Guy Portman's Blog, page 35

Easter Eggs

Easter eggs are an opportunity to indulge oneself after the privations of Lent; or at least that is what I thought prior to making the acquaintance of a dairy free, wheat free, gluten free, egg free, vegan Easter egg, (see picture 1). I have renamed this Easter egg The Lent Continued Easter Egg. It is ideal for pious Catholics and those with food allergies. My condolences go out to any unfortunate children who will be receiving Lent Continued Easter Eggs this Easter.

(Easter egg pictures 1...

Tipping in America

A Downtown bar in Miami – I find the cool darkened interior and the myriad of different sports playing on the numerous television screens appealing. It is an environment where one does not appear out of place without friends in attendance.

Aware that Happy Hour is soon to end, I order two pints of Bud Light, a bargain at five dollars. I hand over the money to the barman and return my attentions to the television. The barman does not move. I glance in his direction. He departs muttering someth...

15 Authors’ Epitaphs

This week sees the latest instalment in my famous author series. I hope that authors’ epitaphs will prove to be a fitting finale to my trio of death-related blog posts.

Here are 15 famous authors’ epitaphs:

John Keats – (1795 – 1821) – Here Lies One Whose Name was Writ inWater

Edgar Allan Poe – (1809 – 1849) – Quoth the Raven, Nevermore

Emily Dickinson – (1830 – 1886) – Called Back

Oscar Wilde – (1854 – 1900) – And alien tears will fill for him.Pity’s long broken urn, For his mourners will b...

21 Famous Authors’ Last Words

This week sees the latest instalment in my famous author series. Last week’s post was devoted to bizarre author deaths. This week we stay with the death theme. Here are 21 famous authors’ purported last words. They are presented in chronological order.

Voltaire (1694–1778) – On his deathbed when asked by the priest to renounce Satan, Voltaire allegedly said, ‘Now, now, my good man, this is no time for making enemies.’

Jane Austen (1775–1817) – When her sister, Cassandra, asked the dying auth...

10 Bizarre Author Deaths

Long-term followers of my blog may remember that I wrote a series of lengthy posts on the subject of bizarre author deaths in 2013 and early 2014. However, my blog was not very popular back then, and these posts went largely ignored, hence my decision to write this more succinct piece.

Though death is admittedly a rather morbid subject matter it is one that fascinates many of us, including me. (My second novel, Necropolis, is about a psychopath, who works for the Burials and Cemeteries depart...

10 Famous Authors’ Day Jobs

This week’s blog post is dedicated to famous authors’ day jobs. Whether it is/was due to financial necessity, or through choice, many authors have/had other careers.

Here are 10 famous authors and their day jobs.

Bram Stoker – (1847– 1912) – Stoker is best remembered for his seminal workDracula, but he also wrote 11 other novels and 3 collections of short stories. The author spent 27 years working as an acting manager and business manager for Irving’s Lyceum Theatre in London.

Joseph Conrad...

6 Great Books Initially Underappreciated

This week sees the latest instalment in my popular famous book series. The following 6 books are presented in the order in which they were published.

Walden by Henry David Thoreau

First published in 1854, Walden is about Thoreau’s time living in a cabin that he built in the woods near Concord, Massachusetts. Life in the Woods (Walden’s original name) only sold 2,000 copies in its first 5 years. However this manual for self-reliance went on to become extremely popular. The emergence of the en...

6 Writers Who Went Into Hiding

This week sees the latest instalment in my famous author series. Prior to researching this subject matter I was only aware of 2 writers who had goneinto hiding, but I soon discovered there were/are many more.

Here are 6 writers who went into hiding:

Samuel Beckett (April 13th 1906 – December 22nd 1989)

Irish born avant-garde novelist, playwright and poet Samuel Beckett is regarded as one of the most influential writers of the 20th Century. His accolades include having won the Nobel Prize in...

Chuck Palahniuk

Did you know that Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club (the book not the film) was published 19 years ago this month? I inadvertently discovered this whilst online yesterday. I am marking the anniversary of the release of Fight Club by dedicating this week’s blog post to Chuck Palahniuk’s books.

(Born: February 21st 1962)

I have read and reviewed 7 of this iconic transgressive author’s works. The following books are presented in the order in which they were published.

Fight Club

The book’s narrator b...

10 Books About Prison

This week sees the latest instalment in my popular famous book series. In recent years I have read a number of books about prisons/prisoners, all of which I have reviewed here on my blog. I thought it would make an interesting topic for a post.

Here are 10 books (4 of which I’ve read) about prison:

Invitation to a Beheading by Vladimir Nabokov

Invitation to a Beheading was originally published in a Russian émigré magazine in 1935-6. The book’s protagonist isCincinnatus C., a prison inmate a...