Author Buzz | Doctor Hendrix | Group Activity

Matthew Brown edited the blog post You web writers have taught AI some truly terrible writing habits in the group The Fantastic (Group) of Lord Matt, Super Geek

Mon, 06 Jul 2026 19:50:38 +0100

You web writers have taught AI some truly terrible writing habits Web writers, the AI has been trained on your public work, and it shows. You all have taught AI some truly terrible writing habits HFY writers have […]

Matthew Brown edited the blog post How to add a no-fuss "thoughts" custom paragraph style to LibreOffice in the group The Fantastic (Group) of Lord Matt, Super Geek

Sat, 04 Jul 2026 16:08:34 +0100

How to add a no-fuss "thoughts" custom paragraph style to LibreOffice This quick and easy guide is mostly for my fellow writers and anyone else who occasionally needs special paragraphs in their document. Imagine this. […]

Blog: Dooneen by Keith Ridgway review – uncanny visions of dark times in Dublin from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 06:00:07 +0100

Ireland is trembling with nascent social unrest in this labyrinthine tale of one man’s homecomingIrish author Keith Ridgway’s latest novel deals, both mis […]

Blog: ‘Beautiful and terrifying’: the best American LGBTQ+ books, chosen by Samuel R Delany, Kaveh Akbar, Eileen Myles and more from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 08:00:40 +0100

From 20th-century classics to little-known treasures, queer authors share their favorite books about LGBTQ+ life‘Sheer outrageousness’: writers on their fav […]

Blog: The Family Man by James Lasdun review – the killings that shocked America from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 24 Jun 2026 06:00:38 +0100

Alex Murdaugh’s conviction for the murder of his wife and son was recently overturned. Where does the truth lie?In March 2023, 54-year-old Alex Murdaugh received t […]

Blog: Reader, I married him: couples tell us how books brought them together from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 09:00:36 +0100

From book club meet-cutes to shared English Literature lectures, romance has blossomed beyond the page for these bibliophilesDua Lipa and Callum Turner have been […]

Blog: Fantastic Kingdom by Helene von Bismarck review – an outsider’s guide to British politics from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 08:00:34 +0100

This stranger’s-eye-view of an eccentric nation promises insight but delivers only conventional wisdom‘Continental people have sex lives; the English have hot […]

Blog: Awake Awake by Fiona Mozley review – in pursuit of false memories from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 23 Jun 2026 06:00:33 +0100

From the Booker-shortlisted author, a tantalisingly unreliable account of childhood, history and mental uncertaintyThe historian and novelist Fiona Mozley […]

Blog: The Leveret By Anna Goldreich review – a hare mends the pain of baby loss from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 08:00:50 +0100

This bold debut about a woman finding healing after a late miscarriage is written with utter convictionBirth. “A detaching, a loosening of something, then the p […]

Blog: The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow review – the real price of artificial intelligence from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 22 Jun 2026 06:00:52 +0100

A vivid and entertaining polemic on the economics of the tech revolution, filled with righteous ireAs former Google CEO Eric Schmidt could tell you, AI is a hard […]

Blog: M John Harrison: ‘If we met a real alien we’d have no clue what they thought’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 21 Jun 2026 11:00:29 +0100

At 80, SF author M John Harrison is producing some of his best work. He talks about finding his voice, alien intelligence and the advice from Iain Banks that still […]

Matthew Brown edited the blog post Let's invent words: Glimfleeble in the group Matthew D. Brown (Author)

Mon, 15 Jun 2026 10:34:33 +0100

Let's invent words: Glimfleeble Glimfleeble is now a word, I decided. Glimfleeble adj. Something that looks or sounds impressive and/or important because you have no idea what it is or how it works.

Arves Corral joined the group Thanet Creative: Writers

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 23:32:35 +0100

Matthew Brown wrote a new blog post Please, dear HFY writers, no more stories starting with "Bob sat on the bridge of the Earth Ship Big Birtha" in the group The Fantastic (Group) of Lord Matt, Super Geek

Sun, 07 Jun 2026 17:00:00 +0100

Please, dear HFY writers, no more stories starting with "Bob sat on the bridge of the Earth Ship Big Birtha" Why do so many HFY stories start with the OC standing somewhere waiting for the opening thing to happen? I’ve lost track of the stories I’ve listened to or […]

Matthew Brown edited the blog post Fixing my ActivityPub and WebMention comments to make them play nicely. in the group The Fantastic (Group) of Lord Matt, Super Geek

Sat, 06 Jun 2026 18:39:32 +0100

Fixing my ActivityPub and WebMention comments to make them play nicely. I was struggling to get both comments and replies to post while only showing “facepile” for likes and boosts. I had no one to blame but myself as I coded […]

Jane Smith joined the group Thanet Creative: Writers

Fri, 05 Jun 2026 11:38:48 +0100

Matthew Brown edited the blog post The email, social media, and IndieWeb Node I need (that will probably never exist), that I think authors would love in the group The Fantastic (Group) of Lord Matt, Super Geek

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:40:30 +0100

The email, social media, and IndieWeb Node I need (that will probably never exist), that I think authors would love I need a special blend of stuff that might never exist. This is my attempt to dream out loud in the hope that this is the idea someone steals and runs […]

Matthew Brown edited the blog post Jukka's blog and email list journey in the group The Fantastic (Group) of Lord Matt, Super Geek

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 14:36:40 +0100

Jukka's blog and email list journey Every now and then, I like to share the love by focusing on a blog I have found and enjoyed. Today I’d like to share Jukka’s blog. Jukka is a business […]

Blog: Ambivalence by Brian Dillon review – an odd man out from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 08:00:46 +0100

The critic’s memoir’s is a portrait in determination to go against the grain and ‘pursue a life in words and ideas’Brian Dillon lost his parents early, his mother […]

Blog: Wimmy Road Boyz by Sufiyaan Salam review – an electric debut set on Manchester’s Curry Mile from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 03 Jun 2026 06:00:44 +0100

Written in breathless multilingual prose, this coming-of-age meets state-of-the-nation novel is an incredible literary performanceThree twentysomethings “drive a […]

Blog: What we’re reading: writers and readers on the books they enjoyed in May from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 10:39:16 +0100

Madeleine Thien, Sufiyaan Salam and Guardian readers discuss the titles they have read over the last month. Join the conversation in the commentsLately I have loved […]

Blog: My Only Boy by Rosa Rankin-Gee review – a darkly funny near-future dystopia from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 08:00:42 +0100

A surprising romance is set against a backdrop of climate crisis, political instability and corporate corruption in this bleak but witty novelRosa Rankin-Gee […]

Blog: Tonight the Music Seems So Loud by Sathnam Sanghera review – a heartbreaking portrait of George Michael from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 06:00:40 +0100

This affecting exploration of the troubled genius’s impact is packed with anecdote, sharp analysis and social contextIn 1998, George Michael was arrested for p […]

Blog: I devoured classic novels as a teenager. In a world of distractions, can I relearn how to read them? from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 02 Jun 2026 04:00:38 +0100

In less than a decade, surrounded by screens, I lost my ability to read some of the best books ever written. But, inspired by the Guardian’s 100 best novels list, I […]

Blog: Land by Maggie O’Farrell review – an ambitious story of mapmaking in Ireland from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 01 Jun 2026 06:00:09 +0100

Set in the aftermath of the famine, the Hamnet author’s family saga folds in myth and folklore‘His father was ever a man of few words,” begins Maggie O’Far […]

Blog: Are ‘mind children’ the future of reproduction? from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 31 May 2026 11:00:47 +0100

Forget dirty nappies. In Silicon Valley, there’s increasing chatter about virtual offspringA few months ago, an AI researcher from Europe attended a dinner party i […]

Blog: Virginia Evans: ‘I loved books about things that can’t exist’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Fri, 29 May 2026 09:00:46 +0100

The Women’s prize-shortlisted novelist on taking inspiration from John Steinbeck, Joan Didion and Jhumpa Lahiri, and weeping through Little Women in her 30sMy e […]

Blog: The best recent translated fiction – review roundup from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Fri, 29 May 2026 08:00:45 +0100

Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami; All Flesh by Ananda Devi; The White Desert by Luis López Carrasco; The Home of the Drowned by Elin Anna LabbaSisters in Yellow […]

Matthew Brown edited the blog post 7 fun posts to reply to (espeically if you use WebMention) in the group The Fantastic (Group) of Lord Matt, Super Geek

Sat, 16 May 2026 22:11:06 +0100

7 fun posts to reply to (espeically if you use WebMention) Sometimes you want to write a blog or a social media update, but draw a blank on what to say. Other times, you may crave interaction and a good chat. In […]

Matthew Brown edited the blog post Survival acid indicator in the group Matthew D. Brown (Author)

Thu, 07 May 2026 21:37:55 +0100

Survival acid indicator I needed to have a character test the acidity of the water without any access to modern technology. Fortunately, there are some fairly common foods that can be used. Red cabbage is the best indicator, but cherry, rose petals, and beets alsoContinue reading“Survival acid indicator”

Blog: Having Spent Life Seeking by Kae Tempest review – painfully earnest tale of trauma and transition from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 08:00:45 +0100

An ex-offender searches for meaning and beauty in the second novel from the spoken-word performerKae Tempest’s new novel is dedicated to “you”, the reader. It also […]

Blog: This Dark Night by Deborah Lutz review – Emily Brontë’s world from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 06:00:43 +0100

Tactile details and a no-nonsense approach make this biography a refreshing change from more lurid fareBoth Emily Brontë and her only novel Wuthering Heights […]

Blog: Zadie Smith: ‘I don’t know when I read men any more’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:30:50 +0100

At a talk on her latest essay collection, Dead and Alive, Smith said she ‘sometimes’ reads male novelists, but more often seeks the wisdom of older female wri […]

Blog: Famesick by Lena Dunham review – when celebrity causes side-effects from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 08:00:38 +0100

The Girls creator has endured brickbats and breakdowns – but she doesn’t always make it easy to feel sorry for herAt the end of last year, Netflix released Too Muc […]

Blog: The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout review – readers will delight in these new characters from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 06:00:37 +0100

The Olive Kitteridge and Lucy Barton author branches out with the tale of a Massachusetts teacher haunted by traumaThe American author Elizabeth Strout famously […]

Blog: ‘It’s still a no-go area’: German author Matthias Jügler on the trauma surrounding the GDR’s ‘stolen children’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:00:16 +0100

The reaction among officials in Germany to his bestselling novel has been hostile. As Mayfly Season is published in the UK, its author explains whyA few weeks after […]

Blog: Do stronger borders ever work? from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:00:15 +0100

Leaders have thrown up walls and barriers throughout history – but their effects are unpredictableFour millennia ago, a Sumerian king, his frontier beset by n […]

Blog: Joe Dunthorne: ‘Growing up in Swansea, I developed an allergy to Dylan Thomas’ from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 09:00:35 +0100

The author on feeling Thomas Hardy’s pain, being duped by Donna Tartt and how reading his sister’s copy of Trainspotting made him want to writeMy earliest rea […]

Blog: A Family Matter by Claire Lynch audiobook review – an award-winning story of homophobia and divorce from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Thu, 23 Apr 2026 14:00:15 +0100

Dual timelines reveal the real reason a mother was forced to leave her daughter in the 80s, in this Nero prize-winning novel inspired by real-life eventsThe debut […]

Blog: Communion by Jon Doyle review – a charged debut about sin and solace from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:01:02 +0100

A man who meant to be a priest is faced with a moral crossroads in this ambitious and affecting first novelJon Doyle’s debut novel tells the story of Mack O […]

Blog: The Fallen by Louise Brangan review – an enraging account of Ireland’s Magdalene laundries from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 06:00:01 +0100

The horrifying story of the Catholic-run institutions that incarcerated thousands of women and girlsMany readers, and surely most Irish readers, will finish this […]

Blog: When an author says she had to decline a $175,000 prize, what does it say about the publishing world? | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 05:00:02 +0100

Helen DeWitt turning down the Windham-Campbell literary award caused controversy. But her bold act highlights that such prizes aren’t always as meritocratic as t […]

Blog: Michael Rosen wins Hans Christian Andersen award from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 15:24:58 +0100

The former children’s laureate missed the announcement of the award in Bologna due to post-Brexit passport rule changesMichael Rosen, the poet and author known f […]

Blog: On Memoir by Blake Morrison review – lessons in life writing from a master from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:00:04 +0100

Don’t be fooled by the A-Z treatment – this thoroughgoing guide asks deep questions about the art of autobiography“I’ve had a life and I’ve also had a life as a […]

Blog: My Year in Paris With Gertrude Stein by Deborah Levy review – wonderfully entertaining from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 06:01:02 +0100

Biography mingles with fiction as Levy explores the avant-garde writer through the story of three female friends in ParisThe narrator of Deborah Levy’s witty s […]

Blog: Tucker Carlson to launch publishing imprint with books by Russell Brand and Milo Yiannopoulos from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 15:05:26 +0100

Former Fox News host says publishing house Skyhorse ‘looking for books that nobody else will publish’Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson is set to launch his own […]

Blog: Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh review – a climate-crisis novel let down by its prose from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:00:39 +0100

A reincarnation mystery drives this exploration of spiritual interconnectedness in a globalised worldWhat happens when a novelist cares more about their plot, or […]

Blog: Walking Shadow by Greg Doran review – Shakespeare’s healing power from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 06:00:38 +0100

After the death of his husband, Antony Sher, the former RSC director embarks on a quest to see every First FolioThis is really two books in one. The first part […]

Blog: Is AI the greatest art heist in history? from Books | The Guardian in the group The Guardian book reviews

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:00:17 +0100

New technologies of reproduction are plundering the art world – and getting away with itIn 2026, its easy to see why generative AI is bad. The internet has n […]

Matthew Brown posted an update in the group Help and Support: I'm about to live-test something. Possible disruption should […]

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 06:08:45 +0100

I’m about to live-test something. Possible disruption should last about 5 minutes.