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Biblio.com and eBooks
Depending on my mood, I can be a sucker for a survey. Today, I clicked through Biblio’s customer survey and was struck by their list of “books you buy”. They broke it down by genre, and last on the list was eBooks. I’m guessing they wanted to know whether they should sell eBooks, whether there’s…
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The Oxford Book of Short Poems
I’m hovering by the letterbox (well, I am on week days–even I’m not deluded enough to think the postie will work extra days just to deliver my wishes) waiting for my copy of The Oxford Book of Short Poems. I borrowed it from a library a couple of years ago and could have cried when…
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Paperless Offices, Paperless Books
Richard Curtis gives his opinion on the future of publishing at GalleyCat. At #5 he suggests the rise of ebooks will paradoxically prompt an increase in paper book sales. Is this like the “paperless office” we were promised years ago? You know, the one where the introduction of computers increased the amount of paper produced.…
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The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry
No matter how brilliant Stephen Fry is as an actor and social commentator, when he is offered a knighthood, it will be for his contribution to the craft of poetry. In The Ode Less Travelled he gently, wittily, inexorably insists on poets learning and mastering the “rules” of their craft. Fortunately, he’s a good guide.…
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Stereotypes
A cliché becomes a cliché because we recognise and re-use it. As a writer I know editors don’t want stereotyped characters. They want new, fresh and engaging. But stereotypes play an important role. They move on and off-stage with a minimum of description and fuss, and they can be gently subverted to provide sly fun.…