Stuart Aken's Blog, page 3
March 19, 2025
Apparently, Today is ‘Awkward Moments Day’
I was introduced to this concept by Sassy Brit’s Alternative Read blog, via a new writing group I joined recently. The idea is to reveal your most awkward moment as a writer, share it, laugh about it. And, in this world full of misery and political strife, I say, ‘Why not?’ So, here goes. When …
March 14, 2025
Women In The Picture, by Catherine McCormack: #BookReview.
Subtitled ‘Women, Art and the Power of Looking’, this book entered my reading list as a resource for research for a novel I’m writing. It has filled that requirement far better than I ever imagined. The breadth and depth of research the author has conducted to compile this treatise on the misogyny and injustice dealt …
Continue reading Women In The Picture, by Catherine McCormack: #BookReview.
March 9, 2025
Further Progress on the #WIP.
It is a long time since I reported on my WIP. 19th January, to be precise.So, how’s it going? Inevitably, a touch of illness, advancing years, the state of the world since the orange clown was placed in a position of power way beyond his capacity, the frequent disappointments of a supposedly socialist UK government …
February 10, 2025
A Fork in the Road: Short Story
This short story appeared in a charity anthology, ‘Wrong’ to benefit Creative Writing Institute that sponsors cancer patients in writing courses. The theme was ‘I have a list and a map. What could possibly go wrong?’You’ll find a link to the book at the end of the story. A Fork in the Road Lauren tapped …
February 6, 2025
The Years, by Annie Ernaux: #BookReview.
Translated from the original French, by Alison L. Strayer, with remarkable insight and understanding of the original text, this ‘autobiography’ is an extraordinary piece of work. I use quotes around ‘autobiography’ because this book is so much more than that. It’s a brilliant mix of life story, history, sociology, philosophy, meditation, and poetry. Although some …
January 19, 2025
Further Progress on the #WIP
It surely can’t be this long since I reported on my WIP, can it? But it appears my last post was way back on 23rd November 2024. How can that be? Well, I’ve some excuses. It’s possible some of you may consider them reasons, which would be better for my conscience. First excuse: I’m suffering …
January 6, 2025
Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan #BookReview.
This condensation of an extensive theme into something far more concentrated, selective, and relevant manages to say everything it means in ways both accessible and moving. The appalling Irish Magdalen laundry system, imposed on the country by a church made far more powerful than it ever deserved by indoctrination and the spread of superstitious fear …
Continue reading Small Things Like These, by Claire Keegan #BookReview.
December 26, 2024
Orbital, by Samantha Harvey #BookReview.
On rare occasions, a reader encounters a book that inspires, entertains, edifies, and asks questions in such a way as to force him to reconsider long-held views. Whilst I was already in full agreement with some of the ideas and conclusions revealed in this small and beautifully written book, there were some notions that forced …
December 12, 2024
What I Believe, Edited by Andrew Copson #BookReview.
Subtitled ‘Humanist Ideas and Philosophies to Live By’, this collection of thoughts from thirty-one intelligent, experienced, and fascinating people has been compiled from Andrew Copson’s podcasts with over sixty such individuals between 2020 and 2024. It was initially inspired by essays from Bertrand Russell in 1925 and E.M. Forster in 1938, and a separate collection …
Continue reading What I Believe, Edited by Andrew Copson #BookReview.
November 26, 2024
The End of the Tempest: Short Story
This story won 2nd prize (a day at the local races) in a Yorkshire local writing contest in 2010. It was not published. The End of the Tempest. A terrified whinny urged Carl out of dreams and into reality, and metal clashing metal in a howling gale finally woke him. He must enter that storm, …
