and felt that you missed something really big? You get that unsettling…
“Edgelands” event at the London Review Bookshop
Went to an interesting event this evening at the London Review Bookshop: Paul Farley and Michael Symmons Roberts reading from their new…
“Brick Lane” by Monica Ali
Not sure what to write about this. I enjoyed the story and it was well-written, but to me nothing special. Hated the…
“About Canada: Animal Rights” by John Sorenson
Despite the title, this is not really a book about Canada. It is Canada-focused, but it is more of a general introduction to animal rights. That was good…
“Next World Novella” by Matthias Politycki
I finished this 138-page novella in one evening and thoroughly enjoyed it. The book opens with Hinrich Schepp discovering the dead body…
“Chocolate Nations” by Orla Ryan
This is a comprehensive view of the chocolate industry, following the chain from African farmers to European consumers and explaining exactly why…
Living like it’s 1972
Read an interesting article by George Marshall in the New Internationalist recently about cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80%, a seemingly impossible…