The arts can be an everyday reality
Reality television should come with a warning like that on cigarette packs, such is its addictiveness. Perhaps, then, I would…
Books as gifts – to buy or not to buy?
There is a tradition in Iceland of giving loved ones the gift of a book on Christmas Eve. Closer to…
Travel is better by the book than by the guidebook
Few travelers are disappointed by the sight of the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The Moorish palace and fort is one…
There’s more to teen fiction than Harry Potter
The teenage years are renowned as being some of life’s most impressionable. It is a time when Kurt Cobain speaks…
Introverts can be saved by the book
High school years can be a minefield for introverts. During a typical day, opportunities to socialise are many, from arrival…
What makes a book ‘good’?
The idea of a book being good or bad is enough to send many book lovers into a flurry of…
Facebook won’t change your mind, but books might
It can be hard to listen to someone whose opinion you don’t agree with. Infuriating, even. Imagine listening to that…
Let’s take the morality out of beauty
Rebecca Judd and Roald Dahl's The Twits might be strange bedfellows, but one response to the hoopla surrounding Judd's postpartum…
Uniting the generations is not just a fairytale
Children’s literature doesn't always treat the elderly well. Fairytales often depict the elderly as wicked or weak, from the evil…
The problem with book clubs
The best way to kill a book is to make it required reading at high school. Some of the world’s…
