Monday 8th June 2026

Books

YA Thrills: Escapism and disguise

An issue that has been encountered by authors since the dawn of time, perhaps one that feels too obvious to even state, is that some readers will not enjoy their books.

The death of the male novelist or the birth of the feminist?

The death of the male novelist, as a concept exaggerated by the dramaticisms of its name, fails to stand up under investigation.

Barker & Co. Booksellers: Oxford’s newest independent bookshop

A new secondhand bookstore opened in Oxford city centre last week. Located in the Golden Cross shopping centre, just off Cornmarket Street, the bookstore stocks hundreds of secondhand books, ranging from accessibly priced paperbacks to rare and expensive antiquarian first-editions.

Booksmaxxing and the illusion of being “disgustingly educated”

If you are as chronically online as I am, then it is more than...

Troy Story Revisited

Reviewing Pat Barker’s ‘The Silence of the Girls’ (Penguin, 2018).

Going Wilde in America

“Audiences deserted his lectures, Harvard students mocked his outfits, and his failures left him drunk and dejected." Reviewing Michele Mendelssohn's 'Making Oscar Wilde'.

The New Bridget Jones?

Reviewing ‘Queenie’ by Candice Carty-Williams (Trapeze, 2019).

An Old War in a New Light

Reviewing ‘Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy’ by Max Hastings (Harper, 2018).

In Search of a Poet

Exploring the history and the hype behind the role of the Oxford Professor of Poetry

‘In Search of Equillibrium’

A review of Theresa Lola’s debut poetry collection (Nine Arches Press, 2019).

The Power of Telling Tales in Ali Smith’s ‘Spring’

'This third instalment in Smith’s quartet is perhaps the best yet; a novel for our times that asks all the right questions of the current climate, but also of itself. '

The ‘happily ever after’ we seek only exists in fiction

Reading stories full of delusions allows us to escape from the modern world

The Intricacies of Married Life

Exploring the themes of illict love, friendship and bereavement in Tessa Hadley’s 'Late in the Day'.

Thinking Through The Flesh

A review of Lidia Yuknavitch's new memoir, The Chronology of Water.

The Consolation of ‘Constellations’

A review of Sinéad Gleeson's new memoir.

‘If We Were Villains’: Caught in long shadow of ‘The Secret History’

Does M.L Rio's debut novel prioritise style over substance?

Reflective Awakenings

  The Victorian period was one defined by immense social change - especially in regards to women’s position in society. Throughout the century, increasing debate...

The Magic of Madeline Miller’s ‘Circe’

An exploration of the way Madeline Miller finds beauty in sadness.

Hartnell’s ‘Bodies’: Hugely readable

A review of Medieval Bodies by Jack Hartnell (Wellcome Collection, 2019, 352 pages)

Some New Angles on Perspective

A preview of Thinking 3D (Treasury Room, Weston Library), on from March 21st 2019 until February 9th 2020.

A tapestry of living and dead: Max Porter on his new book, ‘Lanny’

An exploration of Max Porter, in conversation with Ali Shaw, and his new novel, Lanny.

The Epilogue of a Lifetime

Julian Barnes’ third of three essays 'The Loss of Depth’ is an epilogue in form and in subject-matter, trapping the pulse of his wife’s memory in his intimate and moving portrait of grief.

Othering Ourselves

Hazy memories and complicit passivity allow Ishiguro’s characters to construct a protective outsider status

Would you risk your life on God? Reflections on Professor John Lennox’s ‘Can Science Explain Everything?’

Prompted by Professor John Lennox's new book, Jack Sagar grapples with questions about science, God, and the faith that binds us all together.

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