Artists turning into authors – Worst. Person. Ever. by Douglas Coupland
Swapping art forms is tricky I am acutely aware of the fact that having a talent or skill in one lineContinue Reading
Latest Posts
To Kill a Mockingbird goes digital – other classics to follow – world e-book base grows
Last year I wrote about why old books, long-playing records and other non-digital media are gaining value, and why some unlikelyContinue Reading
A “tint of indefinable substance” – Rhino Ranch, by Larry McMurtry
Larry McMurtry knows how to write, that’s for sure. His writing style is perfectly suited to the settings of many ofContinue Reading
Detective fiction detective novel Review of Mysteries and Thrillers Review of new science fiction Review of science fiction
And it all ends with a…hug?! – World of Trouble, by Ben H. Winters
In books I and II of The Last Policeman series, by Ben H. Winters, we met the last policeman inContinue Reading
by MMB
July 30, 2014
Books for Summer road trips – Stories from Iceland, Denmark and Canada’s small towns
Books for Summer road trips This past month I travelled south into the USA, down through Washington State, into Oregon, turningContinue Reading
by MMB
June 27, 2014
No more death by PowerPoint – Prezi HOTSHOT, by Hedwyg van Groenendaal
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
by MMB
June 13, 2014
Famous Men for Father’s Day: An Author, an Astronaut and a dead Absurdist
Manly books about famous men In celebration of Father’s Day coming up, here are some books about men I admire thatContinue Reading
by MMB
May 30, 2014
Corner Gas movie in production – Finally!
Since the Canadian sitcom series Corner Gas ended in 2009, people have been asking why it stopped and when itContinue Reading
by MMB
May 29, 2014
DBC Pierre’s Lights out in Wonderland – Not the Wonderland you’re thinking of
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
by MMB
May 12, 2014
The visual language of painting – Landscape Painting by Mitchell Albala
Update, Jan. 7, 2017 Corrected spelling of “[en] plein air”, French pronunciation: [ɑ̃ plɛn ɛːʁ], which is from the FrenchContinue Reading
by MMB
May 10, 2014
The Comedy of Brent Butt and the Canadian Psyche – Corner Gas
In some countries, comedy is a serious business At the time that I relocated to Canada from South Africa, IContinue Reading
by MMB
May 7, 2014
Current events Discussion of author’s portfolio Non-fiction Published books Review of historical fiction Subjective non-fiction
Have you read People of the Deer? You should, especially now
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 & Countdown City, by Ben H. Winters
The Last Policeman Series To my surprise, I liked both books in “The Last policeman” series rather a lot. IContinue Reading
Comic books Current events Discussion of author’s portfolio Discussion of lyrics Review of classical fiction
Happy birthday William Shakespeare – 450 years on
It’s the 450th anniversary of the birth of William Shakespeare, who is traditionally believed to have been born today, 23Continue Reading
Homage to Hennie Aucamp
South African author, poet, lyricist and playwright Hennie Aucamp died on 20 March 2014, aged 80 years, from a heartContinue Reading
by MMB
April 6, 2014
Easily digestible lessons for modern life – The 100-Year-Old Man and Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk
New spins on old fables The past few years have seen an increase in films and novels that rework andContinue Reading
Milking a franchise – Let Me Off at the Top! by Ron Burgundy
“Ron Burgundy” is of course not the actual author of this book – it was penned by Will Ferrell andContinue Reading
by MMB
March 2, 2014
Umbrella, by Will Self – Writing as avant-garde Jazz
(Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012) You have to be determined to finish Umbrella. It’s 379 pages of text with no line breaks.Continue Reading
by MMB
March 1, 2014
There’s another “Dear Life” out there – Comparing H.E. Bates and Alice Munro
TWO “DEAR LIFE” TITLES The other day, I was rereading one of my favourite short story compilations, My Uncle Silas,Continue Reading
The Pigoons are going to get you – MaddAddam Trilogy by Margaret Atwood
Man Booker Prize winner Margaret Atwood is famous, celebrated, much awarded, and justly so. One comes to expect that everythingContinue Reading
100 Reviews and counting
Margaret Atwood’s MaddAddam Trilogy – coming up – will be the subject of the 100th book review I’ve written inContinue Reading
The astonishing politics of language – Embassytown, by China Miéville
This is a New Weird novel/thriller/sociological discourse (?) about Linguistics in society, or to be more precise – Semiotics – andContinue Reading
And the Mountains Echoed, by Khaled Hosseini
(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, by Vladimir Sorokin
Day of the Oprichnik gave me nightmares – literally. The cover shows a bear, with a dagger and a watchContinue Reading
From book to blog – reversing the publishing process
Book to blog – the Schreuder family history Anyone who has ever written a book and wanted to make itContinue Reading
Best Wishes for the Season – In the words of Breyten Breytenbach
The best way to express my best wishes to my family, friends, followers and fellow book lovers for the newContinue Reading
Mary Poppins, P.L. Travers’ Hard-Hearted Nanny, the topic of new film
Update on this post: Here is an excellent analysis in the New Yorker of P.L. Travers’ youth, development as anContinue Reading
Art Art-themed Fiction Award-winning novel Discussion of current events Modern fiction Review of modern fiction Review of new novel
The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
Update The Goldfinch won the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. Amazon selected the novel as the 2013 Best Book ofContinue Reading
The Grass Was Singing – Goodbye Doris Lessing
Doris Lessing, the Zimbabwean-raised author who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007, died on 17 November 2013. Luckily forContinue Reading
William Shakespeare’s Star Wars – Verily, A New Hope, by Ian Doescher
Skip the poetry, go to the Full review A Review of This Fine Tale, in Blank Verse and A HeroicContinue Reading
Children’s Literature Current events Discussion of author’s portfolio Discussion of genre Review of new book Review of new novel Review of novel
Depicting the minutiae of life – Dear Life, by Alice Munro
– (Penguin Books Canada, 2012) The significant moments in Alice Munro’s latest collection of short stories tend to creep upContinue Reading
Happy birthday Dylan Thomas, you lovely Welshman
Dylan Thomas would’ve been 99 today. Born 27 October 1914, he died 9 November 1953, only 39 years old, muchContinue Reading
The Rosie Project, by Graeme Simsion
Overview I initially liked this novel, written from the point of view of a man who shows quite a fewContinue Reading
Detroit – An American Autopsy, by Charlie LeDuff
An autopsy is an examination to find the cause of death. From the title, you can assume the subject, Detroit,Continue Reading
Enlightenment for biking newbies
Bike Snob – Systematically & Mercilessly Realigning the World of Cycling, by Bike Snob NYC (Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2010)Continue Reading
