…of the Year2023 is almost over and I thought I would self-indulge myself with a little end of year round-up. Please think of this less as one of those…Dec 29, 20233Dec 29, 20233
Room to Let in Shared HouseWe have a room to let in our Victorian terraced house in Chiswick. We are Becky and Dan, friends who have shared this wonderful home for…Nov 25, 2023Nov 25, 2023
Writing a Bestseller: In Theory and PracticeAnother dip into the archives of my very sporadic career in journalism. This time we have a joint review I wrote for The Times back in…Oct 30, 2021Oct 30, 2021
From the Archives: An Interview with Haruki MurakamiThis interview was first published in 2005 in Waterstone’s Books Quarterly, a long-defunct magazine that used to be on sale in Waterstone’s…Oct 17, 2021Oct 17, 2021
How We DisintegrateFor the past week I have been spending my evenings reading Ghosted, the new novel by Jenn Ashworth, while also making my way through the…Jun 11, 20212Jun 11, 20212
Kafka on the ShoreIn 2015, I was asked to write the programme notes for the Ninagawa Company’s theatrical production of Kafka on the Shore, an adaptation of…Sep 19, 2020Sep 19, 2020
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies¹These are the cookies my mother used to bake for us when we were kids in the 1970s and 80s. For many years I was convinced they were made…Apr 10, 20201Apr 10, 20201
Capital Wine by Hugh ConwayA long-lost short story from a forgotten 19th-century British writer who counted Emily Dickinson among his fans.Mar 20, 2020Mar 20, 2020
The Zipper by Rakuko RubinChristmas was over, but still the suburban neighborhood’s front yards and houses were festooned with hundreds of lights: bright red…Oct 10, 2019Oct 10, 2019
Some More Best Books of the 21st Century (Sort Of)I recently posted the results of an informal Twitter poll to find the best books of the 21st century, creating a Top 25 chart. I would…Sep 29, 2019Sep 29, 2019
