'A local group claimed the books were satanic and promoting witchcraft, and consequently, set about burning a large cache of the books outside the Christ Community Church.' [a 2001 campaign in Mexico against The Lord of the Rings] In two previous articles, I talked about some of the books I enjoyed as a youngster. I …
Category: Education
Cloud Cuckoo Land
by Anthony Doerr Like All The Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr's 2014/2015 Pulitzer winner, Cloud Cuckoo Land comes as a big surprise. It is a book within a book, as compelling as it is original, and tells the story in three timelines - well, four really (which I will explain shortly). Beginning and ending …
A Story for Boys (and Girls)
World Book Day 2023 - thoughts after the event: Let me begin with a question: Should we boycott, ban or burn great stories because we don't like the authors' opinions, or the opinions and mores of the society in which they lived? Before delving again into the literary world I introduced in my previous article …
BILLY BOY
Caught Between the Orange and the Green by Joyce Milne D'Auria ‘Maggie’s eye fixed on the boy. She smiled and felt drawn to the cot’s side. The child had red-gold hair down to his collar and piercing blue eyes. He raised his arms to be picked up ....’ Billy Boy is an historical coming-of-age novel …
What Money Can’t Buy
The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael J Sandel 'Betting on when celebrities will die is a recreational activity.' I have been a fan of Michael Sandel for several years now, ever since I watched his Harvard lectures entitled Justice. Described variously as 'a great educator' and 'the most popular professor in the world', Sandel …
Jane's History
The History of England from the reign of Henry the 4th to the death of Charles the 1st by Jane Austen [Henry the 8th] ' . . . [his] last wife contrived to survive him, but with difficulty effected it.' [James the 1st] '. . . had some faults, among which & as the most …
Saving the Sumatran Tiger
Tyger, tyger, burning bright,In the forests of the night;What immortal hand or eyeCould frame thy fearful symmetry?(William Blake) Today, I'd like to suggest a thought experiment: Suppose that those of you reading this article - let's say there are four hundred of you (you see, I'm an optimist) - are the …
Bookheathen Scribblings 