Category Archives: reviews
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
England is Mine
The Smiths were my era, and while they weren’t one of my favourite bands, they were one of the few pop bands whose music I had time for. So when I heard there was a film about their singer, Steven … Continue reading
Margaret Atwood, The Heart Goes Last – Book Review
The Heart Goes Last is set in an almost contemporary America where the distribution of wealth has become so unequal that large numbers of people are falling out of society. The book follows a couple who, without steady jobs and a … Continue reading
Book Review – The Establishment…
…And how they get away with it. By Owen Jones. This was not an easy book to read; not calming or uplifting. Jones sets out a tale of how, over … Continue reading
Theremin Trap
I don’t intend to write film reviews on a regular basis, but I’ve been inspired to write one now by a film that I saw at the weekend, called ‘Frank’. It’s a dark, funny and very unusual film, which was … Continue reading
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