Here are links to recent book reviews I’ve published on this website. Look out for more soon.

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Apr 23, 2025

Review: The Bright Side: Why Optimists Have the Power to Change the World

Apr 23, 2025

I wrote this review wearing my school teacher hat. However, it struck me that optimism is something all writers need a great deal of!

Apr 23, 2025

Review: Small Habits Create Big Change

Apr 23, 2025

I wrote the review wearing my school teacher hat. However, it struck me that the “small habits” approach to writing is something useful to consider.

Apr 23, 2025

Should writing tutors embrace "produictive failure"?

Apr 23, 2025

My review of this for Teach Secondary magazine has just come out. Here is the published version, followed by the copy I submitted, which is slightly longer because it has a little more detail. I wrote the review wearing my school teacher hat. However, it struck me that the “productive failure” approach to teaching is something I’ve done, to some extent, in my creative writing classes.

Apr 23, 2025

Is Artificial Intelligence actually any good?

Apr 23, 2025

I’ve reviewed this book for Teach Secondary magazine. Although my review is written from the standpoint of the question, “how useful is AI in schools?”, I do thiink it has relevance here because many writers, and writers’ organisations, are also scrutinising AI.

Apr 23, 2025

Apr 16, 2025

Nonfiction notebook: 6 types of book review

Apr 16, 2025

I love books, and I love reviewing them. However, I’ve decided that a one-size fits all approach to reviewing books (or anything else, come to that), just won’t do. So I’ve categorised my reviews into 6 types.

Apr 16, 2025

Mar 7, 2025

Review: The Newsmongers -- two reviews in one!

Mar 7, 2025

was intrigued to discover that a popular news magazine of the sixties had been anticipated by Defoe.

Mar 7, 2025

Mar 5, 2025

Review: The Shortest History of Music

Mar 5, 2025

The Music Programme of Study requires students to have an understanding of the music that they perform and to which they listen, and its history, and an appreciation of different musical styles.

Mar 5, 2025

Review: How to think like a poet (two reviews in one!)

Mar 5, 2025

In all, twenty three poets are considered, and they constitute a wide variety: alongside the usual ones like Milton and Chaucer, we find Sappho and Basho. Each chapter is a mixture of biography and quotations.

Mar 5, 2025

Feb 11, 2025

Quick looks: The Oxford Book of Caribbean Stories

Feb 11, 2025

One of the things I think can add to one’s enjoyment and also improve one’s writing is to read stories from other cultures.

Feb 11, 2025

Jan 15, 2025

My reviews published in Teach Secondary magazine in 2024

Jan 15, 2025

This pdf contains the reviews of mine that were published in Teach Secondary magazine in 2024.

Jan 15, 2025

Book review round-up to August 2019

Latest Book Reviews