Notice: Trying to get property 'term_id' of non-object in /var/www/html/themself/wp-content/themes/mesocolumn/lib/templates/headline.php on line 4
Notice: Trying to get property 'name' of non-object in /var/www/html/themself/wp-content/themes/mesocolumn/lib/templates/headline.php on line 5
Archives for March, 2015 - Page 3
Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /var/www/html/themself/wp-content/themes/mesocolumn/lib/functions/theme-functions.php on line 502
RIP Pterry
Terry Pratchett enjoying a Guinness at honorary degree ceremony at Trinity College Dublin. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Like many others I am mourning the passing of a genius from the world. I have been a fan of Terry Pratchett all my adult life and as well as enjoying his works I thought he made a lot of sense when he spoke on other issues, most notably living with his illness and impending death. I cannot think of another author that I have enjoyed so much that was so prolific. For a long period Terry was producing two novels a year, and they were all packed with humour, obscure references and wry observation of human nature. Although ostensibly set in a fantasy environment the books were all about people, they are just packed with social commentary, albeit hidden in an imaginary universe.…
Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /var/www/html/themself/wp-content/themes/mesocolumn/lib/functions/theme-functions.php on line 502
Book Review – Potsdam Station by David Downing
Potsdam Station by David Downing My rating: 4 of 5 stars We're in the final month of Nazi Germany, with John Russell, Effi Koenen and Russell's son Paul all providing points of view for this tale of the final days of the Third Reich. The family is all scattered and trying their best to survive the carnage. There is real tension in this volume as one cannot be sure that any specific characters will survive. Will there be a happy ending, or will there be tragedy. Effi is living undercover in Berlin helping others as she hides herself. The city is being bombed night and day by the Allies, and the landmarks are disappearing with every raid. Her side of the story continues the series trademark description of Berlin and how it is changing. Her character has really developed over…
Notice: Trying to access array offset on value of type bool in /var/www/html/themself/wp-content/themes/mesocolumn/lib/functions/theme-functions.php on line 502
Book Review – Stettin Station by David Downing
Stettin Station by David Downing My rating: 4 of 5 stars In the third of the series the focus widens to also include Effi Koenen, John Russell's film star girlfriend. She's been there in the first two as a strong supporting character, but she really comes into her own in this one. This story starts in the Autumn of 1941 leading up to the entry of the Americans into the war. Having been largely left alone for a couple of years following the outbreak of the war by the Germans and the Soviets Russell has been working as a foreign correspondent for some American papers. On the side he's been doing some investigative reporting on the fate of the Jews he's known. As the entry of the US to the war approaches the journalistic work becomes less worthwhile, only authorised…
Interview Questions
Since I put up my review policy on the blog I've been getting regular contacts suggesting that I review things, but there have also been suggestions that I might do some author interviews or guest posts. Generally I think this is a good idea, so I thought I would come up with some standard questions. Here's what I came up with. Interview questions How long have you been writing for and what made you start writing? Do you write for a living, or do you also do other work? How did you get into being a professional writer, and how much effort did it take to be able to write full time? Were you always good at telling stories, or has it come to you as an adult? Were you good at English in school? What do you read for…
World Book Day 2015
Tomorrow is World Book Day 2015 and in response to a query as part of the World Book Day campaign, I’ve been asked by MVC to tell my personal story of how literature and books changed my life, and what inspired you to start blogging about literature. Early Reading Like most people I've been reading since I was about four years old. I can't be sure when I fell in love with reading, I was very young. Two books stick out though, because they lived in my primary school bag and were re-read until they literally fell apart. The Facts Factory by Gyles Brandreth was a compilation of esoteric statistics and stuff that appealed to the small boy that was me aged about 8. The Silver Sword by Ian Serraillier was the other. It told the story of a Polish boy and his…