-
Continue reading →: Book Review: You Don’t Want to Know – The grisly, jaw-dropping and most macabre moments from history, nature and beyond by James Felton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars James Felton is one of those writers who don’t just call a spade a spade: they call it a fecking great shovel. And when I say ‘fecking’, that’s not the word he’s really using, obviously. It’s a close cousin. He uses it a lot.…
-
Continue reading →: Book Review: The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars The dual combination of being both short and one of those books which appears on more or less every ‘Must Read’ list meant I finally picked up this slender volume recently. Having seen the book quoted innumerable times in various forms across social media,…
-
Continue reading →: Book Review: Welcome to the Universe – An Astrophysical Tour by Neil deGrasse Tyson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars Everything you could want to know about astrophysics – and way, way more…(no, really) It is difficult to go wrong with a book on this subject written by these three authors, all at the top of their respective trees. Tyson et al do a…
-
Continue reading →: Book Review: Why Balloons Rise and Apples Fall – The Laws That Make the World Work by Jeff Stewart
My rating: 4 of 5 stars Bought on a whim while at the British Museum, I picked up this little gem in the hope that I might glean some useful simple analogies and explanations to use with my science students. I wasn’t disappointed. Jeff Stewart is as funny as he…
-
Continue reading →: A Brief Guide to Writing: 4 – Budgeting income as a writer
Well, so far in my journey to put you off writing, I’ve told you why you shouldn’t be a writer and then went on to tell you there’s no money in it. If you’re still here, well done. Clearly optimism in the face of reality is strong in you –…
-
Continue reading →: A Brief Guide to Writing: 3 – Thinking like a writer
In my previous article I did my best to put you off any fantasy of making a living from writing. If you’re still here, I take it you’ve engaged with that and you’re ready to find out what you can do as a writer (and if you missed it, read…
-
Continue reading →: A Brief Guide to Writing: 2 – Why you shouldn’t be a writer
My brain is wired a little differently to most other brains of around my age. When thinking of writing a series to help and encourage writers, my first thought was ‘what can I say to really scare them off?’ So here I am starting my series of short guides by…
-
Continue reading →: A Brief Guide to Writing: 1 – Introduction
I felt it was about time to put down in writing the various things I’ve learned, or found helpful, about this game we call ‘being a writer’. I remember, when I first started to train as a writer, that many of the writers I followed boasted of their credentials that…
-
Continue reading →: Book Review: Talking to Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
My rating: 4 of 5 stars With the final book in the quadrilogy that is The Enchanted Forest Chronicles, I was surprised just how this got to me considering I wasn’t convinced at first. ‘Talking to Dragons’ presents very differently to the previous three books; not a surprise in some…
Hello, I’m Ken.
Welcome to Write Out Loud, my blog dedicated to all sorts of things to do with writing.
This page will be updated constantly every week with book reviews and writing-related stuff.
The blog is the baby sister of my personal blog kenthinksaloud where I write ‘Monday Murmurings’—insights into life and philosophy. Get a clever take on politics with ‘Wednesday Banker,’ and ‘Future Friday’ for the latest in psychology, environment, and tech.
I will use this blog to give helpful advice, tips, tricks and resources as I come across them to other writers and to advertise my own writing especially as my books start to be published.
Sign up to support and keep informed of all that’s going in my writing life and (I hope) to get useful, free help in your own writing career.
Write Out Loud (Reviews and Writing) 