Literature Discussions and Book Reviews
Popular TV shows that are based on series of books are often favourite sources for “literary tourism”, but when fansContinue Reading
On principle, I never respond when authors write to me to either complain about or say thank you for myContinue Reading
Icelandic writer Sjón has spent the first half of this year in Lillehammer, Norway, where, on June 2, 2017, heContinue Reading
Update In June 2017 it was announced that the Italian production company Cattleya had picked up the rights for theContinue Reading
The title is a fair indication of what lurks inside the covers of this book. It has been compared toContinue Reading
At the 75th World Science Fiction Conference (Worldcon 75) held in August 2017 in Helsinki, Finland, the bag of goodiesContinue Reading
I think people fall into three categories: 1) those who read the book first, then go see the film ofContinue Reading
You could be tempted to dismiss Roger Moore’s autobiography, My Word Is My Bond, as a bit of a joke,Continue Reading
AI, Artificial Intelligence, is the one element that many SF writers like to work into their stories, particularly robot-human interactions.Continue Reading
On day 2 of Worldcon 75 in Helsinki, I finally got to have a word with one of the “insider”Continue Reading
Day 2 of Worldcon 75 delivered an Academic Track session that was on par, at least in terms of content,Continue Reading
The first Academic Track session on the first day of Worldcon 75 (the 75th World Science Fiction Conference), on theContinue Reading
See me, hear me and walk with me – that’s what many websites try to achieve; in other words, connectContinue Reading
Douglas Coupland, the artist, is terribly famous, not only in Canada. He has won heaps of awards. When I wasContinue Reading
It has been said that many authors seem to be unable to grasp or describe how big outer space is.Continue Reading
Sci-Fi and Fantasy writers often present original concepts in their novels, but Cory Doctorow and Charles Stross not only inventedContinue Reading
You know the colour “octarine”? It’s the colour of magic, visible only to magicians and cats, a sparkly, glowing combinationContinue Reading
If I can use one term to describe All the Birds in the Sky it would be “uneven”: uneven inContinue Reading
The reboot of the TV series Twin Peaks, Twin Peaks: The Return premiered on the 21st of May, to a hugeContinue Reading
This novel is on the shortlist for the 2017 Hugo Awards which will be handed out at Worldcon 75 inContinue Reading
In the previous post I discussed Ūgh and Bõögâr, the creations of Berlin-based Icelandic artist Egill Sæbjörnsson. The two trolls areContinue Reading
Sometimes artists use themes or characters from Mythology, and currently, two artists have done this in Venice, Italy, in exhibitionsContinue Reading
It is very hard to make two different languages rhyme. This struck me again when I was researching the phoneticContinue Reading
Sometimes a novel just flummoxes me. I have tried my best to get to grips with “J” by Howard Jacobson, whichContinue Reading
Update: On Dec. 18, 2017, the New York Times reported that Sheila Nevins is exiting HBO after 38 years. TheContinue Reading
Dum-dah-dah…Another one bites the dust…♬ (Sorry, Queen.) A few months ago I announced that my reviews will be published inContinue Reading
I imagine a woman must’ve sat Kevin Wilson down and explained to him in excruciating detail what pregnancy, childbirth, breast-feeding andContinue Reading
Sometimes you have to admit you don’t know enough to give an opinion. For Appetites – A Cookbook, I askedContinue Reading
I did not like Backman’s previous novel, A Man Called Ove, but was spurred on to buy book no.3, Britt-MarieContinue Reading
This is the first English translation, published in January 2017, of the famous Dutch novel. It is a novel about boredomContinue Reading
Ben H. Winters wrote the acclaimed, award-winning Science Fiction series, The Last Policeman. I called the hero of the series,Continue Reading
ABOUT TROLLS –There is a whole body of memes about trolls. There are cute troll dolls, like in the 2016Continue Reading
Here is the last part in a series of four posts on the subject of fan fiction versus copyright rules.Continue Reading
The court cases continue Update – May 4, 2021 The Hergé Foundation, known in French as Moulinsart, and formerly knownContinue Reading
To continue the discussion on fan fiction versus copyright, here follows the case of the two “Alephs”, one by Jorge Luis BorgesContinue Reading
The Era of the Reboot and Sequel Whenever an author adds a new book on to a successful novel orContinue Reading
Comic artist and illustrator Lucas Levitan’s particular talent is to superimpose his bulbous-nosed cartoon figures onto actual photos he has found, mostlyContinue Reading
This is a stylized, studied novel, about a stylish gentleman, written in elegant style. It has a fin-de-siècle feel to it,Continue Reading
This is the report of my year on GoodReads.com, where I repost short versions of my reviews. Goodreads still hasContinue Reading
Another year has passed on the Seven Circumstances book blog. Here are the site stats, courtesy of WordPress’s StatsMonkeys whoContinue Reading
This important novel about two families of brilliant musicians in China during the “Great Leap Forward” (1958 – 1961), the “Cultural Revolution” (1966 –Continue Reading
Some magazines don’t publish negative reviews because they want to review books that people will buy. The problem with that argument isContinue Reading
To give some background on this peculiar novella, The Last Days of New Paris, consider this: No dedicated Science FictionContinue Reading
Julian Barnes is a writer who does not waste words. While his subjects are often difficult and his novels contain references to specializedContinue Reading
As of this month, I’m going to be contributing book reviews to Fairlady magazine. For those who don’t know, it’s anContinue Reading
This novel, first published 1991, won Ben Okri the Man Booker Prize for Fiction. You might wonder what relevance aContinue Reading
The Heart Goes Last held no surprises for me. Dystopia set somewhere in the future? Check. All doomed to implode due toContinue Reading
Paul Auster has been one of my favourite authors for many years, but not one whose name would come directly toContinue Reading
This is the Information Age and the Social Age. Whether on a tablet, PC, ipad or smart phone, people wadeContinue Reading
Sjón: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the Reader of Sjón. Her current mission: to explore strange new worlds,Continue Reading
There is a lot of tango-ing in this novel, The Gods of Tango, as well as an eyebrow-raising amount ofContinue Reading
While I was reading The High Mountains of Portugal, which I reviewed in my previous post, I was also re-reading The Viceroy of OuidahContinue Reading
Let’s just get one thing out of the way: the title of the book and the setting: First, there areContinue Reading
Not worth the effort, frankly This is part two of the essay about “readability” that I published yesterday. This timeContinue Reading
Hard to read but worthwhile reading Some books are hard to read and hard to finish. It could be becauseContinue Reading
My piano It has been said about inherited upright pianos that they are “1200lb heirloom paperweights”, unless they are keptContinue Reading
The Piano Maker could have been so much less, and in that way, been so much more. I thought that the author,Continue Reading
I have found that truly memorable books have something in common: they make you think. As Science Fiction author Neil Gaiman says of KazuoContinue Reading
Like it says on the title page, this novella, This Census-Taker, is mystery fiction. I could not figure out, evenContinue Reading
I read Jenny Lawson’s first autobiography Let’s Pretend This Never Happened, with a sense of having made a happy discovery,Continue Reading
Murder on an imaginary mountain I wondered, when I read this, how Cecilia Ekbäck came to know Blackåsen Mountain inContinue Reading
Today I added the 153rd author to my list of reviewed authors. Only a few stand out, and here is one:Continue Reading
Two days ago, 19 February 2016, both Umberto Eco and Harper Lee died. Both their names were probably in theContinue Reading
Laura Ingalls Wilder – Pioneer Girl, the Annotated Biography by Pamela Smith Hill, et al I grew up with the LauraContinue Reading
Welcome to Marwencol, by Mark Hogancamp and Chris Shellen Mark Hogancamp is a celebrity – and for good reason. Obscure peopleContinue Reading
For New Year 2016 I engaged my brain to delve into some interesting new non-fiction. These are not obvious choicesContinue Reading
As famous film director Werner Herzog explains in an interview with Stephen Sackur on the BBC’s HARDTalk program on 24thContinue Reading
The WordPress.com stats Helper Monkeys prepared a 2015 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A New York City subwayContinue Reading
This year I’ve read highly forgettable, beautifully written, distressing, hilarious and puzzling books. For me, S., by Doug Dorst and J.J.Continue Reading
For the last in my series of festive season books, the theme is romance and erotica, and I have someContinue Reading
In part 2 of good reads for the festive season, my choice is Island of Wings, by Karin Altenberg, which hasContinue Reading
For the festive season reading list, I’d like to get back to books that can stand up to frequent re-readings.Continue Reading
Today, Remembrance Day, I am remembering – unwillingly – the wars of the country I was born in, South Africa. EuropeansContinue Reading
Let’s pretend this never happened by Jenny Lawson I laughed ’til I cried when I read this book. I reallyContinue Reading
Death is a difficult subject to write about, but particularly when it is not coincidental but core to a book’s theme orContinue Reading
The Swedish crime writer Henning Mankell (born February 3, 1948) died of cancer on 5 October 2015. His most famous creation wasContinue Reading
The fatal problem with poetry: poems Poetry is everywhere. Just when you think poetry is dead, there is rap. IContinue Reading
This novel cannot be discussed without reference to Lee’s first and famous novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. However, as Go SetContinue Reading
The lead character in Hausfrau, “Anna Benz”, must be one of the most disagreeable people I have had the misfortuneContinue Reading
Looking at the pictures of Pluto taken by NASA’s New Horizons space probe reminded me of the excellent novel about the discoveryContinue Reading
A nocturne, as in the title of this novel, is a musical composition that is inspired by, or evocative of,Continue Reading
Inspiration has to come from somewhere To make a short story long: Borrowing or infringing? In 1947, Malcolm Lowry’s novelContinue Reading
Recently, while PBS was airing the documentary The Dust Bowl by Ken Burns, I bought Mary Coin by Marisa Silver. IContinue Reading
The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook Considering the quality and quirkiness of books published by Quirk Books, I was expecting somethingContinue Reading
After Terry Pratchett’s death (my previous post), his daughter Rhianna tweeted from her father’s Twitter account: “AT LAST, SIR TERRY, WE MUSTContinue Reading
Terry Pratchett (Sir Terence David John Pratchett, OBE) died on 12 March 2015. Last week Thursday. He was only 66Continue Reading
In Peter Carey’s new novel, Amnesia, the subtext of press freedom is woven through a plot about hacking, love, eco-terrorism,Continue Reading
Three novels I recently read have a plot in common: an individual’s urge to ferret out the truth, come hellContinue Reading
Eowyn Ivey was raised in Alaska, was educated there, and lives there. Ivey was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize forContinue Reading
Goodreads, bless their little algorithmic socks, let me know this week that I’ve read 14 books this year. Yep, allContinue Reading
Even if you know nothing about Jane Austen, never read one of her novels, and never seen a movie adaptationContinue Reading
Halloween has come to be associated with TV and film horror. Actually Halloween has nothing to do with costumes, cartoonContinue Reading
Death is a difficult subject to write about, but particularly when it is not coincidental but core to a book’s theme orContinue Reading
Despite being 676 pages of dense text accompanied by glowing reviews from major newspapers and magazines, this biographical novel aboutContinue Reading
A Google Doodle for First Day of Autumn I love Autumn – it’s a beautiful season. Today is the firstContinue Reading
Swapping art forms is tricky I am acutely aware of the fact that having a talent or skill in one lineContinue Reading
Last year I wrote about why old books, long-playing records and other non-digital media are gaining value, and why some unlikelyContinue Reading
Larry McMurtry knows how to write, that’s for sure. His writing style is perfectly suited to the settings of many ofContinue Reading
In books I and II of The Last Policeman series, by Ben H. Winters, we met the last policeman inContinue Reading
Books for Summer road trips This past month I travelled south into the USA, down through Washington State, into Oregon,Continue Reading
Here’s a prezi for you – “Prezi HOTSHOT”, by Hedwyg van Groenendaal Everyone who’s up-to-date with apps for business knows ofContinue Reading
Manly books about famous men In celebration of Father’s Day coming up, here are some books about men I admire thatContinue Reading
Ever since the Canadian sitcom series Corner Gas ended in 2009, people have been asking (1) why it stopped andContinue Reading
Vicariously living the drug-addled, suicide-obsessed life of the delinquent first-person narrator, “Gabriel Brockwell”, in DBC Pierre’s Lights Out in Wonderland, wasContinue Reading
Update, Jan. 7, 2017 Corrected spelling of “[en] plein air”, French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ plɛn ɛːʁ], which is from the FrenchContinue Reading
At the time that I relocated to Canada from South Africa, I thought that the situation down in Southern AfricaContinue Reading
Grand old man of Canadian literature dies Just last week I gave my copy of Farley Mowat’s Eastern Passage to a friendContinue Reading
The Last Policeman Series To my surprise, I liked both books in “The Last policeman” series rather a lot. IContinue Reading
It’s the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare, who is traditionally believed to have been born today, 23Continue Reading
South African author, poet, lyricist and playwright Hennie Aucamp died on 20 March 2014, aged 80 years, from a heartContinue Reading
Fables with Fangs Obviously fitting into the genre of Folklore, this collection of cautionary tales, Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modern Bestiary,Continue Reading
This book’s wordy title, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared (“The 100-Year-old-Man” for short) is partContinue Reading
New spins on old fables The past few years have seen an increase in films and novels that rework andContinue Reading
“Ron Burgundy” is of course not the actual author of this book – it was penned by Will Ferrell andContinue Reading
(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012) You have to be determined to finish Umbrella. It’s 379 pages of text with no line breaks.Continue Reading
TWO “DEAR LIFE” TITLES The other day, I was rereading one of my favourite short story compilations, My Uncle Silas,Continue Reading
Man Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood is famous, celebrated, much awarded, and justly so. One comes to expect that everythingContinue Reading
Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy – coming up – will be the subject of the 100th book review I’ve written inContinue Reading
This is a New Weird novel/thriller/sociological discourse (?) about Linguistics in society, or to be more precise – Semiotics – andContinue Reading
(Penguin Group, 2013) Introduction Khaled Hosseini’s latest novel has made me cry and made me miss my family. I knew,Continue Reading
Day of the Oprichnik gave me nightmares – literally. The cover shows a bear, with a dagger and a watchContinue Reading
The best way to express my best wishes to my family, friends, followers and fellow book lovers for the newContinue Reading
Update on this post: Here is an excellent analysis in the New Yorker of P.L. Travers’ youth, development as anContinue Reading
Update The Goldfinch won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Amazon selected the novel as the 2013 Best Book ofContinue Reading
Doris Lessing, the Zimbabwean-raised author who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007, died on 17 November 2013. Luckily forContinue Reading
Skip the poetry, go to the Full review A Review of This Fine Tale, in Blank Verse and A HeroicContinue Reading
– (Penguin Books Canada, 2012) The significant moments in Alice Munro’s latest collection of short stories tend to creep upContinue Reading
Dylan Thomas would’ve been 99 today. Born 27 October 1914, he died 9 November 1953, only 39 years old, muchContinue Reading
Overview I initially liked this novel, written from the point of view of a man who shows quite a fewContinue Reading
An autopsy is an examination to find the cause of death. From the title, you can assume the subject, Detroit,Continue Reading
Bike Snob – Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling, by Bike Snob NYC (Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2010)Continue Reading
SEVEN CIRCUMSTANCES