Magnificent Octopus

Deckles stands, straightens his robe, braces himself, and gives the shelves behind the desk a sharp shove. They swivel smoothly and silently...

Some things we plan, we sit and we invent and we plot and cook up; others are works of inspiration, of poetry; and it was this genius han...

Last week I read The Murder of Halland , by Pia Juul. I saw "lust" where the text said "last." I tried to continue rea...

"But your skin is made of metal ," Melisande said. "And metal can't feel ." "Darling Melisande," the Rom...

OK, wow. This is some of the most interesting sci-fi I've ever read. I first heard about Roadside Picnic , by Arkady and Boris Strugat...

Helena's been invited to a Christmas party this weekend, and I've been trying to impart to her the concept of a hostess gift — a nic...

Here are three books on my Christmas shopping list that aren't exactly books; that is, they are books, and just a little bit more — art,...

Mark Helprin's Winter's Tale is big, really big, with a big heart, and a big vocabulary. It starts off as an adventure — gangs of c...

"Go back?" he whispers. I desperateley shake my head and wave my fist right in his visor — Cut that out. For God's sake! Yo...

Good science fiction movies for kids are hard to find, but The Last Mimzy may qualify. Helena and I watched The Last Mimzy this weekend, f...

New York had always been a city destined for the rule of dandies, thieves, and men who resembled hardboiled eggs. Those who made its politic...

It was Helena's birthday yesterday, and just like every year, my birthday came 24 hours later. The thing is, she turned 10, and that fac...

Hugh Close, The Sun 's rewrite editor, had the boundless energy of a hound, and was always perched upright, like a Labrador waiting for ...

Claire has tagged me with seven bookish questions. (See other answers by Mee , BIP , Nicola , ds , Vasilly , and Lu .) 1. What propelled ...

The shelf was filled with books that were hard to read, that could devastate and remake one's soul, and that, when they were finished, h...

They walked along the line of machinery until they were discovered by a workman who was emerging from one of the long passages inside. He sa...

— No-one's trying to kill him at all. He's just paranoid, isn't he? Nora says irritably. He's just a red herring. And the ol...

His eyes were like razors and white diamonds. They were impossibly pale, lucid, and silver. People said, "When Pearly Soames opens his ...

" What the Book " is an interactive exhibit designed by Barbara deWilde. Visitors choose to agree or disagree with seven statement...

What if I didn't leave Bob? What if our slouch towards commitment ended at the altar? What would it be like if I occupied the wife-shape...