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
Full disclosure, I find all of my books second hand in a charity shop which is particularly full of a lot of good quality books that are at least decade old. Thus I came upon this little gem which was published in 2005. A NYT bestseller (a stamp of approval I think actually bears to…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Tender Bar by JR Moehringer
With its rather dramatic title 'How Not To Die' is a timeless guide to a lifetime of good health. Although there's a lot of these dietary and nutrition books around, none are as stuffed full of scientific references and scientific evidence as this one. In fact a whole third of the book is dedicated to…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: How Not to Die by Dr Michael Greger MD
Here's a short media consumption list, from the worst and least nutritious to the most nurturing. Rule of thumb don't eat anything that will give you cancer. Vice - The exhaust fan of a Chinese restaurant. Buzzfeed - A soggy bagel brandished by a drunk guy who wants to fight you. Instagram - A litre…
The narrator of this novel is an elderly Eileen who looks back on her mis-spent youth in 1964. This book is the blackest kind of noir, but does away with the usual noir narrative tropes. It tells the story of Eileen's entanglement with the enigmatic and beautiful Rebecca who is more a mythological figure than…
Anna Świrszczyńska, also known as Anna Swir wrote poems in direct, evocative language that spoke passionately and directly to the heart. She wrote affectionately about the female body, love, pain, loneliness, terror, war, childbirth, child-rearing and the passing of time. She focused a lot on the flesh - its elasticity and potential while young, along…
Continue reading ➞ The Sensual World of Polish Poet Anna Świrszczyńska
A surreal art book that redefines the meaning of imagination. Codex Seraphinianus has a lot in common with other bizarre books like the Voynich manuscript. This new edition by Italian publisher Rizzoli was republished in 2013. It has been redesigned by the author Luigi Serafini with includes new illustrations. The fascination and curiosity for Codex…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Codex Seraphinianus by Luigi Serafini
David Bowie is a voracious book reader, reportedly reading at least one book per day. As a part of a new exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario, he has lovingly selected his 100 favourite books of all time. According to the exhibition's curator Geoffrey Marsh, Bowie has an ''interest in the life of the…
The Mabinogion is a magical and mythical Celtic classic from the thirteenth century or earlier. It's thoroughly Welsh and is considered a masterpiece of medieval literature. Although written down during the middle ages, experts think these stories may date from the dawn of Celtic civilisation in Britain. The Mabinogion has given rise to all of…
Continue reading ➞ Beautiful maps & beautiful Welsh tales: The Mabinogion
In this travel memoir by novelist Geoff Dyer I read this book waiting to be immersed into the world of the travel. Although sadly I found the result rather disappointing to be honest. He is a great writer don’t get me wrong - I loved his novel Paris, Trance in the past. This was a…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Yoga for People Who Can’t Be Bothered To Do It by Geoff Dyer
Alesha Sivartha’s enigmatic 1898 book The Book of Life: The Spiritual and Physical Constitution of Man, combines mysticism, sociology, theosophy, art and culture into a unique philosophy. Other than its bewildering, and unusual theories, which characterise a lot of the theosophical books of this time, the most striking aspect of this book are the diagrams contained…
This memoir and first book by American author Margaux Fragoso was veritable literary dynamite when it came out in 2011. Or you could call it literary vegemite, in that you will either love the book or hate it. Tiger Tiger charts the complex sexual relationship of the author Margaux with Peter Curran, which began when…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Tiger Tiger by Margaux Fragoso
Written in a highly addictive confessional style, The Act of Love by Howard Jacobson traces the inner life of London antiquarian bookseller and closet sexual pervert Felix Quinn. In this intense novel, Felix takes the reader to the edge of sexual adventure. This is a strange romp in the mind of a guy who cannot…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Act of Love by Howard Jacobson
We Are Not Ourselves is the story of an Irish-American family, and the life of the protagonist Eileen Tumulty, which is shaped largely by her marriage to academic Edmund Leary and son Connell. Eileen comes from a hard-drinking, hard-living Irish working-class background. As a child she’s scarred by alcoholism and attempts throughout the book to…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: We Are Not Ourselves by Mathew Thomas
