A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyse a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook… Continue reading Specialization is for Insects: Heinlein’s Competent Man
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Dead Zone – The Best King?
I’m going to start with a bold statement. This could be the best book King has written. I haven’t made my mind up yet. But it could be the best. The story is a perfectly constructed web of interconnecting stories which come together at the end in a moment of desperation and terror. Our hero,… Continue reading Dead Zone – The Best King?
Ivan the Anarchist
Reading Ivan The Fool by Leo Tolstoy one can’t help but wonder about the broader opinions of Tolstoy himself. Ivan the Fool Ivan The Fool is an interpretation of a traditional Russian folk tale figure. Ivan is the youngest of three brothers (Tolstoy adds a younger sister too), the 2 older brothers pursue ambitions and… Continue reading Ivan the Anarchist
The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The Snows of Kilimanjaro A typical Hemingway work full of nostalgia and grief for a life not lived to its fullest. One assumes nothing was good enough for Hemingway as, by most people’s standards, he lived a very full life. But a great deal of his work is pre-occupied with a sense of a lack… Continue reading The Snows of Kilimanjaro
From Dracula With Love
Bram Stoker’s Dracula has been a favourite book of mine for many years. That it features Whitby, a place I have often visited and accurately visualise in the reading, is a perk in itself. Francis Ford Coppola’s film may be the closest you will get to the book but it does not do full justice… Continue reading From Dracula With Love
It’s the most wonderful time of the year…. Boo!
I love Halloween. I love horror. I love the macabre. And I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you which horror books I think are absolute musts. The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson This book, the recent TV adaptation and the 1963 Robert Wise film are all equally chilling. But the… Continue reading It’s the most wonderful time of the year…. Boo!
I hate Jane Austen
I hate Jane Austen. Like most people I got swept along with the rather excellent 1995 BBC adaptation of Jane Austen ‘s Pride and Prejudice. I loved the humour, dresses and… Darcy. Then something happened. I changed my mind. Maybe I just got older. Maybe studying English at university altered my perspective. Maybe I just… Continue reading I hate Jane Austen
Shakespeare’s Dog
Every Dog Has His Day But Only One Dog In These Plays It is a little-known fact that there is only one dog in all of Shakespeare’s plays. I guess it is not something that people really think about. ‘Dog’ is used many times in Shakespeare’s work to portray one character by another or used for… Continue reading Shakespeare’s Dog
Real Life Asterix Warrior
We all love the Asterix books. Remember Asterix in Britain? Well, the grave of a real-life warrior who may have travelled from Gaul to help fight Caesar in Britain just like Asterix and Obelix has been found. Asterix in Britain Asterix in Britain sees Asterix and Obelix called upon to help an isolated resisting village… Continue reading Real Life Asterix Warrior