We live in times (2008-2015 >) of swingeing public sector cuts. Town hall chiefs are forced by central government to bring the hatchet down on local government spending. Public libraries have taken a hammering the length and breadth of Britain, a trend carefully documented in a blog by Ian Anstice available here http://www.publiclibrariesnews.com/. The nostalgic whimpering of politicians, […]
Public library and other stories Read More »
Religion is an extremely complex social and cultural phenomenon. No simple definition can capture its manifold nature. Rich, simple, consoling, disturbing, unifying, divisive, colourful, austere, prayerful, practical, doctrinal, mystical, peaceful, militaristic, solitary, communitarian, supernatural, worldly. It has all of these (often contradictory) aspects. The very briefest attempt to get a conceptual handle on the phenomenon can be found at this link http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/philosophy-religion/.
The World’s Religions by Ninian Smart Read More »
Larry McMurtry (born June 3, 1936) is an American novelist, essayist, bookseller and screenwriter whose work is predominantly set in either the old West or in contemporary Texas. His novels include Horseman, Pass By (1962), The Last Picture Show (1966) and Terms of Endearment (1975), which were adapted into films earning 26 Academy Award nominations. This
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty Read More »
Tess Gerritsen (http://www.tessgerritsen.com/) wrote 9 romance novels between 1987-1996, and her latest thriller this year could have been the title of one of those. It is Playing with Fire (2015). You know, some people would prefer to think that the past has ceased to exist. They are wrong. It interpenetrates with the present and future in ways
Marilynne Robinson (born November 26, 1943, http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/05/magazine/the-revelations-of-marilynne-robinson.html?_r=0 ) is an American novelist and essayist. She has received several awards including the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2005 and the 2012 National Humanities Medal. One high profile admirer is Barack Obama. If ever there was a time when we should heed the voices of wisdom and compassion
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There was a day and age when a nine year old girl was not permanently fixated upon her smartphone. This was a time when you could be separated from the gizmo for more than five minutes without plunging into the severe anxiety which is now being reported (http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/05/14/nomophobia-smartphone-separation-anxiety_n_7282008.html). Such an age was the Second World
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Read More »
Nigella Lawson has embarked on another of her celebrity cook series on television this season at the end of 2015 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/programmes/b06nvzkg). Her opening remarks in the first episode of ‘Simply Nigella’ gushed to the effect that life is worth celebrating in every single meal that one prepares. It’s as easy as popping round to your local
The Debt to Pleasure by John Lanchester Read More »
Nan (Anna) Shepherd (11 February 1893 – 23 February 1981, http://www.slainte.org.uk/CILIPS/publications/scotauth/shephdsw.htm) was a Scottish novelist and poet who was born and lived most of her life in the Aberdeenshire village of West Cults. She became an early Scottish Modernist writer, producing three stand alone novels set in small, fictional, communities in the north of Scotland. The Scottish
The Living Mountain Read More »
John Grisham (http://www.johngrisham.co.uk/) has sold more than 275 million copies of his thriller fiction worldwide since 1989, and has been translated into 42 languages. He’s obviously struck on a winning formula. If you’ve never tried his entertaining witty style which drives forward a fast paced gritty narrative, how about giving the latest, Rogue Lawyer, a go?
