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Continue reading →: Book Review: Empireland – How Imperialism Has Shaped Modern Britain by Sathnam Sanghera
My rating: 5 of 5 stars A long-time lover of Global history, I’m very aware just how too much of what I’ve read has been written by white British historians (Peter Frankopan is just about the best of them). I recently started a run of reading non-white historians to get…
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Continue reading →: Book Review: Dodger by Terry Pratchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars Ahhh, Terry Pratchett is one of my most beloved authors and I do love his Discworld books which, I must confess, I thought this was going to be. Having borrowed a selection of Pratchett books from a village friend, I had assumed they were…
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Continue reading →: Book Review: Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
My rating: 5 of 5 stars I will confess a considerable bias in writing this review. Let me tell you a story… Once upon a time there was a young(ish) man who took his family off to a strange and bizarre land, where they settled – for a few months…
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Continue reading →: Book Review: The Assault on Truth – Boris Johnson, Donald Trump and the Emergence of a New Moral Barbarism by Peter Oborne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars I’ve not heard of Peter Oborne before this book and, having listened to the audio version with the author himself narrating, I’ll be quite happy if I never hear of (or from) him again. Oborne is immediately odious, cranky, defensive and belligerent. He’s the…
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Continue reading →: Book Review: Failures of State – The Inside Story of Britain’s Battle with Coronavirus by Jonathan Calvert and George Arbuthnott
My rating: 5 of 5 stars In general, in the news world at least, there is – at least in pretence – an abhorrence of bias. Reporters and journalists are supposed to be neutral, impartial observers. Of course, in reality, true objectivity is impossible; every writer has a direction from…
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Continue reading →: Book Review: Moby-Dick or, the Whale by Herman Melville
My rating: 1 of 5 stars What an utter waste of time ‘Moby Dick’ proved to be. There are times when you wonder just the state of publishing was in the 1850s when Melville’s ‘classic’ was written. I get it that you have an iconic image – crazed sea captain…
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Continue reading →: Book Review: The Foundation Series by Isaac Asimov
My rating: 3 of 5 stars My Foundation books have sat on my shelves since I was young, read long ago, but awaiting a re-read along with many other classics. A discussion with my daughter’s boyfriend a couple of years ago who was a big sci-fi fan (and Asimov in…
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Continue reading →: Book Review: In search of black history with Bonnie Greer by Bonnie Greer
My rating: 4 of 5 stars This series of eight podcasts with multi-talented Bonnie Greer, who – among many, many accomplishments – was also the first Black American woman to become not just a trustee of the British Museum but also serve as Deputy Chair, is the first of a…
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.
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Write Out Loud (Reviews and Writing) 