By Charlotte Dibley

After my discussion on book art (which you can check out HERE) I thought I’d continue along a similar theme and talk about my book reading etiquette. All bookworms undoubtedly have little quirks regarding the way they treat their books and with these quirks comes the spectacular annoyances towards other people’s treatment of literature.

By Samantha Payne

Fantasy. Does it weave words of magic through your mind? Or does it jump from the page and hit you in the face with its sword hilt? Fantasy is a genre that can mean many things to many people. It can inspire love, hate, laughter and sadness. It can inspire your own mind to open up to the possibilities within our own world. It can cause you to catch the maddening bug of writing; where an idea will smack you across the back of the head when you’re least expecting it, prompting you to dive for the nearest writing utensils like something possessed. It can be a way of life.

So how can we possibly begin to define such an elusive creature as is Fantasy? Why is it so compelling for so many readers? I will try my best to pin it down, but please don’t come chasing me with torches and pitch forks if I don’t get it quite right. Fantasy has so many definitions, that it’s impossible to find the ones that resonate perfectly with the genre. I will list a few below with my reasoning whether they are a good fit or not.

by Hayley Charlesworth

I am taking a break from I’m With Geek for the week as I take in the delights of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. But while I’m basking in comedy glory (for stand-up comedy is my main reason for attending) I pity the people back home who are denied the laughter. But fear not, I am here to provide with literature! In the first of a semi-regular series, we look at three comedians who made the leap to the fiction world.

By Charlotte Dibley

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the pages of a book merely hold the words of a story. In fact, there’s been a recent surge in creating an entirely new bookish medium: the physical paper is now being used to create striking images. Whether it’s vandalism or imaginative beauty is what we’re here to debate!

It seems that physical books are becoming increasingly marginalised in the face of the digital format. So, giving books a new lease of life as works of art: does this help or hinder their plight? Does it make people see the multiple possibilities in a hardcover or does it underscore their growing irrelevance?

By Emma Raymond

Across the world, books are banned for many different reasons which vary from country to country. Today, we shall be looking at my top 10 books that have been banned around the world.

By Hayley Charlesworth

Today, 1st August, marks Yorkshire Day, a day to celebrate all things Yorkshire. And as a native of the other side of the Pennines, I feel like a traitor to my people even writing this article. But my grandad was a Yorkshireman and I basically live next to the moors separating Lancashire and Yorkshire, so I think I'm good so long as I'm not wearing a red rose. Centuries-old rivalries aside, Yorkshire has produced some incredible writing talent. Here are just five examples:

By Pamela Banayoti

The debate for the legitimacy of Creative Writing courses sweeps the internet and newspapers as the course comes under scrutiny. As the old saying goes, practice makes perfect, right? The debate exists as to pin point whether Creative Writing courses are useful, or whether writers in themselves have the talent that is able to finish a piece without the aid for a degree that will now cost thousands to pay back.

By Samantha Payne

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’ve experienced that no man’s land between books when you just don’t know what you want to read. That inexplicable feeling of pickiness whenever perusing online, at the local bookstore or library. The worse thing I’ve found when looking for a new book is to look at its reviews. 

By Charlotte Dibley

I’m sizeist. There, I’ve said it.

A big, thick, lengthy book is a complete turn-off for me.

I find long books undeniably daunting. I'm not one of those people who can abandon a book part-way through; I have to complete them. I know, I know. No idea why. So, the thought of being disinterested and overwhelmed during a 900 page story yet soldiering on to the finish does not appeal to me in the slightest. I've always found hefty books a little off-putting and as a result, I haven't read anything ridiculously long. I always think 'come on, what can warrant that amount of deforestation and that amount of ink?'

by Hayley Charlesworth

With the ongoing atrocities on the Gaza Strip, and the devastation of the Malaysian Airlines crash in Ukraine, the news is rife with terrible tales of conflict. But these modern wars have also brought with them some of the bravest, illuminating, and uplifting biographical works of recent times, showing the human cost of war, and bringing with them home thanks to the courage and tenacity of the writers. Here are just five of the best biographies, autobiographies and non-fiction works that showcase the triumph of the human spirit in even the darkest of times.