They say you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover. Which is pretty daft, as the cover is deliberately created and chosen to say something about the book. It’s supposed to encourage the kind of people who might like the book (and a few others besides) to pick it up, buy it, read it. In […]
Somebody nice recently asked me to write something about prayer. I demurred, on the grounds that they had the wrong person in their sights. They misunderstood, and thought I’d said I’d do it. Which was awkward. So I did it. And here it is, for what it’s worth.
I’ve had an affection for Philip Larkin’s poetry since school days. As a rule it’s short, accessible, and to the point; all qualities I value in poetry. That it’s generally somewhat cynical and perverse is just an added bonus. As someone who studied English at university, I probably ought to be more moved by epic […]
Or, more accurately, no Television for Lent. Despite being more or less aware of Lent over the years, I’ve never really gone in for the “giving something up” thing (or the “taking something up” either). Partly because self-discipline is a foreign language, and partly because it always seems to be a bit of a token […]