Five by Doris Lessing
five early novellas (in one book) from Nobel winner Doris Lessing
Category: Book Review
Flight From Nevèrÿon by Samuel R. Delany (Book 3 of 4)
delany’s 1980s fantasyland crumbles into the stark realities of the AIDS crisis – an arguably perfect example of its type
XXXMAS SPECTACULAR 2024: IF SANTA WAS A BABY
gags, props, racy costuming and another seasonal what if…
Persuasion: A Colors [sic] Primer (Little Miss Austen) by Jennifer Adams, Art by Alison Oliver
a con job luring in hapless literary parents: AVOID AT ALL COSTS
The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh
i haven’t read it before but i have kinda read it before
Station Eleven by Emily St John Mandel
it is human to cringe at the elevator pitch – a post-apocalyptic Shakespeare troupe (eww) – but don’t be put off, this is essentially a 2010s Infinite Jest (the good bits)
The Annual Banquet of the Gravediggers’ Guild by Mathias Enard
a glorious, cacophonous, collage of varied delights and pleasure
Neveryóna by Samuel R. Delany (Book 2 of 4)
a cracking novel-length trip to Chip Delany’s 1980s fantasy land
Finding Your Comic Genius by Adam Bloom
an interesting book on writing comedy that doesn’t try to make you laugh
The Earth Is Falling by Carmen Pellegrino
some intriguing Italian fiction about haunting and being haunted
Julian by Fleur Pierets
a deeply moving portrait of grief slowly becomes a cold exercise in self-aggrandisement
Abolish the Family by Sophie Lewis
accidentally, i am almost a revolutionary
Tales of Nevèrÿon by Samuel R. Delany
non-digressive thoughts on book 1 of 4 of Samuel Delany’s sword and sorcery series
A Small Town In Germany by John Le Carré
another treat from the english spywriter too boring to not die old
video – raw & unreceptive: scott manley hadley stand up live at crack comedy kingston (London) 27.10.24
a stranger filmed a recent stand up set i did then emailed it to me
The Motion Of Light In Water by Samuel R Delany
i thoroughly enjoyed this 1980s memoir about the halycon days of cruising (and sci-fi)
To Rest Our Minds & Bodies by Harriet Armstrong
preview of an excellent bildungsroman coming in 2025
Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse #13 (of 13))
thoughts on one last trip to bon temps and smh ponders last vs first impressions
Future by Tom Woodman, Rupert Smissen & Aditya Bidikar
can there be hope in a future where basically everything’s dead?
The Ballad of Beta-2 & Empire Star by Samuel R Delany
a pair of early novellas that really delivers, especially one
There’s No business like BUSINESS! by Brian Butterfield
a strange text from a strange, failed, business person
Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse #12)
in novel 12 of 13 i finally find something in Sookie Stackhouse i don’t like (that’s a joke i loved it)
Still Pictures: On Photography & Memory by Janet Malcolm
Janet Malcolm did it again one last time
Very Far Away From Anywhere Else by Ursula K Le Guin
breathtaking short and obscure naturalistic novella that works works works
Alphabetical Diaries by Sheila Heti
i think it might maybe be errr one of the best books I’ve read
England 2K State Insekt by Tempest Miller
some youthful poems someone from the internet sent me
Babel-17 by Samuel R. Delany
1960s space opera about language as a weapon?
Three by Ann Quin
a 1960s novel about unhappy, repressed, people making everything worse for themselves and others
On Cuddling: Loved to Death in the Racial Embrace by Phanuel Antwi
an unhappy epiphany as I realise why the academic form frustrates me
‘a timeline’ and ‘borderline personality disorder’ from the pleasure of regret – scott manley hadley: live at paradise (new web series episode)
more from my 2022-shot web series, this time on diagnoses and the passage of time
Quartet by Jean Rhys
excellent early novel from the writer who made Jane Eyre interesting again
Love Novel by Ivana Sajko
maybe im too damaged to see this bad romance how it was written… for me, a love-affirming joy
‘under the lectern’ from the pleasure of regret – scott manley hadley: live at paradise (new web series episode)
on academia, class, education and enjoying the work of Malcolm Lowry
The Einstein Intersection by Samuel R. Delany
i think this was actally brilliant?
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse / True Blood #11)
what’s for elevenses? blood blood blood blood blood
scat to be poo: an anthology about poo – scott manley hadley: live at paradise (new web series episode)
scott, cubby and some other friends (Chaucer, Joyce) discuss life at the bottom of the bowel
Gorky Park by Martin Cruz Smith
a great trad thriller in the sir ian fleming tradition
because earth is flat: a flat earth poetry collection – scott manley hadley: live at paradise (new web series episode)
the earth is flat; if it wasn’t, why would there be a whole book of poetry presuming it was???
my father, from a distance – scott manley hadley: live at paradise (new web series episode)
Filmed at the tail end of the COVID-19 pandemic in Toronto’s historic Paradise Theatre on Bloor St W, the poet,Continue Reading
Moon of The Turning Leaves by Waubgeshig Rice
A sequel I wasn’t expecting (and that maybe wasn’t needed?), this big Canadian hit of last year is a powerhouseContinue Reading
BTS: COMEDIAN – scott manley hadley: live at paradise (new web series episode)
have you heard that people are reheating bread???
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
if the English state could clone the poor to harvest their organs, it would
City Of A Thousand Suns by Samuel R. Delany (The Fall of The Towers #3)
This is the concluding part of the trilogy the fall of the towers, the earlier two volumes of which I’veContinue Reading
The Beauty Queen of Leenane & Other Plays by Martin McDonagh
three great plays from the younger brother of the guy who wrote and directed The Guard
The Towers of Toron by Samuel R. Delany (The Fall Of The Towers #2)
careening towards dystopias; long blog on a book, a baby and a uk election
Before The Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
pointless, underwritten, characterless character study that confuses naming emotive experiences with describing them; flat
god made my face edited by Hilton Als
a book of essays about James Baldwin; a treat for anyone with a soul
Out of the Dead City by Samuel R. Delany (The Fall of The Towers #1)
my second summer samuel treat
