Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 430

An eReader Question

Okay, a question for any who uses Calibre to convert ereading files. I've downloaded a research book to Kindle For Mac (the only way it would let me download without a registered Kindle) and am trying to convert it for my Sony (Epub) via Calibre, which refuses to read it. Am I being an idiot?

I [...]

Re:View: 'Potiche'

A potiche is a trophy wife, and that's Catherine Deneuve, stuck at home looking glamorous while her husband runs his factory and her children make a mess of their lives. But it's 1977 and women's opinions are not sought on the subject of running a business. Even though the business in question belonged to Deneuve's [...]

Re:View – 'Pina'

Director Wim Wenders realised that 3D could be used for an art film, specifically about the German choreographer Pina Bausch, that would be able to place viewers into performances of modern dance without making them suffer the histrionics of 'Black Swan'.

His method is brilliantly simple. He takes the major pieces Nina created with her dance [...]

Favourite London Streets

Time for my annual photo of one of my favourite streets, just a one-minute walk from the heaving throngs (and thongs) of Oxford Street. It always amazes me that there's never anyone in its park except for the odd copper having a cup of tea and a sarnie. I don't think I've ever seen London [...]

Hidden London: Competition!

There are plenty of 'Prince Of Wales' pubs, but a modern fascia just fell off this tiny pub, revealing its original name. Where is it?

Oh, and there's a prize involved, the magnificent and immense hardback volume of the Best Of The Best New Horror – which I'll happily present to the winner so long as [...]

It's Good To Talk

And if you want to know why, I suggest you check out this utterly wonderful website.

The Grace & Majesty Of The Olympics

Hitler was of course a 20th century grotesque but I do wonder if the Berlin poster got a tad closer to the Olympian ideal than the British 2012 mascots. Clearly the designers at Wolfe & Olins took their cue from Teletubbies rather than Albert Speer. The Olympic clock in Trafalgar Square looks like a B&Q [...]

A Foggy Day In London Town

To those of you who requested the 'old' (ie young) Bryant & May, coming your way in the 'Red Gloves' collection is a tale set during the Great Smog of 1952, when Bryant & May would still have been under a hundred, but I've now decided there there will be others. Meanwhile, here's Piccadilly Circus [...]

Detective Pop-Ups

A number of readers have suggested I should do stories on the earlier Bryant & May. Well, here's a clue about the first. This colour photograph of London was taken in the great smog of 1952, and it's where a Bryant & May short story is set.

My two new volumes of short stories are being [...]

The Five Star Treatment

The Times suggests that authors are paying 'reputation management' agencies thousands to employ people to push up their book ratings into the bestseller lists with favourable reviews.

There is a simpler way authors can do this. Write a better book.

Also in the report, TripAdvisor is being accused of posting more fraudulent reviews. Again, agencies are offering [...]