
Books - book reviews and events
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Books & PoetryCoffee Club
Fri 12th Mar 2010, Farsley Library
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Book Review Reality Hunger
by David Shields
Marketed as a pseudo-philosophical ‘incendiary call to arms for new literature’, when it’s boiled down, this book is nothing but a collection of quotes, coming from a vast range of sources, grouped into various chapters according to theme.
There is no intrinsic problem in this in itself, although it doesn’t…
Book Review The Shaking Woman
by Siri Hustvedt
This fascinating and intelligent book begins on the day Hustvedt first begins to “shake”, during a speech she is giving about her dead father. This experience so unsettles her that she embarks upon an examination of the self in an attempt to discover whether her shaking is “hysterical” or neurological,…
Book Review Lean on Pete
by Willy Vlautin
Singer-songwriter and author Vlautin’s fiction explores the underbelly of America; the motel and trailer park life still very much in existence. Reminiscent of John Steinbeck in their sparse prose and themes of modern-day pursuits of the American Dream, Vlautin’s novels evoke their stark, industrial west-coast settings through his characters’ empty…
Book Review Committed
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Gilbert is a woman with a story to tell. A story about love and marriage and not liking marriage and how other people like marriage and other people don’t.
In her previous book - Eat, Pray, Love - post-messy divorce Gilbert found love with Felipe. At the beginning of Committed…
Book Review Chinese Whispers: A Journey Into Betrayal
by Jan Wong
As one of two Westerners admitted as a student to Beijing University at the peak of the Cultural Revolution, Jan Wong was approached by a fellow classmate who wanted help in leaving China to visit the USA. Being a devout Maoist, Wong reported her without considering the consequences and thought…
Comic Effect 45
Fortnightly news from the world of graphic novels
In a comics marketplace that has grown comfortable with the tried and tested capes and tights formula, it’s increasingly rare to come across a superhero title that does something (dare we say it?) new. It comes as something as a surprise, therefore, to find Andi Ewington positively belching forth fresh…
Book Review Skippy Dies
by Paul Murray
Though set in a prestigious Irish boys school, Skippy Dies is not your average homoerotic jape-fest. It starts off like that, certainly: a teacher is mocked by unruly pupils; a boy is bullied; students brag about their imagined sexual conquests, but this is just scratching the surface.
It turns out…
Book Review The Girl With Glass Feet
by Ali Shaw
Although Shaw’s quirky novel might not appeal to absolutely everybody, this is a stunningly written book, which seems to have magic laced through its pages.
The Girl With Glass Feet tells of Ida MacLaird, a once fast-living girl who now finds she is turning to glass. Scared and fragile she…
Book Review Even The Dogs
by John McGregor
Robert Radcliffe dies an anonymous death that goes unnoticed until the neighbours complain about the smell and the police kick the door in. Set against the state’s dispassionate inquest, Robert’s life and times are then told by a Greek chorus of friends and relatives. It’s a ghastly plunge into a…
Book Review At the Water's Edge: A Personal Quest for Wildness
by John Lister-Kaye
Following the success of his previous publications, John Lister-Kaye returns with this remarkable account of the wildlife he stumbles upon during his daily walk around his home in a Scottish glen.
Along his travels, Lister-Kaye encounters the ferocious Scottish wildcat, is charged at by a stag, and aids an injured…









Food Review: Dos Amigos
» Comment Posted by Paul Sutcliffe on Sat 6th Mar 10 7:58 pm
Film Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
» Comment Posted by The Girl on Wed 3rd Mar 10 12:20 pm
Getaway: Bolton Abbey
» Comment Posted by Olivia H on Tue 2nd Mar 10 4:32 pm
Getaway: Hebden Bridge
» Comment Posted by Olivia H on Tue 2nd Mar 10 4:30 pm
» Comment Posted by Simon Greggs on Tue 2nd Mar 10 11:39 am
Getaway: Skipton
» Comment Posted by Matt Andrews on Tue 2nd Mar 10 10:15 am
Getaway: Hebden Bridge
» Comment Posted by Stella Cunningham on Tue 2nd Mar 10 10:02 am
Preview: Funny Men
» Comment Posted by Harry Venet on Fri 26th Feb 10 3:35 pm
Live Review: Adam Green
» Comment Posted by Ben Johnson on Thu 25th Feb 10 10:49 am
Live Review: Yeasayer
» Comment Posted by Nick Julian on Thu 25th Feb 10 3:24 am
Preview: Funny Men
» Comment Posted by Suzanne Lubenko on Wed 24th Feb 10 5:00 pm
Interview: Jamie Fisher, LS City Records & Filth at Mint
» Comment Posted by tony walker on Sun 21st Feb 10 11:32 pm
Bar Review: Revolution Call Lane Leeds
» Comment Posted by antonia maria on Sun 14th Feb 10 6:46 pm
Interview: Jamie Fisher, LS City Records & Filth at Mint
» Comment Posted by glenise wesley on Fri 12th Feb 10 5:44 pm
Feature:
» Comment Posted by Andy Rowe on Fri 12th Feb 10 5:29 pm