Why the Reacher show works
I’m a Reacher fan. It’s absolutely a guilty pleasure. Lee Child writes like Eric Clapton covering Robert Johnson – plugged into some kind of deep Americana that he doesn’t understand. He creates a world in which a huge dude with brains and brawn can outsmart the nastiest of the nasty, all while anchoring us in…
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Subscribe to the Great Reads Newsletter
I write a monthly newsletter about the books I’m reading. Please check it out if you like books. During the pandemic, like everyone else, I took up baking. I’ve never been good at it – I follow recipes as inspiration and not guides and, as I discovered, baking is a science. So for months, I…
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Slushpile Reborn
My friend Scott McKenzie and I started Slushpile, a site about books, in 2005. Over the years we’ve sort of pulled back from updating and, as a result, the site has gone stale. I think it’s time bring it back. The site is about reading. We’re readers and writers and we love to review books…
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Slushpile Reads: Blitzed: Drugs in the Third Reich
Strapline: A look at the complex – and dangerous – connection between drugs and the rise of the Third Reich. Why We Love It: This is a book that doesn’t explain the horrors of war but does explain the fuel that powered its engines. This book, written in a light, accessible style paints the Third…
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Slushpile Reads: Breakout: How Atari 8-Bit Computers Defined a Generation
Strapline: A charming little book about the best computers in the world, the Atari 400 and 800. Why We Love It: Atari has been given short shrift in the history of computing but their early home computers were some of the best around and they were emminently fun and usable. I personally learned to code…
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