Sue Gee competition winners

As advertised here, thanks to Salt Publishing we had two signed copies of Sue Gee’s acclaimed new short story collection Last Fling to give away to members of the Dabbler Book Club. The winners, selected at random, are: Philippa Saunders of Necton in Norfolk, and Alice Matthews of Tillicoultry in Scotland. Congratulations to ... Read More...

Book-odourise your Kindle!

Hello, this is Elif Batuman guest-blogging from Istanbul! Do you use a Kindle?  Do people tell you things like, “Oh, you use a Kindle, but for me reading isn’t reading without the sound/ feel/ sight of a bound book”?  Finally there is an answer for you, and for them!  This answer ... Read More...

Worth Repeating: Moths…and what they tell us about life

From the Dabbler archives we present this post from Martin Wainwright, which originally appeared in September 2010. Martin has written numerous invaluable books about the countryside, is the northern editor of The Guardian and is a prolific blogger on the subject of moths... As an increasingly ancient journalist, I’ve lived through many stories of ... Read More...

Worth Repeating: Shell Guides

Despite still being less than a year old, The Dabbler has already amassed a rich archive of wonderful content - and, since our readership has grown exponentially, most of you won't have seen a lot of it. On Sundays, Bank Holidays and other occasions we will be digging out some articles which ... Read More...

Sui Generis

In the compendium post marking Bob Dylan’s 70th birthday, I claimed that Dylan is a true artist amongst mere approximations; a man pulling stuff out of the ether via a channel that only he can tune in to. But just as lesser footballers than Messi can sometimes score wonder-goals or minor ... Read More...

Matrilineality – Slang and Mothers

  Given slang’s track record, it is to be assumed that no one will expect that mother, that sacred, venerated figure in much of the wider world, receives any favours from the lexis. While slang observes man’s time-honoured division of women into whores and mothers, the difference here is that the ... Read More...