The Fortnightly from Julian Girdham

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A love letter to libraries
A modified and updated version of a post from early 2024 on the joys of libraries, especially for the many new subscribers since then.
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Julian Girdham
The Occasional 6
Lots more book recommendations from past editions of the Fortnightly for paid subscribers (who can also access the whole archive). I'm sincerely…
182: Outward conditions notwithstanding
Harriet Walter & Shakespeare's women, English Meet, Sarah Churchwell on 'The Great Gatsby', AI & English, Marianne Faithful & Byron, Sheila Heti, Philip…
2
Neil Postman's 'Technopoly'
An intermediate issue. The standard Fortnightly will be back this time next week, followed a week later by an issue of The Occasional for paid…
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Julian Girdham
6

January 2025

December 2024

Posts of the Year, 2024
25 piece of writing covering teaching, books, education, architecture, technology, history, Shakespeare and more.
179: Books of the Year, 2024
Including Sheila Heti, Richard Flanagan, Judi Dench, Claire Kilroy, Tim Parks, Carol Atherton, Victoria Kennefick, Clair Wills, James Shapiro and many…
178: Just another tapestry
Richard Flanagan, King Lear, Brian Klaas, Claire Keegan and Oprah Winfrey, Maud Gonne, and Philip Larkin's Christmas.
2

November 2024

The Occasional, issue 5
Lots of book recommendations in a post for paid subscribers, with my thanks. This follows on from Occasional 4, which gathered books from the first 100…
177: Like the snow: quietly, quietly.
Daisy Christodoulou on VAR, Leaving Cert English, Roy Goddard, Tracy K. Smith, Wendell Berry, Jared Cooney Horvath on AI, King Lear, Bluesky, and…
2
176: Small things English teachers can do
Sally Rooney, Claire Keegan & Cillian Murphy, Jennifer Roberts, King Lear, Shakespeare in America, Deborah Levy and more.
© 2025 Julian Girdham
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