August 2010
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July 2010
3 posts
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June 2010
6 posts
“In reading, friendship is suddenly brought back to its original purity. There is...”
–
Marcel Proust, Days of Reading
(via daysofreading)
This is a great new books blog on Tumblr. Hope they keep it up.
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May 2010
2 posts
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April 2010
5 posts
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March 2010
5 posts
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I really should have learnt from my Time...
The only books that are being turned into films at the moment are either Harry Potter, or schmaltzy shite.
Alice Sebold - The Lovely Bones
I’ve had my copy of The Lovely Bones for over a year, but had been motivated to read it by the film release. I’m always convinced that I’ll somehow absorb the ending by cultural osmosis and have the whole book ruined by listening to some...
February 2010
2 posts
“Secondhand books are wild books, homeless books; they have come together in vast...”
– Virginia Woolf (via awritersruminations) (via unwrittenwords) (via booklover) (via reading-is-fun)
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January 2010
2 posts
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When 'Amazon' isn't a dirty word.
I have spent recent days reflecting upon the myriad of ethical standpoints that one can take when faced with Amazon Marketplace. You can buy second-hand books through them, and it works a bit like an agency for all the book dealers around. You browse on Amazon, you pay Amazon, and then Amazon tell the little old guys in Hay-on-Wye and on Charing Cross Road and, increasingly, in warehouses...
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December 2009
4 posts
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On being rich enough to have problems.
There’s no picture today I’m afraid, partly because my computer’s blown up and I’m in the uni library, and partly because I’ve left my mobile at home so can’t even do some kind of last minute attempt. To be fair though, my copy of This Book Will Save Your Life has the Richard and Judy’s Book Club logo in the corner and it’s not even a peel off...
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November 2009
2 posts
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October 2009
3 posts
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Exploding Helicopters #5
Charles Bukowski - Hollywood
It took me a long time to get into this book because real life has been doing a rather good job of getting in the way. I’m a student again now, so people expect me to read shit containing actual information these days. Bastards.
It was convenient to be reading Hollywood during this transitional time to be honest, because it’s about a guy who’s...
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Hoipolloi theatre company set a rather fine... →
Click on the link to read about a theatre company renovating their workspace and liberating some paperbacks found in a skip in the process. If you’re quick enough, you can help give them good homes.
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Nostalgia = Alzheimer's Prevention #1
While I know there are some unscrupulous and dishonest show-offs in the world, I do try to avoid becoming one of them. Hence, I don’t buy books ‘for show’. I read them and share them and yes, I keep the ones that I love because I’m sure I’ll want to read them again sometime.
However, I have a confession to make. Earlier this week I bought a book that I doubt I...
September 2009
2 posts
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August 2009
6 posts
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Uncorrected Bound Proof (of awesomeness)
Generally speaking, when I discover a new favourite author, I go on a massive binge of their stuff and don’t read anything else for ages. This was the case when I first fell in love with Kurt Vonnegut, but with Ali Smith I’ve been desperately trying to ignore my cravings and ration her books, because there are only a handful of them. She’s done plenty of short story...
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D'you reckon it's pronounced Niff-en-EGG-er or...
There are only so many times you can ignore a book recommendation, especially when something you had dismissed as a schmaltzy romance is recommended by a dude who writes stories about zombies. So, adding Adam Marek to the list of people who had recommended The Time Traveler’s Wife finally tipped me over the edge. Plus, with a film version currently in cinemas, there was limited time left...
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The Unbearable Lightness Of House Clearances
There are, obviously, downsides to putting your grandparents in a care home, but let it never be said that I pass up an opportunity for some freeloading.
Helping Mum clear out their house recently turned up a few little niceties. Neither of my grandparents were big readers, but Grandpa did have his specialist subjects. For instance, if I harboured a great interest in sailing (*ba-dum-tish*) or...
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July 2009
10 posts
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Sometimes things are just not quite pornographic...
Books that have never been officially published in Great Britain are an absolute fucker to get hold of at a decent price.
I know this, because I have spent several months scoping out second-hand copies of Licks Of Love by John Updike, the collection of short stories that also contains his mini-sequel to the Rabbit novels, Rabbit Remembered. I have pined away for Rabbit Angstrom late at...
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When simply wearing a flower in one's hair just...
I am a lucky bastard. It’s true. Unlike most of my previous summers, instead of a few weekends under canvas listening to students singing Gay Bar by Electric Six at 4am, I am going on a real life aeroplane to Burning Man in Nevada, where I plan to frolic naked in midnight dust-storms and take part in a spiritual bonding ceremony with a dude called Firefly.
You think I’m...
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Today's life lesson: there is always somebody...
It’s inevitable that we occasionally make bad choices in life. Sometimes these involve calorie intake, sometimes they are to do with credit cards, or tattoos; other times you wish you hadn’t decided to have sex on a futon without adequate cushioning for the lower vertebrae. Every so often, you might make a bad choice when browsing in a bookshop and buy something featuring dragons...