Genre: Non-fiction, spirituality, Zen buddhism, psychology, philosophy. Publisher: Flatiron Books Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 Halifax with the Dalai Lama Standing At the Edge is a once in a lifetime kind of book. I don’t say that lightly either. It’s a life-changing and life-affirming book that combines philosophy, Zen Buddhism, psychology, and much more…
Genre: Non-fiction, Spirituality, Philosophy Rating: 🌟 🌟 🌟 1/2 stars *Contains no spoilers In this slim and elegant volume of philosophy and inspiration, writer David Whyte tackles the big topics and words that rarely get any airtime in our society, the kinds of things that haunt people but that are difficult to resolve and so…
Genre: Non-fiction, social sciences, history, public health Publisher: Counterpoint Rating: 🌟 🌟 The Life Project is published by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Books that focuses serious non-fiction from different realms like history, politics, science and philosophy. I really expected a lot from this book and it didn’t deliver. The Life Project is written…
Genre: Japanese fiction, fantasy, Magic realism. Publisher: Granta *No spoilers Rating: This one is mindblowing, a solid 5/5 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 This is the second and much awaited fictional novel by the Japanese author of Convenience Store Woman. A book I have also reviewed and absolutely adored in the past. Earthlings traverses familiar…
Inspiring author Jonelle Patrick weaves webs of literary magic in her five novels set in Japan. She has been writing about Japanese culture and travel since she first moved to Tokyo in 2003. In addition to The Last Tea Bowl Thief and the Only In Tokyo mystery series, she produces the monthly newsletter Japanagram, and…
Continue reading ➞ Artists & Writers in their Own Words: Jonelle Patrick
Infused with the vast and never-ending love of a mum for her unborn daughter, The Pregnancy Diaries Volume 1 is an absolutely hilarious, witty and enjoyable romp through pregnancy from conception to birth. Any woman who has given birth (or any supportive man who has gone along for the journey) will be able to relate…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Pregnancy Diaries Vol. 1 by Googie McCabe
A compelling, rich and lush blend of essay, poetry, reflections and personal stories by one of New Zealand's most preeminent Māori writers. I have to admit that I didn't know much about Haare Williams before picking up this book in Te Papa Museum in Wellington. This is a definitive collection of Māori wisdom that is…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Words of a Kaumātua by Haare Williams
Although the wind Blows terribly herethe moonlight also leaks between the roof planksof this ruined house ~ Izumi Shikibu, 10th Century Japanese poet Izumi Shikibu More inspiration Remember that if you wall up your house too well you will stay dry, but you will stay moonless. We should strive to let the world into our…
Continue reading ➞ Comforting thought: A 10th century Japanese poem about courage
*Contains no spoilers Right from the start I was hooked on this novel by the celebrated author Michael Ondaatje who wrote the classic The English Patient which won the Booker Prize in 1992 and was turned into an equally successful film. His follow up, Anil's Ghost failed to hit the mark, at least for me.…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Warlight by Michael Ondaatje
I remained where I was, standing with one hand in my pocket and the other around the handle of the pram. The triviality of the ketchup and mustard bottles, the blackened hotdogs. The camping table where the soft drinks were lined up, was almost inconceivable there beneath the stars, the dancing light of the bonfire.…
Continue reading ➞ Comforting thought: The World of Terrifying Beauty By Karl Ove Knausgård
*contains a few spoilers (sorry I couldn't resist) Iceland has always held a unique fascination for me. Driven by a love for Sigur Rós and Björk, along with the vague romance of going to a remote and icy place. In Names for the Sea by Sarah Moss, you get to actually explore the nuts and…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Names for the Sea by Sarah Moss
Hooly or Huly: Adv. 'To proceed gently or softly, with steadiness or caution.' Scottish/Irish The word Hooly first appeared in English in the 14th Century. It was found in the Scottish expression Hooly and Fairly, meaning 'to proceed slowly, carefully and cautiously.' Over time, the word came to have negative connotations and hooliness or hulinesss…
Lacuna \ lə-ˈkü-nər a little lake. Or a pause, gap or break in a text, painting or musical work. Latin lacūna: “little lake”. Word of the day: “lacuna”- in a manuscript, an inscription, or the text of an author: a hiatus, blank, missing portion (OED n.1) A word borrowed from Latin in the 17th Century…
*No spoilers A book about experimental archaeology and family violence that’s brimming with glorious dread and that closes in around you like a vice. The novel's short 160 pages are absolutely electrifying and seem far bigger. Best enjoyed during the witching hours of 11pm and 3 am. Ghost Wall opens with an ancient hair-raising scene,…
*No spoilers "We all live in patterns we do not see. We are all following magic ravens, even when we are lost. Otherwise there would be no story." ~ Sarah Moss, The Tidal Zone. Sarah Moss is now my favourite writer. She seems to be a occupied with the lives of women. However in this…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Tidal Zone by Sarah Moss
Great historical novels are fully immersed in time, place and have a tangible effect of bringing you into a time period that you may otherwise never know. This is what’s truly exhilerating about the historical novel. The setting and surroundings become like a fully formed character in the novel. Whether we’re talking about a British…
Continue reading ➞ Seven suspenseful and unforgettable historical novels
*No spoilers Patrick Hamilton isn't really as well known as he should be, which is a crime and a shame. He is a fantastic and yet underrated British writers of the post-war era. You may recognise his work in the play Rope which was turned into a well-known Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name.…
Noun: Vellichor from the Latin Vell (paper) and ichor (essence). An ethereal perfume that is extruded from the earth and infuses old book stores with mystery, wistfulness and nostalgia. Books are worlds unto themselves that reveal tiny and huge universes all co-existing side-by-side. The aroma of books is the smell of the passage of time.…
Japan is a country close to my heart and since I first went there a few years ago, I have become a big fan of Japanese fiction and Asian fiction translated to English. Japanese fiction tends to emphasise the liminal and fantasy aspects hidden at the edges of everyday reality and also exploring the inner…
Continue reading ➞ Seven Unique and Moving Fictional Books Set in Japan
1. Nick Cave performing Stagger Lee in Copenhagen is electrifying I have seen Nick live three times so far and his live performances of this song Stagger Lee are always a big highlight. The song escalates and gets harder, darker and more intense as it goes on. This is definitely my favourite Nick Cave song…
Continue reading ➞ 10 Interesting Things I Found on the Internet this Week #14
Here’s a collection of the best and treasured history books that I don’t think I could ever part with. They are quirky and delve into a little known aspect of history making them delightful lazy weekend reading. I hope you can get a hold of them, if you do...please let me know what you think…
Continue reading ➞ Ten Quirky and Mind Expanding History Books
Lost Wisdom and its two other companion books Lost Crafts and Lost Lore are beautifully typeset and laid out. Their contents are a cabinet of curiosities - a wunderkammer of the same sort as the Book of Barely Imagined Beings, which I have mentioned in the past. Although in this case Lost Wisdom runs the…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Lost Wisdom by Una McGovern and Paul Jenner
1. Chilled out hip-hop grooves from Emapea - Seeds, Roots & Fruits https://youtu.be/uGZJ2UALHME 2. These book-rescuing heroes don't wear capes https://www.reddit.com/r/interestingasfuck/comments/hjey9s/turkish_garbage_collectors_open_a_library_with/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x 3. François Schuiten’s steampunk cityscapes 'Les Cités obscures' Immense skyscrapers and towering monoliths dwarf the citizenry in François Schuiten’s 'Les Cités obscures', a graphic novel series (1983–present) that captures the steampunk modernist aesthetic. Read…
Continue reading ➞ 10 Interesting Things I found on the Internet #13
Scottish Forensic Anthropologist and Professor Sue Black's memoir about her life confronting death won the Saltire Book of the Year in 2018. Forensic anthropology (in case you are wondering) is the study of human remains in order to solve criminal cases. I was very excited to read this book. Yet the first few chapters of…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: All that Remains: A Life in Death by Sue Black
Edward Brooke Hitching, history-hound, lover of quirky things and writer for the ever-popular and erudite quiz show QI, has written The Sky Atlas. A treasury and history of some of humankind’s most beautiful maps and charts. Yet this book is more than that, it’s a sparkling and glittering array of sky-bound achievements. It’s a visual…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Sky Atlas by Edward Brooke Hitching
His Bloody Project by author Graeme Macrae Burnet recounts the story of the triple murder and subsequent trial of accused 17 year old crofter Roderick McRae, who brutally slays three people in his remote village in 1896. Roderick lives with his family in a tiny croft on a property and land owned by the laird. His…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: His Bloody Project by Graeme MacRae Burnet
The Recovering is a memoir about alcohol and how it runs rampant in the lives of writers and artists throughout history. It’s seen through the lens of the book’s author, Leslie Jameson as she navigates her way through life and the being drunk and being in recovery. Jamieson clearly has a knack for the written…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Recovering Intoxication and its Aftermath by Leslie Jamieson
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-dRf7Zxf8Q We write to taste life twice...in the moment and in retrospection. Those few moments of communion with the world are worth the pain. Writing is worth it for others. It's an inheritance for others. A gift to others in the end. One has to create a world in which to live. I could not…
Tulip Fever is one of the most captivating historical fiction reads I have had the pleasure of enjoying in recent years. Tulip Fever takes place in Amsterdam in the 1630's during a time of immense wealth that is brought into the country by merchants and tulip sellers. If you enjoyed that other iconic historical novel…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: Tulip Fever by Deborah Moggach
*No spoilers Recently translated into English from German, The Pine Islands tells the story of Gilbert Silvester, a stuffy middle-aged lecturer in Germany. His area of academic specialisation is beard fashions in film. One day he finds out his wife is cheating on him (or so he believes, we never discover the truth). So he…
Continue reading ➞ Book Review: The Pine Islands by Marion Poschmann
