Author: Richard Carter

by John Freeman (ed.). Ho-hum. After an excellent start with two very good memoir-type pieces by Will Self and Paul Auster, this edition of Granta then became rather ho-hum. The theme was Horror, but the editor stretched it to breaking point at times (thank goodness). A slightly better non-fiction to fiction ratio than usual, I… Continue reading Granta 117: Horror

by Simon Barnes. Birdwatching, not Birding Simon Barnes's fun book explains how you can enjoy watching birds without the need to become an over-the-top, full-blown birder. It's all about accumulating bird-identification skills by stealth—sometimes by accident—until, without any real concerted effort, you can tell a blue tit from a great tit. After that, the world… Continue reading How to be a Bad Birdwatcher

by Martin Amis. Lit-Crit as is should be writ. I first read this book in 2001. It is an anthology of Martin Amis's Literary Criticism pieces for various publications. I hope Mr Amis never reviews any of my books. He can be pretty scathing at times. But he knows what he's talking about, and he… Continue reading The War Against Cliché