Guy Portman's Blog, page 40
November 28, 2014
Record Breaking Old & Young Authors
I have written numerous author themed blog posts. Topics include – the most prolific authors ever, drug addicted authors, posthumously famous authors, and the longest and shortest time it took to write a novel. Earlier this week I took to thinking about who were the oldest and youngest authors to achieve various literary milestones. This is what I discovered:
Oldest Best Selling Author – Helen Hoover Santymeyer was an American writer, educator and librarian, whose seminal work …And Ladies of t...
November 21, 2014
My Top 5 Transgressive Novels
Transgressive fiction is one of my favourite genres. I have reviewed numerous transgressive books in the review section of my blog, dedicated 2 blog posts to the history of the genre, and written a novel that could be described as transgressive.
Definition: Transgressive literature is a genre that focuses on characters who feel confined by the norms and expectations of society and who break free of those confines in unusual and/or illicit ways.
My Top 5 Transgressive Novels Are:
Fight Club
Chuck...
November 14, 2014
7 Famous Drug Addicted Authors
As my blog posts about famous authors have proven to be popular with my followers and fellow authors I have decided to write a further instalment. Some of you may remember my series of posts about alcoholic authors. This week I turn my attentions to drug addicted authors.
Here are 7 famous drug addicted authors:
Stephen King
(Born: September 21st 1947)
Stephen King is a prolific, bestselling author, who has sold in excess of 350 million books over the course of his long and illustrious career. In...
November 7, 2014
The Evolution of Books
At the beginning there were papyrus scrolls. Later came handwritten bound books. With the invention of the printing press in the 15th Century books became accessible to the masses for the first time, changing the course of history.
Today ebooks and online retailers are revolutionising the publishing industry once again. The low costs associated with creating and distributing ebooks has seen a proliferation in the number of books being published.
October 31, 2014
6 Famous Reclusive Authors
Writing is a solitary activity that appeals to many people with an introverted nature, myself included. Some authors take their introversion to the extreme and become recluses.
This week’s blog post is dedicated to 6 famous reclusive authors:
Emily Dickinson
(10th December 1830 – 15th May 1886)
Emily Dickinson was a prolific American poet, who penned over 1700 poems. However she had fewer than a dozen poems published during her lifetime, and it was only after her demise when younger sister Lavini...
October 24, 2014
My Visit to Recoleta Cemetery
I have always been fascinated by cemeteries. Not only have I visited countless burial grounds, but the protagonist in my second novel, the satirical black comedy Necropolis, works for the burials and cemeteries department in his local council. Necropolis features a number of fictional cemeteries.
During my trip to Argentina earlier this month I had the opportunity to visit the world famous Recoleta cemetery in Buenos Aires.
Recoleta is filled with a dizzying array of monuments, mausoleums, stat...
October 17, 2014
10 Authors Bizarre Writing Habits
Authors writing habits never cease to fascinate me. This week’s blog post is dedicated to10 famous authors bizarre writing habits.
Flannery O’Connor - Author and essayist Flannery O’Connor explained in The Habit of Being (collection of her letters) that she not only wrote at the same time every day, but also in the same place. That special place was facing her blank wood dresser, which provided no distractions. O’Connor only wrote for about two hours a day because as she suffered from lupus sh...
October 10, 2014
5 Famous Bilingual Authors
I never cease to be impressed by authors who write in more than one language. This week’s blog post is dedicated to 5 such authors.
Samuel Beckett
(13th April 1906 – 22nd December 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 Literature in 1969. Beckett was a skilled linguist, who studied English, French and Italian at Trinity College, Dublin, an...
October 3, 2014
My Book Reviews
On Tuesday I redesigned the book review section of my website (see My Reviews tab). There are now 56 reviews covering a diverse range of books. Previously resident book blogger Adam also contributed reviews, but he has found a home of his own (details to follow).
This week’s post takes the form of a friend asking me questions about my book reviews, and me answering. Perhaps this will lead to you discovering new books that are of interest.
(Note: Click on the book links to read my review)
Q.You h...
September 26, 2014
The 12 Most Influential Books Ever
This week’s blog post is dedicated to 12 of the most influential books ever.
Relativity: The Special and the General Theory by Albert Einstein – First published in 1916, this three part book not only explains the theory of relativity, it also gives an insight into one of the greatest minds of the 20th Century.
The Art of War by Sun Tzu – Written around 500 B.C., The Art of War gives advice on how to win wars. The book has been embraced by a host of military strategists down the years, in additi...
