Guy Portman's Blog, page 41
September 19, 2014
The 12 Best Selling Books Ever
No doubt like most authors I often find myself daydreaming at my desk, quill in hand, wondering what it would be like to have a global bestseller. This week’s blog post is dedicated to 12of the bestselling books of all time.
The Bible is omitted by design. After all half of the World’s Bibles have been given away for free, and are currently gathering dust in hotel room drawers. I have also ignored Mao’s Little Red Book for similar reasons.
The 12 books are:
The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinge...
September 12, 2014
7 Prolific Authors
As an author I am intrigued by how much other authors write. A few weeks ago I wrote a blog post about the longest and shortest amount of time authors have taken to pen a novel. This week’s blog post is devoted to seven of the most prolific English language authors ever.
Enid Mary Blyton (1897-1968) – 800+ Books – This highly productive English writer wrote about subjects as diverse as natural history and the Bible, but she is best remembered for her children’s books, particularly The Famous F...
September 5, 2014
10 Famous Banned Books
I am devoting this week’s blog post to a subject that never ceases to fascinate us, namely banned books. Over the years countless famous books have been banned for a host of reasons. I suspect that not so long ago my satirical black comedy Necropolis would have raised the ire of the authorities.
In chronological order here are 10 famous books that have been banned:
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (1915)
Gregor Samsa wakes up one morning to find that he has been transformed into a beetle.To comp...
August 29, 2014
The Tortoise And The Hare
No doubt like many writers I find there are days when I can effortlessly write several thousand words, and others when I struggle to write anything of note. This has often led me to wonder how long it has taken famous authors to write their novels.
On The Road by Jack Kerouac – The defining text of The Beat Generation was written in only three weeks, on a 120-foot scroll of paper. In this largely autobiographical account of Kerouac’s adventures in America and Mexico, the speed of the journey i...
August 22, 2014
My Top 5 Most Disturbing Books
This week’s post is dedicated to the top five most disturbing books I have ever read. Several of these books have influenced my own writing, most notably my satirical black comedy, Necropolis.
5 – Lolita
Nabokov’s ornate masterpiece is about a man’s (Humbert Humbert) infatuation with a twelve-year-old girl. Lolita was regarded as so scandalous that it was rejected by a number of major publishers before its publication in 1955. If you don’t find the subject matter of Lolita disturbing, it would...
August 15, 2014
British Sky Broadcasting
You may remember that last Friday my weekly blog post was about Chinese Internet censorship. When I woke up the following morning I went to check my WordPress blog, only to discover that I could not get into it. The problems did not end there. I was distraught to discover that all WordPress websites were blocked from my computer, this despite the fact that I was able to access other sites on the Internet with no problem. It was obvious what had occurred, the Chinese state’s censors had hacked...
August 8, 2014
Chinese Internet Censorship
Since starting this WordPress.com blog in early 2012, I have welcomed visitors from a multitude of countries, including Azerbaijan, Botswana, Mauritius and Guernsey (Yes Guernsey is a country according to WordPress). I am still waiting for the first intrepid Beninese and Togolese explorers to discover my blog, and to date there have been no visits from North Korea – perhaps not surprising considering the Internet is merely a rumour for much of the country’s population.
There has yet to be a si...
August 1, 2014
Culinary Revelations
Last Wednesday – Pret a Manger. Underneath the adjacent table was a small, inquisitive King Charles Spaniel, attached to a lead. A floral-frocked lady was clasping the end of the lead in one hand whilst nibbling on what appeared to be a Teriyaki salmon salad. She was informing her companion of the perils of gluten, a conversation that I seem to be hearing increasingly regularly these days. However, I was somewhat surprised when she announced that her dog Kuby was now gluten-free.
I couldn’t re...
July 25, 2014
The Commonwealth Games
Wednesday Evening – I am idly flicking through the television channels when I stumble across the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony. If there is a less enthralling sporting event on this planet than the Commonwealth Games, I am yet to hear of it.
However, I found the opening ceremony to be quite entertaining. The display included many things considered synonymous with Scotland, and/or the great city of Glasgow. These included inflatable Loch Ness Monsters, giant Tunnocks Tea Cakes, a huge hag...
July 18, 2014
Alcoholic Authors V
No doubt like countless others across the land I have been nursing a World Cup hangover this week. Struggling for inspiration for a blog post I have decided to the take the opportunity to return to my Alcoholic Authors series. Here is Part V:
F. Scott Fitzgerald
(September 24th 1896 – December 21st 1940)
Notable works: This Side of Paradise, The Great Gatsby, Tender Is the Night.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, who is widely accepted as being one of the gre...
