Category: Book

Finding the #Write #Words? No. 33: The Oxford Manual of Style

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Grammar, Reading, Review, Word Choice

Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 33: The Oxford Manual of Style Paperback, 1033 pages. Published in 2002 by Oxford University Press, this is the edition I own. I bought it as part of a bundle offered by a book club, so …

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Love Your Fear, by Joel Schueler: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, ME/CFS, Reading, Review

I came across Joel Schueler via a post on LinkedIn. From that, I went to look at his work on Amazon and discovered ‘Love Your Fear’. As usual, I used their useful ‘Look Inside’ feature to gain an insight into the style and content. I suffered ME/CFS for ten years and, although now rid of …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 30: The Last Word

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Grammar, Reading, Review, Word Choice

Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 30: The Last Word. Hardback, 312 pages. Published in 2009 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc. This is the edition I own and I can’t recall what I paid for it, because it was one of a bundle …

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Finding the #Write #Words? Post 29: The Grouchy Grammarian

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Grammar, Reading, Review, Word Choice2 Comments

Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 29: The Grouchy Grammarian Paperback, 186 pages. Published in 2003 by BCA. This is the edition I own and appears to be the current one. You can buy it new in paperback for £9.95, Used from …

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Dust & Lightning, by Rebecca Crunden: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review6 Comments

124 pages Dystopian Science Fiction This science fiction novella is listed under the ‘dystopian’ tag. However, it contains the currently essential ingredient, hope, so leaves the reader in an uplifted mood after a journey through some pretty dire times. It’s a well-written piece, with very few editing needs. Most importantly (to me, anyway) it’s easy …

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Want to Support Our Great NHS Workers?

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, charity, Creative Writer, Fiction, Fundraising

We’re all (well, most of us, anyway) stuck at home and looking for something to pass the time in a worthwhile manner. My publisher, Fantastic Books Publishing, always gives 10% of profits to charities nominated by the authors. In this rather unusual time, he’s decided to donate funds instead to the NHS Charities Together, an …

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Revenge of the Elders of Zion, by Dan Zofer: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review2 Comments

312 pages Dark comedy-thriller. This book is listed as a dark comedy thriller. I agree with the darkness and thriller aspects, but the comedy escaped me. I was, however, engaged by the characters, the romance, and the story, regardless of its plot holes and occasional slips into the ludicrous. Perhaps it was that part that …

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Overstrike, by CM Angus: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Reading, Review2 Comments

373 pages Time Travel/Science Fiction/Alternative History Thoughtful, engaging science fiction with a real handle on a scientific topic is less common than might be expected, bearing in mind the name of the genre. But Overstrike is a great example of how it can be done well. Looking at themes of free will and ethics, and …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 25: Shorter Oxford English Dictionary.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Grammar, Reading, Review, Word Choice6 Comments

Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 25: Shorter Oxford English Dictionary (2 Volumes): Hardback, 3,743 pages, plus the preface, an eighteen age article ‘A brief history of English’, a twelve page ‘Guide to the use of the dictionary’, two pages of ‘Abbreviations’, …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 24: Roget’s Thesaurus.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Grammar, Reading, Review, Word Choice4 Comments

Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 24: Roget’s Thesaurus of English words and phrases (the original): Hardback, 1254 pages, including 613 pages of ‘index’. First published in 1852 by Peter Mark Roget. Mine is the 1987 new edition published by The Bath …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 23: Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Grammar, Literature, Reading, Review, Word Choice2 Comments

Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 23: Oxford Dictionary of Current Idiomatic English. subtitled Volume 1: Verbs with Prepositions and Particles: Hardback, 396 pages, including 2 indices. First published in 1975 by Oxford University Press. Mine is the 1984 sixth impression. I …

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The Poop Diaries, by Abby Ross: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Reading, Review

237 pages Nonfiction This book is about plumbers and their experiences in the world of pipes, sewers, toilets, poo, and everything that impacts on their lives in that role. I’ll try to avoid scatological humour in this review, but I’m not promising anything! If you’ve ever had to invite or beg a plumber to unblock …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 22: Oxford Compact Thesaurus

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Grammar, Reading, Review, Word Choice

Continuing the description of books on words and language listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 22: Oxford Compact Thesaurus: Hardback, 967 pages. First published in 1997 by Oxford University Press. Mine is the 2001 second edition. I paid nothing for it; it was part of a free promotional offer from an …

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Creativity Interrupted

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Photography, Progress15 Comments

The Hut in the Woods. It happens to us all from time to time: something (often, more than one thing) comes along to distract or prevent us from doing our creative work. For many, judging by comments from blog posts, tweets, and on Facebook, that interruption of the creative flow can be physically as well …

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Somebody Else’s Troubles, by J.A. English: #BookReview.

On By stuartakenIn Author, Book, Creative Writer, Fiction, Literature, politics, Reading, Review

389 Pages Literary Fiction. All serious works of fiction should carry at least one underlying message. Some manage this with such subtlety it barely makes a conscious impression on those not seeking it, others blare it out loudly, covering their story with a condescending layer of preaching. Many lie somewhere in between; a reasonable balance …

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