* Contains no plot spoilers This has to be my favourite Murakami novel so far. Although I’m not even half way through his oeuvre. The plot is a compelling and slow unravelling of two separate strands. The first strand is the 15 year old Kafka Tamura, a teen runaway who takes refuge in a remote…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review – Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
Glamour is an 18th Century corruption of the word grammar. Or the occult processes that were traditionally associated with learning during the middle ages. The words grammar and glamour are also associated with the word grimoire - a spell-book. Glamourie: witchcraft, magic, fascination or a spell Glaumerify: to cast a spell over or bewich Glamour-bead:…
Continue reading ➞ Ancient words of the day: Glamour and grammar
The ancient word for today is hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus. In the Middle Ages, writers didn't make reference to hedgehogs, but to urchins. A term still favoured in some English dialects. It's also associated with the sea urchin, which is literally a sea hedgehog. The word urchin came over to England with the Norman invasion and…
According to the Romans, every sound and motion the bird made had a different meaning according to different circumstances, times of the year and other factors.
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There’s a lovely subreddit I recently found called Cosy Places, which calls for people to submit their log cabins, hideaways and cosy loungerooms. This is a veritable treasure trove of different ideas for cosiness. Someone even parsed the photo content in the subreddit and came up with the recipe and criteria that make up a…
Continue reading ➞ An indepth exploration of the aesthetics of cosiness
Nemophilist - a haunter of the woods, one who loves the forest for its beauty and solitude.
The odd and wonderful bibliomat book vending machine
Life in a Medieval Castle is one of a series of compelling historical reference books written by acclaimed husband and wife historians Frances and Joseph Gies in the 1970's. Life in a Medieval Castle (along with companion books Life in a Medieval Village and Life in a Medival City) were re-released in 205 under the weight…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Life in a Medieval Castle by Frances and Joseph Gies
Helen Keller was not just some blind lass from the last century. She was a fierce socialist, pacifist, author and sufragette who believed in birth control, workers rights and women's rights. The first blind person to complete a Bachelor's Degree, she was a bold trailblazer with a sweet nature. Keller won hearts all over the…
Continue reading ➞ Helen Keller’s Fierce Friendships and Bold Legacy
Yeonmi Park has to be the bravest girl/woman in the world. She was born in the North Korean city of Hyesan which is separated by a river to the Chinese border and at the age of 13, she boldly and bravely managed to escape from there and gain her freedom. Yeonmi Park’s autobiography written at the…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: In Order to Live by Yeonmi Park
*Contains no spoilers. She Rises is an erotic, sea-faring adventure by debut novelist Kate Worsley. Under the tutelage of mentor and maven of the historical novel Sarah Waters, Kate Worsley has created a beautifully sculpted jewel of a novel set in an Essex fishing village in 1740. A word to the wise, the book is…
Most people are either not aware or don't care that the most pressing and revolutionary change in our world is right on our doorstep. The advance and rise of the machines. This is a book that tells the story of what happens next with the human species based on what came before and the technological…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Hariri
For all of the bookworms, here are some of the most exquisitely rendered miniature books in the world. As a warm up, here's a picture of the bombed-out Holland House library in London during WW2. The message was loud and clear. Readers won't be perturbed from doing what they love, no matter what else is…
Continue reading ➞ The Most Exquisite Tiny Books in the World
Robert Greene has written best-selling books on seduction, power, war, self-mastery and now knowledge. Although the sum and total of his output of books gives the wrong impression about the man. He’s not an evil and Machiavellian type jockeying for power – rather his books are about understanding the lesser-known shadowy parts of ourselves to…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene
I recently began a course with one of the most famed writers in the world teaching creative writing. I already know things, having studied creative writing years ago, however at the time I had zero confidence in my abilities. So I languished for a while in a corpo doing finance admin after my degree -…
This amazing explanation of narrative arcs by Kurt Vonnegut had me laughing out loud. To actually be present at this lecture would have been totally awesome. This video is great starting point for narrative structures and point of view, although really only the tip of the iceberg of a very gigantic topic. I hope other…
Continue reading ➞ Narrative arcs: a funny and simple explanation by Kurt Vonnegut
“One of the most calming and powerful actions you can do to intervene in a stormy world is to stand up and show your soul.” Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Women Who Run with the Wolves.
Have a look at the exquisite pages in Mira calligraphiae monumenta or the Model Book of Calligraphy, which was crafted by Croatian-born mastercraftsman Georg Bocskay, and Flemish artist Joris Hoefnagel. This is a real work of art and shows beautiful attention to detail with the gold leaf writing and sublime illustrations of flowers, insects and…
Continue reading ➞ An Exquisite Model Book of Calligraphy, 1560
"It was hard to be a tsar. Russia is not an easy country to rule. Twenty sovereigns of the Romanov dynasty reigned for 304 years, from 1613 until tsardom's destruction. by the revolution in 1917" The Romanovs were actually the most spectacularly successful empire builders since the Mongols" , So begins an epic 300 year…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Romanovs by Simon Sebag Montefiore
^ Contains no spoilers Nobel Laureate Gabriel Garcia Marquez is more known for his stunning works for fiction. However this short novella his first published peice of work is non-fiction. Garcia wrote this essay in a series of newspaper articles in Bogota over 30 years ago. He tells the dramatised story of a sailor Luis…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
