Category Archives: Books

Book Review: Milan Kundera’s The Festival of Insignificance

Posted on 5 October 2020 by andyq

The Festival of Insignificance by Milan Kundera My rating: 2 of 5 stars As a young man, I discovered Kundera’s novel, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, and since, have read a number of his books. At the time, his writing … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: Ian Young’s London Skin and Bones: The Finsbury Park Stories

Posted on 14 September 2020 by andyq

London Skin & Bones: The Finsbury Park Stories by Ian Young My rating: 5 of 5 stars I met Ian decades ago when I was at university, but I never knew the stories of his years in London, living in … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Creative Non-Fiction, Gay Life | 2 Comments

Why we like the writers we do … or not

Posted on 12 May 2020 by andyq

The pages of the print-out are dated 13 January 2009, in fact, more precisely than that: 12:01pm. It’s an article that I liked in Salon.com from 2002. I suspect that years after I first read it (I was reading a … Continue reading →

Posted in Advice, Books, Writing | Leave a comment

Book Review: Lydia Davis’s The End of the Story

Posted on 11 May 2020 by andyq

The End of the Story by Lydia Davis My rating: 2 of 5 stars I found The End of the Story a confusing book, and yet, it felt like it was purposely so. The narrative and descriptions could be emotionally … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: David Sedaris’s When You are Engulfed in Flames

Posted on 28 March 2020 by andyq

When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris My rating: 3 of 5 stars I’ve enjoyed Sedaris’s writing in the past, and possibly even more so, hearing him speak at a writer’s festival. He’s funny. Occasionally, he produces a … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s Fleishman Is in Trouble

Posted on 27 October 2019 by andyq

Fleishman Is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner My rating: 5 of 5 stars Aware that Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s interviews with the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow and Jonathan Franzen are so incisive, well-written and engaging that they’ve become famous in themselves, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Books, NYC | Leave a comment

Book review: David Foenkinos’s Delicacy

Posted on 11 October 2019 by andyq

Delicacy by David Foenkinos My rating: 1 of 5 stars I should have guessed from the cover. ‘Like an Amélie for grown-ups’, said the blurb. But I thought that Amélie was for grown-ups. So, I could gather from the back … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: Gabriel Garciá Márquez’s Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Posted on 26 September 2019 by andyq

Chronicle of a Death Foretold by Gabriel García Márquez My rating: 5 of 5 stars Published in 1981, the year before he won the Nobel Prize for Literature, this book is slim. But I remember hearing about it, and wondered … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: Ali Smith’s How to be both (fiction)

Posted on 10 March 2019 by andyq

How to Be Both by Ali Smith My rating: 5 of 5 stars I’m bowled over by this book. I had no expectations and hadn’t heard anything about it. Neither did the cover photo of the singers Sylvie Vartan and … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Books, Review | Leave a comment

Book Review: André Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name

Posted on 22 January 2019 by andyq

[Review includes spoilers; don’t read it if you plan on reading the book and don’t want to know key plot points and issues!] Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman My rating: 4 of 5 stars André Aciman’s Call … Continue reading →

Posted in Book, Books, Gay Life, Review | Leave a comment