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One of my favourite authors is Ted Chiang. I’m not entirely sure what Ted does with his time, since over the course of seventeen years, he’s written fewer than a dozen short stories, the sum of which would easily fit into a typical novel. Of course, this has nothing to do with the quality of [...]

Update: Virginie Clayssen has done a wonderful French translation of this post on her weblog teXtes. 
Adrian Buys an eBook Reader
A couple of weeks ago, I idly visited mobileread.com and discovered something incredible - Tiger Direct in the US were selling Sony eReaders for $100, a discount of $250. Thanks to the rampaging power of the [...]

Along with selling a whole bunch of games, I’ve started addressing the problem of my overflowing bookshelves. Granted, I only have two bookshelves, but I’m not really at a stage in life now where I have the space to keep hundreds of books. A couple of weeks ago, it was getting so bad that I [...]

A little while ago I manage to acquire the last four years worth of In Our Time, a Radio 4 panel discussion that covers every subject under the sun in a very engaging and thoughtful manner. I’ve been working my way through the archives, usually alternating between topics that sound interesting (e.g. Agincourt, Tea) and [...]

It turns out that I’ve been using the term ‘epistolatory’ when what I really mean is ‘epistolary’. Think of all the precious seconds I’ve lost, typing out those two extra words. Think of those lost Google hits.
Epistolary literature refers to fiction where the story is told in the form of letters written by the protagonists; [...]

I have an almost unhealthy interest in eBook readers - tablet computers that are made specifically for reading. eBook readers tend to use low-power, high-resolution screens that are easily readable in all light levels; and most importantly, they can hold hundreds of books. Unfortunately, no-one has made a particularly good eBook reader yet, despite my [...]

Lately I’ve been seeing many people cursing the name of AA Gill (a TV critic for the Times), declaring that if they see his name, they skip to the next page. Given that I don’t watch any British television, I haven’t had much cause to join in on the cursing until now.
I quite enjoyed the [...]

I find that when a movie is over-effusively recommended to me, my expectations become raised to the point where I can only be disappointed. So I’ll keep this short: you probably only have three more days to see The Prestige at your local cinema. I suggest you check it out. It’s one of the few [...]

‘Ministry’ is the name of the latest installment of G. W. Dahlquist’s The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters. These sixty page booklets have been arriving on my desk every Monday for the last five weeks, and there are still another five to go. It’s certainly a novel delivery system.
I can’t remember exactly how I [...]

“[When] there are wireless chips in my clothes, when I get up in the morning it’s going to simplify my life enormously. There’s all this stuff I won’t have to consciously think about anymore. If I don’t know where my cowboy boots are, they will tell me.”
- Bruce Sterling
I quite like Bruce Sterling’s novels, Schismatrix [...]