Off The Tracks

Off The Tracks
  • Blog
    • Interviews
    • Miscellany
    • Special Guests
    • Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • The Vinyl Countdown
  • Back Catalogue
  • About
    • About
    • About the banner image
    • On Song

Posts Tagged Reading

Archive

January 6, 2022 by Simon Sweetman

An Update on Summer Reading (2021/2022)

I love Goodreads – I keep an up to date record of everything I’m reading and I’ve done my very best to remember as far back and add all the books I consumed as a kid. Obviously it can never be a complete list but I have trained my memory to work as well as […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged 2021, 2021/2022, 2022, An Update on Summer Reading (2021/2022), Blog, Books, Goodreads, https://linktr.ee/Simonsweetman, Reading, Summer, Update On Summer Reading, Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

Archive

December 13, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Books That Blew My Mind # 9: “Holidays on Ice” by David Sedaris

Holidays On Ice by David Sedaris I’m not really one for Christmas books. But there’s one favourite, one must, every year I read (and now re-read) David Sedaris’ story, The Santaland Diaries. It’s special to me for a couple of reasons – first of all it was my introduction to the world of Sedaris. I […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged “Holidays on Ice” by David Sedaris, Book, Books That Blew My Mind, Books That Blew My Mind # 9, Books That Blew My Mind # 9: “Holidays on Ice” by David Sedaris, Christmas, David Sedaris, Diaries, Elf, Essay, Essays, Holidays, Holidays on Ice, Macy's, Reading, Short Stories, Story, The Santaland Diaries, Xmas, You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

Archive

December 11, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Poem: I Wrote My First Poem Over 30 Years Ago

I handwrote the poems first, then typed them up after – and I was inspired at first by the music I was listening to and the poetry I was reading. There are still a few poems that survive from those early years and I’m locked in a pact with myself to never look at them. […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged I Wrote My First Poem Over 30 Years Ago, Journalism, Poem, Poem: I Wrote My First Poem Over 30 Years Ago, Poems, Poetry, Reading, Reviews, Write, Writing ·

Archive

November 2, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Science Fiction Double Feature: Writing and Reading Sci Fi

Advances in science and medicine have meant we can now predict the life expectancy – we can know how long everyone will live. We know if the life will be cut short. Everyone is given a medical passport when they turn 10. It is stamped with an expiration date. The last six months of anyone’s […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Blog, Books, https://linktr.ee/Simonsweetman, Reading, Sci-Fi, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Double Feature, Science Fiction Double Feature: Writing and Reading Sci Fi, Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron, Writing, Writing and Reading Sci Fi, Writing and Reading Science Fiction ·

Archive

October 24, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

In Praise of Audible Plus

I’ve signed up to Audible again. I’ve done a few free trials over the years and bought a three-month membership and so on. But I always break-up with Audible, because I feel like I’m cheating on podcasts… Remember, we talked about audiobooks – when I wondered if they ‘counted’ as reading. (They do, by the […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Audible Plus, Audiobooks, Blog, https://linktr.ee/Simonsweetman, In Praise, In Praise Of, In Praise of Audible Plus, Listening, Podcasts, Praise, Reading, Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

Archive

October 8, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

What’s The Worst Music Bio You’ve Read?

I’ve never been as disappointed by a music bio/auto-bio as I was when reading the Bernard Purdie one; it’s hard to know what the book was even trying to be – it’s written in third person but claims to be an autobiography, there’s no attempt to even ‘get’ Purdie’s voice, there’s no real attempt to hide […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Autobiography, Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, Biography, Blog, Book, Book Reviews, https://linktr.ee/Simonsweetman, Let The Drums Speak, Let The Drums Speak! The Life Story of the World’s Most Recorded Drummer, Memoir, Reading, Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron, What's The Worst Music Bio You've Read?, Worst, Worst Music Bio, Writing ·

Archive

September 29, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

The Not-So-Great Gatsby

I’ve never liked The Great Gatsby, never been able to see the fuss. I first read it at school – I understood it enough to pass the test, to write the essay, answer the exam-questions and I took it seriously enough to watch the 1974 film adaptation (the one with Mia Farrow and Robert Redford). […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Blog, Book, F. Scott Fitzgerald, https://linktr.ee/Simonsweetman, Reading, The Great Gatsby, The Not-So-Great Gatsby, Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron, Writing ·

Archive

September 12, 2021 by Simon Sweetman

Reading In Stolen Moments

To have time to read is, I swear, the ultimate luxury. But at the same time, it’s nourishment for the soul. And I consider it a necessity. To be brain-fried to a level where you cannot sit with one book for  FOMO regarding all of the other books you’ve bought or have on loan might […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Blog, Books, FOMO, Graphic Novel, https://linktr.ee/Simonsweetman, Lockdown, Reading, Reading In Stolen Moments, Stolent Moment, Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron, Work, Writing ·

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 […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Authors I Admire, Books, Favourite Author, George Saunders, https://linktr.ee/Simonsweetman, My Favourite Author That I’ve Never Read, Never Read, Reading, Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron, Writing ·

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 […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Books, Carrie, Gerald's Game, It, King Collection, Needful Things, Pet Semetary, Poem, Poem: King Collection, Reading, Stephen King, The Green Mile ·

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 […]
Posted in Blog, Miscellany · Tagged Books, https://linktr.ee/Simonsweetman, Lockdown, Reading, Some Lockdown Reading, Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron ·

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 […]
Posted in Blog, Podcasts · Tagged 20/20, Acast, Blog On The Tracks, Blogging, Books, Chat, Conversation, ep.271, https://linktr.ee/Simonsweetman, Monologue, MWF, My Talk at the 2020 Manawatu Writers Festival, Off The Tracks, Podcaster, Poems, Poetry, Read, Reader, Reading, Simon Sweetman, Soundcloud, Spotify, Stitcher, Stuff, Sweetman, Sweetman Podcast, Sweetman Podcast # 271, Sweetman Podcast # 271: My Talk at the 2020 Manawatu Writers Festival, T Leaf T, Talk, Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron, Write, Writer, Writers & Readers, Writing, Yeastie Boys ·
← Older posts

Popular

  • The Sad Story of Bob Welch: Fleetwood Mac’s Most Undervalued Member
  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 8 – Mark Knopfler
  • Janna Lapidus Leblanc: Four Years In Pictures
  • The Best Guitarist in The World: # 11 – Lindsey Buckingham
  • Time Casts Its Spell: When Silver Springs Became The Secret Weapon It Had Always Threatened To Be
  • Prince: Tokyo Dome 1990
  • Where Have All The Kiwi Soundtracks Gone?
  • The Way It Is With Prince
  • Everything Must Go: My Last Time At The Record Fair
  • It Was The Worst: #5 Attending a Rhys Darby Concert

Archives

Tags

Album Review Auckland Blog Book Book Review Chat Compilation DJ DVD DVD Review EP Film Film Review Gig Gig Review Guest Blog Guitar Interview Jazz Live Live Gig LP Movie Music NZ Podcast Poem Poetry Record Records Simon Sweetman Soundtrack Spines Spotify Stub Stubs Sweetman Podcast The Vinyl Countdown Vinyl Want more? Check out my Substack You can also support Off The Tracks via PressPatron Wellington Wgtn Writing You can support Off The Tracks via PressPatron [OST]

Categories

  • Back Catalogue
  • Blog
  • Interviews
  • Miscellany
  • Mixtapes
  • Playlists
  • Podcasts
  • Reviews
  • Scene Of The Day
  • Special Guests
  • The Vinyl Countdown

Off The Tracks is the home of Sweetman Podcast, a weekly interview/chat-based pod. It's also home to my reviews across film, TV, music and books and some creative writing as well.

Off The Tracks aims to provide quality reviews and essays, regular blog updates about the shows, albums, books and movies you should be experiencing.

It's a passion project. Your support will help to keep Off The Tracks online.

All content © 2022 by Off The Tracks. WordPress Themes by Graph Paper Press