- Books Review
- 16 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
- 15 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
- 15 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
- 15 views
I like writing about books, so why do I find it so hard to remember them?
I’m often asked (by my wife, roughly once a week) why I need to keep books that I have already read, and why the bookshelves can’t be cleared to make way for more useful items such as knick-knacks, assorted pens,…
- Books Review
- 17 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
- 16 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
- 16 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
- 16 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
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
- 15 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…