Techies vs. Luddites in Mr Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore
“One of the best books I’ve read all year.” Litro Book Club member Thomas Chadwick finds age-old questions in this month’s Club pick.
Jane said we needed to talk about Eichmann
There were several months in the autumn of 2011 when we discussed Mary Poppins as a matter of routine. Neither Jane nor I had ever seen the film but every ...
“Neither a Satanic nor a Napoleonic Giant but a Plain Sinner” : The Tragedy of Raskolnikov
For our Transgression theme, Thomas Chadwick revisits a Russian classic in which the laws constraining man can be broken, as long as you consider yourself extraordinary. First published in 1866, ...
Dead Ends Thrown Wide Open: The Crying of Lot 49
For our Mystery theme, Thomas Chadwick revisits a postmodern mystery in which the clues seem infinite and everything may mean everything … or nothing. First published in 1965, Thomas Pynchon’s ...
A Healthy Respect for Sex: What Lady Chatterley’s Lover Can Still Teach Us
“I believe especially in being warm-hearted in love, in fucking with a warm heart. I believe if men could fuck with warm hearts, and the women take it warm-heartedly, everything ...
Taking Time to Review
The process of book reviewing can sometimes seem like a production line. A new book comes out and every newspaper, magazine and website rushes to review it. But is this ...
Some Really Bad Things that Have Happened at Sea – for Context.
Before we even left port I found that both of the drawers underneath my bunk were filled with jars of pickled herring. Later, while I was watching the sun dip ...