Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 437

The Derelict Library

I've now had a couple of days to play around with electronic reading. Specifically in my case, the Sony eReader.

First shock: I love reading on it.
Second shock: There's almost nothing I want to read on it.

Wandering around the elibraries is a debilitating experience. Project Gutenberg, the free book resource, lists its bestsellers every day, and [...]

Hidden London – Strike!

Bloomsbury is famous for the Bloomsbury Group, bookshops, its leafy squares and the house of Charles Dickens, among other things, but for many of us in the area, it's also the London home of American fifties rock and roll.

This is because there are two bowling alleys within a five minute walk of each other, both [...]

Going Off-Page

Okay, I've taken a step I probably shouldn't have; I've bought a 5″ Sony eReader. Here are the pros and cons, as I can see them so far.

1. If you're a Mac user, it gives you a glimpse of the arthritic world of the PC. Interface is ugly and slow (although no less ugly than [...]

Aaaarh!

Less blogging than usual yesterday due to my attendance at a Pirate Wedding which appropriately took place on the waterside at Holborn Studios. A great many swashes were buckled, and the assembly sang 'Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum' to the happy couple (one of whom is in 'Pirates Of The Caribbean 4′).

Too Many Eyes On London

Well, the London Eye pulsed red, white and blue, the partying went without a hitch, and as the country nurses its collective hangover I'm going to a Pirate Wedding today, sans parrot.

But the royal wedding has forced other news off the front pages, notably a horrific nail-bomb explosion that has killed 14 in one [...]

Exterminate!

Last night we went to a party in a house just off Trafalgar Square, and at midnight we walked back down the centre of the Mall to Buckingham Palace. I'm not much for pageantry but there was something ethereally graceful about seeing the great mall in full flag colours, softly lit, with people strolling about [...]

Re:View – 'The Killing'

*No Spoilers*

How do you create a 'talker' you can't talk about?

'Is this any good?' asked the girl at HMV as I bought the boxed set. 'Everyone seems to be asking for it.'

This is the Danish TV thriller that was built almost entirely by word of mouth – certainly without much help from its broadcaster, who [...]

The Royal Wedding Theory

All London is en fete – bunting hangs from every pub. And the comics' comic Stewart Lee has a theory about Wills and Kate.

He says:
'Jessie L Weston's 1920 study of Holy Grail mythology, From Ritual to Romance, pictures Britain as a wasteland, an image appropriated by TS Eliot to describe the aftermath of the [...]

Starting From Scratch

Not content with having four new books out in September ('Bryant & May: The Memory Of Blood', 'Red Gloves' Vols 1 & 2 and 'Hell Train'), I now find myself working on three more.

The only downside is that each has to be sold, virtually from scratch – but perhaps that's the way it should [...]

Words Per Minute

Court stenographers are to be phased out in the UK and replaced by modern audio recording. Stenographers keep up with the speed of speech, which is often defined as 180 words per minute (wpm). Anyone who has tried to take a note in longhand at that speed will tell you it is impossible.

Many journalists who [...]