“On Writing” by Stephen King
This is a book of two halves: part memoir, part writing advice. When I first read it, about ten years ago, I think I was so desperate for…
“Allah’s Garden” by Thomas Hollowell
This is an interesting book about a conflict that has been going for decades and yet rarely grabs the headlines. When Western…
Monday morning inspiration
“The writer operates at a peculiar crossroads where time and place and eternity somehow meet. His problem is to find that location.”…
“Last Orders” by Graham Swift
In a way, the plot of Last Orders is very simple: a group of friends drive to the coast to scatter the…
“The Porcupine” by Julian Barnes
What I liked about this book was the complexity of its characters. It tells the story of a former Communist dictator being…
Monday morning inspiration
“I only write when I feel the inspiration. Fortunately, inspiration strikes at 10:00 o’clock every day.” —William Faulkner
BP, rebranded
Greenpeace recently held a competition to design a more appropriate logo for BP, a company responsible for massive environmental destruction. I like…
More rumours…
Following on from my last post, I was amazed to hear that bookshop behemoth Barnes & Noble is now up for sale.…
Rumours of the death of bookshops
I got depressed about bookshops recently. A great little London literary magazine, Smoke, has just published its last issue. The editor/founder Matt…