Caleb Crain is an American writer who keeps an elegant blog at www.steamthing.com. At the end of June, he wrote a review of a new book by the essayist Alain de Botton for the New York Times. The day after the review came out, a long comment was posted on Crain’s blog by a reader,… read more +

“There is a part of me,” says Alan Gilsenan, “that is slightly repelled by the theatre.” Gilsenan is a filmmaker. He made his name with an angry young man’s documentary about 1980s Ireland, ‘The Road to God Knows Where’; his more recent documentary series, such as ‘The Asylum’ and ‘The Hospice’, have been groundbreaking treatments… read more +

‘The Order of the Phoenix Park’ by ‘Twenty Major’ is the worst book I have ever finished. Admittedly, I made it just 50 pages into ‘The Da Vinci Code’, which this satirises, and about the same into the first Ross O’Carroll Kelly book, which this apes. Between them, those books sold approximately 40,100,000 copies, worldwide…. read more +

Eugene McCartan was worried. There was water running into his old Temple Bar shop, and the upstairs floors had been colonised by pigeons. The bank wouldn’t give him any money. He needed a partnership with a builder, but none of those he spoke to were interested

John Mortimer sits ensconced at his writing desk in his study, a folder of typed sheets lying open in front, the walls lined with books and pictures, a clutter of pens and dusty knick knacks on the desk. And some plastic figurines. “Oh that’s Shakespeare and Freud, and lots of Jesuses. I’ve got a bouncy… read more +