Be serious, Mother reader, Critic friend, AI, Franchise, Mozart, Moby Dick, War and Peace, Internet novels

The Irregular Review of Reviews VII.

I appeared on the Canadian radio programme ‘A Little More Conversation’ to talk about Second Act and late bloomers. Ben O’Hara-Byrne asked very good questions.

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It’s OK to Take a Book Seriously

Hear! Hear! I enjoyed every word of this essay. “I think the major barrier to artistic progress nowadays is our insistence that art needs to progress. Because if we’re not allowed to circle back around and revisit the past, then the range of allowable art is inevitably going to become narrower and narrower and narrower.” By

Naomi Kanakia

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Portrait of a Mother Reader

Interview with my wife (

Catherine Oliver

) about her reading habits. Great piece. “I don’t especially like discussing books. With fiction, I let myself become completely absorbed by the world of the story, and I don’t want to hear other people’s opinions or critical responses!” This is a good format.