Book Reviews & Essays on Literature
What is Stephen King known for? Horror Fiction. Suspenseful mysteries. I bought If It Bleeds in the hope that IContinue Reading
This small book, with the tremendously long title printed in gold letters on the cover, is classified as a LiteraryContinue Reading
One of the books I’m reading now is William Shakespeare’s Get Thee…Back to the Future, by Ian Doescher, which isContinue Reading
Here’s news from one of the writers I admire – Jenny Lawson, who made me laugh long and loud atContinue Reading
In this post I continue looking into the subject of factual accuracy in Fiction, and specifically Realistic Fiction and theContinue Reading
This month’s site header (below) is of a painting called The Tooth Extractor, by Dutch artist Theodoor Rombouts (1597–1637), in theContinue Reading
In my review of Richard Morgan’s Altered Carbon, I wrote that season 1 of the TV version of the bookContinue Reading
Writers could encounter two problems specific to their profession: One is finding the right line or the right word, andContinue Reading
I have been preoccupied for the past five months, rewriting my book about my family history, The Hope Chest, andContinue Reading
Reading the screenplay of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs by Joel and Ethan Coen led me to the real artistContinue Reading
One of the enjoyable aspects of reading, is that in the process of sniffing out a particular book or authorContinue Reading
This post from Nick Cave’s Red Hand Files is too good not to share. From: Nick Cave Date: October 22,Continue Reading
A recent comment from an author on one of my book reviews got me thinking. I was pleased at theContinue Reading
On the subject of fictional worlds: I’d like to introduce you to “Rebusfontein”. Rebusfontein (pronounced rhéá-booz-fonteyn) is an Afrikaans name meaningContinue Reading
In the last of this series of posts on Fictional Fiction, I look into those famous authors whose invented booksContinue Reading
In this series of posts, I’m looking into some examples of “fictional fiction”. I’ve already spoiled the fun about books in Dr.Continue Reading
Books associated with characters in a book or a film sometimes look real and are actual published books. But sometimesContinue Reading
In a world filled with loud, angry voices, there’s something to be said for the quiet, thoughtful voice. Nick Cave,Continue Reading
Rhyming is devilishly difficult. It’s a serious head-scratcher, as people who write poems, lyrics and rap well know. If youContinue Reading
In the past few years, I have met quite a few authors, including self-published ones, who began writing late inContinue Reading
When embarking on Greg Hickey’s novel, The Friar’s Lantern, you would be forgiven for thinking you are about to startContinue Reading
Josiah Bancroft is one of those authors who has defined his creative process with care and can explain how heContinue Reading
Killing Commendatore was published in Japanese with the title 騎士団長殺し (Kishidancho Goroshi) in 2017, and the English translation came outContinue Reading
Computer-generated artistic text and images tend to resemble FrankenArt and FrankenFiction. Using machine learning, designers can build software programs thatContinue Reading
The Hod King, Bancroft’s third book in his Books of Babel tetralogy, is an exercise in exquisite torture through cliffhangers.Continue Reading
Here is the fascinating first-hand exposé of how Julian Barnes wrote his first novel, Metroland, and got it published inContinue Reading
In a previous post, I commented on Helena Gunter’s recently published anthology of short stories called Tweespoor (meaning “Double Track”).Continue Reading
