Tag: literature

How I Self-Published My Fiction – And Why

Posted on by cococatani

Self-publishing is often frowned upon, seen as a vanity exercise that removes the gatekeeper function of traditional publishers and releases floods of drivel onto an already saturated media landscape. My own opinion is a bit more nuanced. I think publishing and self-publishing can easily exist together. Indie and DIY approaches have long been common in other creative sectors, such as music and film. And with everyone broadcasting themselves on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, I can’t see why self-publishing my thoughts in book form would be a weird or embarrassing thing to do.

A Celebration of Books: How My First Library Visit in Months Introduced Me to Something Amazing

Posted on by cococatani

Never mind the pubs reopening, I thought as I was watching the news. It’s the library I’m excited about. As expected the experience wasn’t quite what it used to be. With face masks, a one way system and a limited assortment of books available things didn’t feel like they’d gone back to normal. But I’ve stumbled upon a real gem. I always love it when that happens.

Chainsaw Sisters: A Review

Posted on by cococatani

Picture this. A novella about two sisters: Sis and Amy. One of them alive, one of them dead. The living one muscular and feisty. The dead one reincarnated… as a chainsaw. Together they set off to get their revenge on Amy’s killers. Cue rampage, gore, mayhem. And, in case you missed it, a talking chainsaw.

My colleagues noticed that I was running out of books… and here’s what happened

Posted on by cococatani

With an ongoing lockdown, and libraries shut until further notice, my book supply had all but dried up as of last week. For someone who always carries something to read and only sleeps soundly with a healthy to-read-stack waiting for her in the morning, this was a problem. I suffered withdrawal symptoms, albeit non-physical ones, and longed more for the escapism good books provide than ever before.

Call Me By Your Name: When the Film Is Better Than the Book

Posted on by cococatani

Call Me By Your Name (2017) has been on my to-see-list ever since I failed to go and see it in the cinema when it was released. One of the reasons why I kept putting it off was the fact that the film is adapted from a novel. I’m biased, for I really like books, but I find that film adaptations rarely match up to the novels they are based on. But the trailer looked interesting, I’d been assured by several people that the film was worth watching, and with nothing better to do I decided to give it a go.

Reading as Escapism: Charles Willeford’s Hoke Moseley Novels

Posted on by cococatani

On day two of an almost complete lockdown, with nothing to do and nowhere to go apart from my NHS job, I’m feeling a need to write about literary escapism. My local library shut down indefinitely last Saturday, and although I’ve managed to get a stash of books that’ll last me a few weeks, I’m already missing my trips to pick up new ones. It’s all temporary, of course, and all for a good cause, but I’m probably not the only one for whom life feels rather odd and claustrophobic at the moment.

Rereading Stephen King: A Research Report

Posted on by cococatani

King’s central position in contemporary cultural imagination alone merits a proper look at his work. Sure, other authors have written novels that are more aesthetically pleasing, literarily challenging, or thematically groundbreaking. But the fact that his books just keep selling and selling suggest that King is on to something.

Other than that, I’m simply a massive King fan and will jump at any reason to revisit some of his books.