Random Articles - RAW 160429

The Bookseller recently reported that 23 indie bookshops opened in the UK in 2015, but 46 closed, bringing the total to 894. The number of indie bookshops in the UK has almost halved since 2005, when there were 1,535.

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Welcome to the weekend. I've compiled a list of interesting articles for you to enjoy over the weekend.  Sit back with your favourite beverage and enjoy.  Before you do check out my post on the Arthur C. Clarke Award Shortlist for 2016. Six Titles Which Represent a Special Moment in Time for UK Science Fiction. Which ones would you like read?  You can let me know via Twitter @nqwolf

How Novels Have Marked American Religious History

More often than not, it’s easier and more enjoyable to read fiction than theology. Little wonder, then, that for the last 150 years Americans have been writing religious novels, sometimes as a way of discussing difficult theological questions and sometimes just as a way of raising the moral tone of adventure tales. Some of these are still worth reading today; others have sunk into well-deserved obscurity.

Here’s a short guide to some of America’s most illuminating novels—periodic windows into our religious history. Read more...

Why These 27 Books in the New Testament Canon?

Tell me if you’ve heard this one before: The New Testament Canon (the authoritative collection of books) was formed over a period of sorting and sifting overseen by the Holy Spirit that was essentially completed by c. AD 200. The fifth-century church councils finally settled the matter. I heard something like this as a young seminarian. I suspect you’ve heard something similar. Upon further study I am convinced that this is at least 100 years too late in its date and places far too much emphasis on the church councils. So why these 27 books that we call the NT canon? Read more...

How Writing a Novel is Different from Writing Danger Mouse

What’s the difference between writing a script and writing a book? That was the question we were nervously asking ourselves when, after 16 years as successful children’s TV script writers, Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler decided to write a book together... here’s what they learned. Read more...

David Walliams Apologises to Children for not Responding to Fan Mail as His Post has Been Stolen

David Walliams, the comedian and children's author, has apologised to young fans for not replying to their letters because his post has been stolen. The Little Britain star and Britain's Got Talent judge revealed that Scotland Yard has told him that he was the victim of a mail thief. He told his 1.6 million Twitter followers that "a large box of letters" from youngsters sent to him via his publisher HarperCollins was among post that had been taken. Walliams, 44, apologised to fans who had not received a reply to letters they had sent because he does "endeavour to reply to everyone" Read more...

The Simple Cactus May Have the Answer the Clean Tech Industry Needs

In the world of engineering, you can usually trust nature to have done it first, and better. A newly-developed fuel cell technology looks to the cactus to solve a problem involving this promising but complex form of clean energy, which generates power without emitting planet-warming greenhouse gases. The technology, which is a thin plastic membrane, could help improve the performance of fuel cells to make them more useful for everything from electric cars to desalination plants. Read more...

Parallel Universes: Theories and Evidence

Is our universe unique? From science fiction to science fact, there is a proposal out there that suggests that there could be other universes besides our own, where all the choices you made in this life played out in alternate realities. The idea is pervasive in comic books and movies. For example, in the 2009 "Star Trek" reboot, the premise is that the Kirk and Spock portrayed by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto are in an alternate timeline apart from the William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy versions of the characters. Read more...

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