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Picture: Emil Widlund, Unsplash BRITISH readers’ love affair with all things dark, murderous and mysterious shows no signs of waning. Crime continues to come first choice among public library users, with children’s books a valiant second and daylight to all other genres. Thrillers, mysteries and crime fiction take eight out of the ten top places in the British Library’s latest list (for the 2018-19 year) of the country’s most borrowed books. Continuing the trend of recent years, the list reflects readers’ enduring love of thrillers. Eight of the top ten are crime fiction. Lee Child, who leads the way with… Continue reading

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Picture courtesy Elijah Hail, Unsplash WHAT is it about proofreading and editing that academics find so hard to understand? Yet again a university student has requested my help in preparing their thesis for submission. And yet again, and much as I would welcome the work, I have had to say no. There are several reasons for refusal, but the main one is time. The student has set a deadline for return of the completed edit five days on from sending the request. No fees have been quoted or agreed. None of the specifics have been discussed. Nothing has been signed. Continue reading