Let’s talk about Reading…
Book-hunting (The USA in 50 Books, Part 2)
It’s one thing to say that there’s a book you want to read; it’s another thing to find it. I’ve written about my current big reading project, reading a book for every state of the USA. I’m currently halfway through book #45 of this (Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk, representing Delaware, thanks for asking.) The…
The USA in 50 Books
I’ve just left Ohio, and I’m about to enter Delaware. After that, I head into West Virginia and South Carolina, then pass through Tennessee and Connecticut on my way to Idaho. Those of you familiar with the geography of the United States might be wondering what on earth’s wrong with my map. None of those…
The Regent Book Sale
James McNeish’s Lovelock, the fictionalised biography of the great 1500m runner from the 1936 Berlin Olympics, is quite possibly the best sports novel I’ve read. Maybe that sounds like damning with faint praise! How many great sports novels have there been? Chad Harbach’s The Art of Fielding was pretty good, Hunter Davies has written a…
How To Change Your Life
We live in a world filled with many amazing technologies. They let us travel with incredible swiftness. They let us talk to people at a distance, find out information or look at cat pictures. They let us limit the effects of a deadly virus. What if there were other technologies in our world that enabled…
Still Life, by Sarah Winman
If I could choose one other city in the world to live in, it would be Florence. The art, the architecture, the food, the wine. It’s a beautiful city, passionately loved by many, many people. Such as the characters in Sarah Winman’s new novel, Still Life. A quick spoiler-free summary of the plot before I…
This Book Is Hard To Read!
Let’s own up. After all, it happens to everyone. Sometimes you start reading a book and it just feels like hard work. And when there’s a million really good books in the world (at last count) it seems like the best idea is to toss (gently!) that hard book aside and pick up something that’s…
In Praise of Community Book Sales
There are so many things that have been put on hold because of Covid and the national and international responses to it. Travel, obviously – including a special trip my wife and I had booked. There were gatherings that had to be called off or postponed – from religious services to sports games, not to…
How To Write A Book
Last month I launched my first novel, Buy me Love. I’ve had lots of wonderful feedback, with many people telling me (unprompted!) how much they’ve enjoyed it. But I keep getting one question that I wasn’t expecting: “How long did it take you to write it?” I bet there’s many different reasons for asking this…
My Summer Reading
Apologies to people reading this in the northern hemisphere, but we’re still basking in summer down in our half of the planet. And amongst the festivities and family gatherings, the sunshine, the holidays and the barbecues, there’s been plenty of time for reading. Here’s a look at some of the books I’ve been reading this…
Squeeze Me, by Carl Hiaasen
I’m a fan of Carl Hiaasen’s books. He’s the world expert on the crime comedy genre: fast, energetic stories filled with sharp humour, engaging characters and good guys triumphing, always set in his beloved Florida. His latest book, Squeeze Me, has all the above ingredients, and it rips along in his regular fashion, as a…
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Brook and the Book 