Posts Tagged Books
Archive
September 10, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Books That Blew My Mind # 8: “The Executioner’s Song” by Norman Mailer
The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer I loved Norman Mailer before I read him – because of his book, The Fight, and specifically his appearances in the great documentary, When We Were Kings. Of course I would go on to read The Fight – and it really is a work of genius, one of the […]Archive
September 7, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
My Favourite Author That I’ve Never Read
I couldn’t know I was doing this at the time, but the day before we went into lockdown I armed myself with a bunch of books by George Saunders. I did this because he’s one of my favourite writers that I’ve never read. You read that correctly. I often write about Authors I Admire but […]Archive
September 4, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: King Collection
The first book by Stephen King that I read was Pet Semetary – with its typo in the title. And maybe I didn’t even know that was wrong when I read it – everything seemed so right, I’d found my new home. The second book by Stephen King for me was It. The cover as […]Archive
August 31, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Some Lockdown Reading
I’m a big reader, always with several books on the go. My mixture of genres (always a graphic novel on the go, always a volume of poetry, usually one or two non-fiction and a novel or book of short-stories too) and the mix of library books, things to review, things borrowed from friends and new/ish […]Archive
August 25, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Poem: Bill Conti Scores The Great American Novel
People talk about The Great American Novel like it’s a thing. It is a thing – but it’s not a book, and it’s never going to be. Bruce Springsteen probably thinks he’s written The Great American Novel. But he just dragged John Steinbeck down into rock’n’roll. There are many photographers that have taken The Great […]Archive
August 22, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
In Praise of Ditching Your Record Collection
So many people with collections can’t bear even the thought of parting with their books or records or vintage toys or sneakers or whatever it is that makes up their fixation… But sometimes it’s a necessity. I trade records all the time. I’ve done swaps, I’ve taken crates of records to the secondhand stores and […]Archive
August 21, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Lindy West: Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema
Shit, Actually: The Definitive, 100% Objective Guide to Modern Cinema Lindy West Hachette Books Lindy West’s latest book is not brand-spanking new. It’s been out for a wee bit – but when I got to it I devoured it in pretty much one go. That is almost the review right there! The book hooked me […]Archive
August 19, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
Sweetman Podcast # 271: My Talk at the 2020 Manawatu Writers Festival
Hi and welcome to episode 271 of Sweetman Podcast with support from our sponsors – T Leaf T and Yeastie Boys and thanks to you readers and listeners. Now – as you probably know, as well as the usual platforms (this site, soundcloud, iTunes/Apple) you can get to Sweetman Podcast on Spotify – follow it […]Archive
August 11, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
In Praise of Stephen King. Again.
I’m having quite the Stephen King renaissance. And I’m doing so without having read very much of his work for a while… But I’m planning to. I’ve been planning to for a while. And I’m on the verge of just diving right back in. Okay, rewind – I wrote about King a while back as […]Archive
August 1, 2021 by Simon Sweetman
So many books, yo!
How do you keep up with new reading? It’s impossible right? Here’s an excellent new list of books published by The Guardian – 50 must reads from this year. Already! And there must be more than that of course. But it’s a great list. I skim it and my mind is going tick-tick-tick because I’ve […]Archive
July 26, 2021 by Simon Sweetman