Category Archives: reviews
Fiction or Non-Fiction?
When we think about reading, most often we have in mind fiction. Novels, short stories or even flash fiction can be entertaining and engrossing, invoke emotion, take us out of ourselves and give our minds a welcome rest from the … Continue reading
Contemporary Fiction Worth Reading…
At last! I believe I may have written previously about my struggle to find contemporary novels that I like. As a youngster my reading was concentrated on novels from the past, mostly early twentieth century, from authors such as E. … Continue reading
Nobel Prize for Literature
Congratulations to Han Kang on winning the Nobel Prize for Literature! Praised ‘for her intense poetic prose that confronts historical trauma and exposes the fragility of human life’, it’s encouraging to know that in these times of equality, no-one need … Continue reading
Mozart – The Rise of a Genius
You know how it is when you start watching the first episode of a TV series, and find it so irritatingly bad you’ve no choice but to stick with it for the full hour? And then watch the rest of … Continue reading
The Satanic Verses – Book Review
I bought this book more out of a sense of duty than anything else – a desire to show support for its author. As I’m sure you’ll all know, shortly after the book was published (1988), Salman Rushdie had a … Continue reading
Book Review – The Reluctant Gay Activist
This is the memoir of the late Terry Sanderson, familiar to me as a leading light in the National Secular Society (NSS), of which I’ve been a member for some years. I never spoke to Terry, but I remember him … Continue reading
Book Review – ‘You Beneath Your Skin’ by Damyanti Biswas
I first came across Damyanti Biswas through her blog Damyanti Writes, which is full of useful information for aspiring authors, mostly in the form of interviews with industry insiders and published authors. I’ve been following this blog for a few … Continue reading
Book Review – Letters From a Lost Uncle
Mervyn Peake has long been one of my favourite authors. So when, late last year, I discovered a book by him that I hadn’t read (or even known about), I was eager to get my hands on a copy. ‘Letters … Continue reading
The Vegetarian – book review
Until now, the few reviews I’ve done on this blog have been of books, and films, that I’ve liked, the rationale being that if you can’t find something good to say, then don’t say anything. I don’t like to be … Continue reading
Charles Bradlaugh: Forgotten Hero?
If you haven’t heard of the Victorian freethinker and rights campaigner Charles Bradlaugh, it’s probably because the establishment have done their best to write him out of history. Bradlaugh was an atheist at a time when atheists were expected to stand … Continue reading
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