The Spinning Heart by Donal Ryan
OK, how good is this opening paragraph? My father still lives back in the road past the weir in the cottage I was reared in. I go there every day to see is he dead and every day he lets…
We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
This is a book of two halves. The first half is set in an unnamed African country that bears more than a passing resemblance to Zimbabwe, and the second half is set in the USA. Narrating both halves is Darling,…
Ebook vs print sales
Interesting snippet in the latest issue of The Author magazine, saying that the growth of ebook sales in the UK was slower in the first half of 2013, and the decline of printed books was not quite so precipitous, although…
Literature and War Readalong: Everything Flows by Vasily Grossman
I’m reviewing this book as part of the Literature and War Readalong hosted by Caroline of the excellent book blog Beauty is a Sleeping Cat. The first thing to say about this book is that it is unfinished. The second…
Choices and consequences: Chasing the King of Hearts by Hanna Krall
This beautiful tale of love and survival in the Holocaust had me hooked from the very first line: She buys shoelaces for a pair of men’s shoes – such a trivial purchase. The last four words suggest, of course, that it…
Untangling Untangling the Web by Aleks Krotoski
Untangling the Web is a timely and detailed account of how the internet is changing us, and what we can do about it. The book makes very good points about the different identities we have online, and also about the…
Reviewer and reviewed
I’ve got a bit behind with my reviewing on this site, but had a book review published today in online literary magazine Review 31. I wrote about a new book on urban explorers called Explore Everything: Place Hacking the City by…
Tyranny and liberation: Birgit Vanderbeke’s The Mussel Feast
There’s a reason why oppressive societies have images of their leader on every wall and statues in every town square. For the tyrant to maintain power, he must be everywhere, or at least give that appearance. In this gripping portrait…
What’s the book you turn to?
Do you have a particular book that you turn to when you’re feeling lost or confused? Something that you’ve read or dipped into dozens of times, and that always makes you feel better? For me, that book is the Tao…