“Incendiary” by Chris Cleave
A well-written, poignant look at terrorism, both cause and effect. [Warning: spoilers further down, don’t read on if you don’t want to know the ending] The effect comes…
“Making Inroads” by the Rowan Arts Project
I really enjoyed this free book put together by the Rowan Arts Project. It’s a series of interviews with people who live…
Coal funding hits record high
Was astonished by a recent snippet from Christian Aid: Christian Aid has criticised a record high of US$4.4 billion in World Bank…
Congratulations Sophie Duffy!
It was wonderful the other night to see the Luke Bitmead Bursary awarded for a third year, this time to Sophie Duffy…
“The Buddha of Suburbia” by Hanif Kureishi
I grew up in Beckenham, the exact part of London suburbia in which this novel is set. To my knowledge it’s the…
“Lux the Poet” by Martin Millar
I thought I would like this book more than I did. It’s a comedy set in the Brixton Riots of the early 1980s, set around the adventures of…
RIP Prospero
I learned recently of the demise of Prospero’s Books, my local independent bookshop in Crouch End. It made me very sad –…
Learning from the French
Moving from journalism into fiction writing, it sometimes feels as if I have gone from one dying industry straight to another. All…
My non-review of the best books of 2010
So all the newspapers have been publishing their end-of-year roundups. Some even started back in November. Here’s why I won’t be doing…