A much-debated question among writers and readers is whether characters in a story have to be “likeable”. Some people can’t enjoy stories where they don’t like the characters. Others enjoy the complexities of flawed, unpleasant characters. But I don’t think likeability is the real issue.
I’ve just had the pleasure of (re)reading Perelandra with my wife – it’s her first time, but one of many times I’ve read it. It’s possibly my favourite C S Lewis novel (against strong competition!). I first read it back when I was in secondary school, and it made a deep and lasting impression on […]
It’s a time of eager anticipation, as across the world people of all ages and backgrounds count down to a very special day. Yes, Star Wars: The Force Awakens is only three days away from release. J J Abrams, the hopes and fears of all the years (of Star Wars fans) are met in thee […]
I love Pixar’s films. Their most recent movie Inside Out was another story that combined fun characters, a clever concept, and emotional resonance. While some of their films are relatively forgettable (sorry Cars), their batting average is incredible with the likes of the Toy Story trilogy, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E and Up among my all-time […]
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review. The latest in the Questions Christians Ask series, Mark Meynell sketches out a solid introduction to basic Christian beliefs about humanity. Its brevity is both it’s biggest strength and weakness. It is accessible and easily digested in an […]
“Cowards live for the sake of living, but for heroes, life is a weapon, a thing to be spent, a gift to be given to the weak and the lost and the weary, even to the foolish and the cowardly” I’ve just finished reading Empire of Bones by N D Wilson, the third and probably […]
New Star Wars trailer! My head says “it’s only a trailer”, but the rest of me is running around making light sabre noises . Zzzziwwwww! Whooosh! (deep breath) Let’s just take this calmly, one shot at a time, shall we?
An interesting debate over the value of book apps has bubbled up, sparked by comments from Nicolette Jones at the Bookseller Children’s Conference. She was critical of book apps, suggesting that interactivity got in the way of the story, and that reading a book with a child is a hug, whereas an app is leaving […]
Well, part of it anyway… Going through some old computer files, I found an outline I wrote back in 2006 for what I’d like to see in the next series of Doctor Who. It’s quite fun seeing how many of my wishes have been granted on the show, such as: The Master as the main […]
If you’re a bookworm like myself, then books pose two major problems: time and space. Firstly, finding the time to read all those books that are just waiting for you to immerse yourself in them. And secondly, having the physical space in which to store, display and care for all the books. There is one […]
