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(Re)building a library

Friday, May 21, 2021

Confessions of a bibliomaniac in the South Atlantic. — For The Critic

Filed in correspondence, Journalism | Also tagged Alan Hollinghurst, Angela Carter, Antarctica, Anthony Burgess, Anthony Farrar-Hockley, Antoine de St Exupéry, Bernard MacLaverty, Bernard Malamud, books, bookshopping, Brendan Whittington-Jones, Charing Cross Rd, charity shops, Charlotte McConaghy, Christopher Hitchens, Covid-19, Damon Runyan, Daniel Defoe, Dave Bentley, Don DeLillo, Flann O'Brien, FOPP, Freya Stark, Gehan de Silva Wijeyeratne, Geoff Dyer, George Melly, Goethe, Google Maps, Gore Vidal, Graham Greene, Graham Swift, Harold Nicolson, Henry Kissinger, Ian Fleming, Jack Grimwood, James Clammer, James Hilton, James Joyce, James Kelman, James Meek, Jared Diamond, Jerome K Jerome, JG Ballard, JG Farrell, Jim Crace, John Julius Norwich, John le Carré, John Steinbeck, Joseph O'Connor, Jules Verne, Kurt Vonnegut, Laurence Sterne, libraries, Maria Stepanova, Michael Blencowe, Milan Kundera, Mordecai Richler, museums, Oxfam, Patricia Highsmith, Penelope Lively, Peter Høeg, Philip Roth, Rabelais, Richard Flanagan, Rupert Everett, Salman Rushdie, Schopenhauer, Seth Burkett, Shalom Auslander, Sri Lanka, The Critic, the Falklands, the Lonely Planet, Thomas Hardy, Thomas Keneally, Thomas Mann, TS Eliot, Umberto Eco, Uruguay, William Faulkner, William Golding, William Thackeray | Comments (0)

Faux Amis? Or, the art of the nonvel

Friday, October 9, 2020

Inside Story: a novel / How to Write By Martin Amis Jonathan Cape £20 . It is traditionally ‘not done’ to review books in terms of what they’re not. And yet: this book is not a novel. It says it is on the front cover; but it isn’t. And Martin Amis makes it clear it’s […]

Filed in Journalism, review | Also tagged 9/11, autobiography, Brexit, Christopher Hitchens, Clive James, criticism, death, Donald Trump, Elizabeth Jane Howard, food, Germany, James Fenton, Jonathan Cape, Kingsley Amis, Martin Amis, Mystic Meg, Nabokov, nonvels, Philip Larkin, pilates, publishing, Robert Conquest, rugby, Salman Rushdie, Saul Bellow, sex, Solzhenitsyn, terrorism, the Gulag, the Holocaust, The New Yorker, The Oldie | Comments (0)

In-line, online, and where to draw the line?

Sunday, October 4, 2020

Notes on Colombo’s books and bookmen in the time of Covid-19. — For The Critic

Filed in correspondence, Journalism | Also tagged alcohol, Aleksandar Hemon, Ashok Ferrey, B&Q, Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, books, bookshops, Buddhism, Ceylon, Ceylon Bible Society, charity, China, Chuck Palahniuk, clothing, Colombo, Colombo Fashion Week, Colombo International Book Fair, construction, Covid-19, Dan Brown, David Duchovny, democracy, Denis Johnson, Donald Trump, Dr Sudath Samaraweera, Dutch Burgher Union, education, Emma Donoghue, Emmanuel Carrere, England, Eventbrite, Facebook, Galle Literary Festival, Harrods, health, hygiene, Iran, James Hadley Chase, Jilly Cooper, Kumar Sangakkara, letters, LIDL, Lt General Shavendra Silva, Malaysia, Michael Chabon, Milo, money, music, Nicholas Mosley, Nixon, Northern Ireland, novels, One Galle Face, Ottawan, Panos Karnezis, rain, religion, Robert Knox, satire, schools, Shangri-La, Shehan Karunatilaka, shopping, Sinhala, snacks, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sri Lankan Exhibition & Conference Centre, Tamil, TASCHEN, taxes, TGI Fridays, The Big Bad Wolf, The Critic, the internet, the Sistine Chapel, Tisara Prakasakayo, TS Eliot, tsunami, VIPs, Waterstone's, weddings, Yudhanjaya Wijeratne | Comments (0)

May Day, May Day…

Monday, May 4, 2020

A lockdown letter from Colombo. — For The Critic

Filed in correspondence, Journalism | Also tagged Argentina, army, beer, children, China, Colombo, coronavirus, cricket, Dominic Hilton, drink, Facebook, food, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, health, letters, lockdown, May Day, Mel Gibson, money, Osama bin Laden, painting, peacocks, quizzes, Sanskrit, shopping, Singapore, Sinhala, socialism, Sri Lanka, swimming, the British, The Critic, UberEats, work | Comments (0)

‘Bad in life, good in the book’

Thursday, September 12, 2019

A Q&A with writer and artist Dan Richards. — For Geographical

Filed in interview, Journalism | Also tagged Alice Oswald, art, Bath, bears, Bob Dylan, climbing, Dan Richards, David Bowie, Denis Johnson, Geographical, Horatio Clare, Iceland, JA Baker, Jan Morris, Joan Didion, Max Porter, mountains, North Korea, Norway, Outward Bound, post, Rebecca Solnit, Richard Brautigan, Royal Geographical Society, Spetses, Svalbard, sæluhús, Ted Hughes, Tim Severin, TS Eliot, writing | Comments (0)

‘your broken heart’

Thursday, February 9, 2017

for Rich Hardcastle y ….you ….y ….Yeah yo ….you ….yo ….You’re you ….You’re ….you ….your your ….You’re ….your ….Yours your[ ] ….Amazon.co.uk ….mum’s ….cruel your b ….ballbag ….b ….bezzies your br ….br ….brothers ….brother your bro ….bro ….brothers ….brother your brok ….brok ….broken ….book your broke ….broken ….broke ….bloke your broken ….broken-down ….broken ….broken-hearted your […]

Filed in Poetry | Also tagged books, brothers, Found poetry, health, mothers, phone poems, Rich Hardcastle, Sony Xperia, The Pikey Laureate | Comments (0)

On the ecstasy of finally getting Sky HD (with the FF, PAUSE, and RW options)

Sunday, December 23, 2012

FRASIER: ‘… and I’ve never felt more alive!’ [30x FF] sponsor’sdeodorantad(tagline=grammaticalerror)Channel4fillerhypsersentimentalfilmofIndianmagic realistnovel(youcantellfromtheColdplay)highstreetdrugstoreposhboyadolescentcomedian/AmazonLacoste mansprayoverpricedforeignchocolatewithpurposefully’cosmopolitan’misspellingmakeupArgos1/2Snickers (JoanCollinsnotMrT)supermarketArgos2/2peopleLovin’somethingVinceVaughanChristmasvehicle/C4plug deodorantagain [PLAY] FRASIER: ‘You can’t imagine the thrill I felt…’

Filed in Non-fictions | Also tagged advertising, Argos, Channel 4, chocolate, Christmas, Coldplay, comedy, cosmetics, Frasier, grammar, India, Joan Collins, Lacoste, Mr T, novels, Sky, Snickers, technology, TV, Vince Vaughan | Comments (0)