Inspiring Older Readers
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Charles Dickens by George Orwell posted on 16 Apr 2025
Guest writer, Alun Severn muses on the the thoughts of George Orwell as he reads Dickens
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The first time I’ve read……. Alistair MacLean posted on 06 Apr 2025
I recently resolved to (occasionally) read authors who are astonishingly popular
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Rereading Philip Roth’s Exit Ghost posted on 17 Feb 2025
Guest writer, Alun Severn reassesses Philip Roth's 'Exit Ghost' and suggests this difficult book shouldn't deter admirers of his other later work
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George Orwell writing "Nineteen Eighty-Four" on the island of Jura posted on 20 Jan 2025
The 25th January 2025 marks the 75th anniversary of the death of George Orwell.
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Bad ‘bad books’ posted on 05 Jan 2025
Many people will be familiar with G.K. Chesterton’s notion of a ‘good bad book’ which George Orwell spun into a wonderful essay
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Hilaire Belloc’s Cautionary Tales for Children - that aren’t for children posted on 30 Oct 2024
Hillaire Belloc (1870 – 1953) was a French-English dual national who was by turns a writer, politician, critic, soldier and poet.
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Pope and Dryden – don’t mess with the Mafia posted on 06 Oct 2024
In 1973 I was just entering my second year as an English Literature undergraduate at Bangor University
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The happy accidents of reading: Richard Ford, Saul Bellow, Martin Amis posted on 25 Sep 2024
Guest writer, Alun Severn gives us a privileged glimpse into what has shaped his reading over recent weeks.
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One for the collectors: Ulysses by James Joyce posted on 23 Sep 2024
I’m a huge admirer of James Joyce’s great novel, Ulysses and, because I was long ago incurably bitten by the collectors’ bug, I go out of my way ...
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If you’re going to sign, do it properly posted on 12 Sep 2024
I’m very fond of a signed book - it’s something I’ve written about at some length on this site before.