• Top Three Books of 2022

    My reading rate has picked up again in 2022, and this year I’ve read another mix of non-fiction, novels, and short stories, keeping track of everything through Goodreads as usual. 1st – Winner – Every Summer After by Carley Fortune Every Summer After is the New York Times bestselling debut by Carley Fortune. It’s a “second-chance…

  • Book Review: About Writing: The Authorised Field Guide for Aspiring Authors

    About Writing by Gareth L. Powell. My rating: 5 of 5 stars. In the late noughties, I used to converse on Twitter with a chap called Gareth L. Powell. We were both budding writers back in the day, and I can’t really remember how I met him, but we somehow lost touch during one of…

  • Book Review: Chariots of the Gods?

    Chariots Of The Gods? Was God an Astronaut? by Erich von Däniken. My rating: 4 of 5 stars. I first read Chariots of The Gods when I was twenty, and recall how much I enjoyed it. At the time, I felt it had opened my eyes to some amazing possibilities. I’m a very different person…

  • Book Review: The World of All Creatures Great & Small

    The World of All Creatures Great & Small: Welcome to Skeldale House by All Creatures Great and Small. My rating: 5 of 5 stars. The World of All Creatures Great & Small: Welcome to Skeldale House is my first book of 2022, although technically I started it in 2021 when I received it as a…

  • Top Three Books of 2021

    During 2021, my reading rate has been nowhere near as impressive as it was in 2020. I’m not sure why that is. However, I’ve read a good mix of non-fiction, novels, and short stories, and have continued keeping track of everything through Goodreads, which means I can carry on my now yearly tradition of picking…

  • Book Review: The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook

    The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook: The First Guide To What Really Matters In Life by Ann Barr and Peter York.My rating: 5 of 5 stars. I’ve owned this book for a number of years, and have flicked through it many times, but never properly read it until now. Written by Ann Barr and Peter York,…

  • Book Review: Understanding Artificial Intelligence

    Understanding Artificial Intelligence by Scientific American.My rating: 4 of 5 stars. Understanding Artificial Intelligence is a collection of ten essays first published in Scientific American. The essays are written by different authors, including Marvin Minsky, “the mastermind of artificial intelligence” to whom the final chapter in the book is dedicated. The collection was published in…

  • Book Review: Short Circuit: A Guide to the Art of the Short Story

    Short Circuit: A Guide to the Art of the Short Story.Edited by Vanessa Gebbie.My rating: 4 of 5 stars. The title of this book suggests it’s a guide to the art of the short story. Let me start by pointing out straight away that it’s not the kind of guide that will teach you how…