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Seven short stories that blew my mind last year, number seventeen will SURPRISE you, number twelve will ASTOUND you, and you will never believe what happened next, and what I learned.

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So let’s celebrate short stories, the best of all the forms. Seven stories from last year that I loved and I think you might love too. Give them a read and that. Mike Fox – The Violet Eye  You are playing a dangerous game, promoting Nightjar Press, because each story is limited to 200 copies. If you let too many people in on the secret, you end up risking not getting a copy yourself. I already have three gaps in my own collection (Small Animals by Alison Moore, The Safe… Read more Seven short stories that blew my mind last year, number seventeen will SURPRISE you, number twelve will ASTOUND you, and you will never believe what happened next, and what I learned. →

My best favourites of telly in 2018

Golden Age Of Television! Golden Age of Television! Golden Age of Television! I love telly me. Always there. Always generous with the entertainment. But what was my best favourites of last year? And are they exactly the same as yours? Well, they probably aren’t exactly the same. Largely because I still haven’t got round to watching Killing Eve yet. Or the second season of The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel. So there are two good ones I haven’t seen already. But to save me writing about stuff that is universally acclaimed, let’s… Read more My best favourites of telly in 2018 →

Ben has not seen… any films this week

I didn’t make it to the cinema this week. Sorry. Anyway, I have been thinking about how I am reviewing films and I’m not sure I like it. It needs a little bit more… more. And as less is more, I thought, “Why not give it a bit more more by giving it bit less. That way the bit of less will give it a bit more more, more or less.” Yes? Yes. In other words, I am going to limit the word count of each film review on this… Read more Ben has not seen… any films this week →

My favourite comics of 2018

OK, when I say comics I mean mostly in book form. I have neither the money nor the brain power to keep up with stuff as it is released the first time. Consequently what I call 2018 may well have been published individually in 2017 or even 2016. Do I care? No, I do not. I am one hundred percent whatever. I also refuse to make any distinction between cartoon strips, comics, and graphic novels, which I accept is ridiculous but again, I don’t give a hoot. I have sympathy… Read more My favourite comics of 2018 →

The three best things I ate last year

Basically, best restaurants, but with a more clickbait-y headline. The twenty first century, eh? No. 3 – The Block, York It’s a pizza place. Pretty basic. A handful of chairs and a table or two, pizza by the slice. But what pizza. Oh my. Oh my. In a nutshell, if you like pizza, eat here. If you don’t like pizza, I can’t help you. Eat something else. Or learn to like pizza. I mean, I don’t like to judge or anything, but jeez, it’s pizza. What do you like? They… Read more The three best things I ate last year →

My favourite non-fiction of 2018

I seemed to read more non-fiction than fiction last year. I suspect it is more to do with it being easier to read in situations where you are being perpetually interrupted, like parenthood, rather than any stylistic preference, but you never know. I’d need to do more research. Also, for some reason, my brain will accept non-fiction from a screen in a way it won’t with fiction. Sure, I prefer reading The Guardian as an actual paper far more than as a website (not least because all the terrible opinion… Read more My favourite non-fiction of 2018 →