“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 ashes of their friend Jack. Yes,…
“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 Haynes explained: Of the hundred-odd shops…
Cinders
Just wanted to share the exciting news that one of my regular readers, Michelle Davidson Argyle (aka Lady Glamis) has just published…
Monday morning inspiration
“We are here to provide for those who are weaker and hungrier, more battered and more crippled than ourselves. That is our…
Paired with Andrea Levy
OK, so Amazon’s algorithms don’t always work too well. But I was pleased to see On the Holloway Road being offered with…