I'll Have…

I’ll Have… Artichoke asparagus and aubergine addled by aspicBeetroot boiled beef bones and beans bathed in bloodCabbage cauliflower chips and creamed cress chopped and coddledDoughnuts dates duck and devilled ham drenched in dillEgg enchiladas Edam cheese and eggplant eased under EmmentalFish faggots felafel full-flavoured and fragrant filled with figsGruyere Goat ghee groundnuts guacamole grilled for …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 15: Fowler’s Modern English Usage

Continuing the description of books on words listed in the introductory post, which you’ll find here. Book 15. Fowler’s Modern English Usage, subtitled, A Dictionary of Modern English Usage: Hardback, 725 pages, plus 20 blanks for notes. It was published by Oxford University Press in 1926; my version is the second edition, reprinted with corrections …

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5 Questions About the #Climate.

We live in a beautiful world. Yes, I know. You’ve heard it all before. Or, you haven’t and don’t care. Or, the whole idea terrifies you and you’d rather not know. But this isn’t a piece to frighten, bamboozle or preach. Looking at the news; hearing, watching, and reading items about what has now popularly …

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Falling Into Crime, by Penny Grubb: #BookReview.

798 pages Thrillers/Private Investigator Mysteries/Murder Fiction This collection of crime novels puts together the first three books in the Annie Raymond series: Like False Money, The Doll Makers, and The Jawbone Gang. For those unfamiliar with the writing of Penny Grubb, I will simply say, ‘You’re missing out on some very good crime writing.’ Having …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 14: English Prepositional Idioms

Continuing the description of books on words in post 1 list, which you’ll find here. Book 14 English Prepositional Idioms: Paperback, 562 pages. It was published by MacMillan Press Ltd in 1967 (yes, really!); my version is the reprint edition from 1978 and I bought it from a second-hand bookseller for £2.50, probably around 1984. …

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What If?, by Randall Munroe: #BookReview.

304 pages Comic Strips/Physical Chemistry/Web Graphics and Animation Subtitled ‘Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions’, this book is as entertaining as it is informative. The author is at pains to inform readers that, although he has a degree in physics, he works as the owner/creator of a webcomic, XKCD, he also warns that he …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 13 Eats, Shoots and Leaves

Continuing the description of books on words in post 1 list, which you’ll find here. Book 13: Eats, Shoots and Leaves: Hardback, 209 pages, including a bibliography. It was published by Profile Books in 2003; my version is that edition and I bought it then for £9.99. You can obtain a used copy for around …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 12 Divided by a Common Language

Continuing the description of books on words in the list from post 1, which you’ll find here. Book 12: Divided by a Common Language Paperback, 248 pages, including an index. It was published by Mayflower Press in 1997; my version is the edition published by Houghton Mifflin Books in 2007, and I bought it for …

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Creative #Writing #Contests Table Updated

The 1st of the month is when I remind everyone that the creative writing contest table has been updated. I’m a day late this time, but, hey, yesterday was a holiday and I had other things to do. You access the table through the ‘Resources’ page, here. Many contests are free to enter and offer …

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Bridport Prize Anthology 2019, by: The Bridport Prize #BookReview.

164 pages Literary/Contemporary Fiction/Poetry Anthologies This anthology contains the prize-winning entries into the 2019 contest run by this prestigious organisation. There are judge’s reports on the entries for Poetry, Short Story and Flash Fiction. The book showcases those pieces of work that won the major prizes or were highly commended. So, there are thirteen poems, …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 11 Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary

Continuing the description of books on words in the list from post 1, which you’ll find here. Book 11: Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary Paperback, 560 pages, including a comprehensive index. It was published by Checkmark Books in 1992; my version is the Second Edition, published 2000, and I don’t recall what I paid for it. …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 10 Current English Usage

Continuing the description of books on words in the list from post 1, which you’ll find here. Book 10: Current English Usage by Frederick T. Wood Paperback, 304 pages, including one appendix giving the plurals of common foreign, and some English, words. It was published by the Macmillan Press Ltd in 1962; my version is …

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The Star Protocol, by the Marett Brothers: #BookReview.

318 pages Science Fiction Adventure/Military Science Fiction As flagged by the sub-genres in which this book is listed, it’s a science fiction tale full of action, much of which is military in tone. But it’s also a lot more than that. The story combines ancient history, via an archaeologist and his daughter, with the idea …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 9 Collins English Dictionary

Continuing the description of books on words in the list from post 1, which you’ll find here. Book 9: Collins English Dictionary On with the info. Hardback, 1786 pages, including four appendices; Weights and Measures, Chemical Elements, The Plant Kingdom, and The Animal Kingdom. It was published by HarperCollins in 1979; my version is the …

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Finding the #Write #Words? No. 8 Bryson’s Dictionary for Writers and Editors.

Continuing the description of books on words in the list from post 1, which you’ll find here. Book 8: Bryson’s Dictionary for Writers and Editors On with the info. Hardback, 454 pages, including eight appendices covering topics from “Words ending in ‘able’ and ‘ible’” to “Numerals,” via “Metric prefixes” and “Main units of currency”. It …

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