- Books Review
- 12 views
The worst dialogue in books I’ve read this year
It’s a tricky old thing, dialogue, and has an effect which is much like that of background music in television programmes. Done well, it can lift something out of the ordinary. Done adequately, you barely notice it’s there. But done…
- Books Review
- 13 views
Are best-sellers best avoided?
Last year I read, for the first time, two of the most popular books of all time; Catcher in the Rye and To Kill A Mockingbird. It’s hard to say why I had left it so long to get around…
- Books Review
- 11 views
My books of 2017
These are my books of the year, but none of them have been published this year. Obviously. I haven’t gone out and bought all the latest fiction hardbacks as soon as they hit the shelves. These just happen to have…
- Books Review , Entertainment
- 11 views
The worst uses of music in film and TV adaptations of books
Just as the right choice of music can lift a film adaptation out of the ordinary (Pulp Fiction, Jaws, Trainspotting and The Exorcist are obvious examples), so can a bad choice of song bring a movie to a juddering halt…
- Books Review
- 12 views
Describing the indescribable: The most notable books about the Holocaust
Not the lightest of topics, maybe, but Remembrance Weekend seems as good a time as any to consider the books which most effectively portray the reality of the Holocaust. How do you describe the indescribable, or imagine the unimaginable? Many…
- Books Review
- 12 views
My best and worst books of 2020
Like many people, I imagine, my reading habits changed in 2020. I read more; and I read different types of books. It’s been a year of comfort reading, no doubt, and as the year went on I found myself increasingly…
- Books Review
- 12 views
‘Lockdown’ by Peter May: What it got right and what it got wrong
Back in 2005 Peter May was not an unknown author, having published most of his China thriller series as well as several standalone novels, but he was certainly without the necessary clout for publishers to put into print whatever came…
- Books Review
- 13 views
Martin Amis’s actual best novels
In the numerous pieces published about the death of Martin Amis, a number of contributors felt the understandable need to provide an assessment of his best work. Many of these lists included his essays and criticism; and in terms of…
- Books Review
- 11 views
Hits and misses of 2022
When I look back on my reading in 2022, it strikes me – a little to my surprise – that there aren’t that many books that I absolutely loved. There was plenty of stuff that was engaging, readable, admirable even;…
- Books Review
- 13 views
Martin Amis’s actual best novels
In the numerous pieces published about the death of Martin Amis, a number of contributors felt the understandable need to provide an assessment of his best work. Many of these lists included his essays and criticism; and in terms of…
