I wanted to thumb a quick post today because today is an important day for the literary world. Firstly, it's the great man himself's presumed birthday - yes, that's right I'm talking about big Will. William Shakespeare is assumed to have graced this world on a day like today and aren't we all the better for it! It's also interestingly ...
I love the idea of this digital initiative by The Penguin Group and Pearson Foundation where for every book read online they donate a book. So if you have kids and are looking for wonderful books for them to read check out www.wegivebooks.org/books where you can find a host of children's books for young and early readers which you can ...
Thankfully the new generation isn't that bad but I wonder if we'll get to a point where the word 'book' becomes an archaic one; where it would need to be defined in relation to the internet and technology. "It's like the internet made out of a tree." Yikes.
Dear Santa, I've been good this year. Wishlist below. kthanxbai-MeSylvia Plath Pin from The Literary Gift Company Mug from The Literary Gift Company Tote from Cafepress.comiPod/iPhone charging Dock via etsyPoster print via etsyShakespearean Book Locket via etsyPenguin Classics Mug via art meets matternecklace from bookishUmbrella from Penguin BooksI Read Banned Books bracelet via AmazonPersonal Library Kit via AmazonTrivial Pursuit Book ...
I'm downsizing this weekly feature to one link. Sorry, dear readers. Time is scarce. The world is on a recession spiral, AGAIN. It's the way the cookie crumbles. La-di-da you get the picture.Anway, this week's link however, is a treat, especially for the ladies (and gentlemen?). Well, those in to James Franco that is. Those of you on my Twitter ...
At first as I began reading Coming Up for Air, I kept going, 'this is Orwell???' Perhaps someone who has read Orwell far extensively than just 1984 and Animal Farm may well disagree but by golly those first few chapters felt very un-Orwellian, which is not to say they were bad, just unexpected. In Coming ...
New reading resolutions that is. My main resolution is to stay on top of the reading challenge this year. The goal this year, is the same as last - 25 books. This year I'm hoping I can actually meet this. So far I've finished one book (although it's one I started last year) and am told I'm on track, which ...
If I say 'Violence'You expect big revelationsBloody bruisesAnd black eyesA chipped toothA dislocated jawor tell-tale scarsYou want the evidenceof a crime sceneblood on the dancefloorsmears on the bedroom sheetsBroken plates on the kitchenfloorBut she has none of that to displayOnly a corpse buried insideA momentary plea in her eyesNow you see it, now you don'tHe never touched her skin and ...
Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking confirms and surprises you about the way our mind works when it comes to making choices/decisions in the blink of a moment. Malcolm Gladwell reveals with research and case studies how 'thin slicing' (a phrase used to describe the way in which our minds form impressions/decisions in a matter of seconds) can be ...
Been pretty stumped for this one; and quite furious with myself for not having realised sooner that I had already included "guilty pleasure" which this sort of overlaps with. Anyway, instead of changing it, I thought I'd just post something that vaguely evokes guilt (or something like it). I suppose the reason why this sonnet by Shakespeare makes me feel ...
Of course every time I read something utterly brilliant I can't help but wish I had half the talent to produce something close to it. So the choices for this post are endless. But I'm going to go with one that's fresh on my mind, having recently re-visited it after watching this film.There are poems that are just born of ...
image creditAdmit it, when you heard that this year's Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Tomas Tranströmer, most of you went 'Tomas who?' right? Well, if you didn't, bravo! I personally had no clue of his existence till the award and if it weren't for the Nobel Prize I'm not sure if I'd ever have stumbled on his work. ...
I've heard so many good things about Haruki Murakami that I felt I must must read at least one of his books this year. After Dark was at hand. It is short, didn't need too much commitment; I couldn't think of a better way to introduce myself in to a Murakami world than this. And what a world it is!While ...
Take care of heartslike precious vintage china.Locked inside the warm safe confinesof a mahogany cabinetvisible through a stained glass pane.'Look but don't touch'Far away from careless hands and lipsWaiting for that right occasionthat right guest.Gathering time and dustBut un-crackedunbroken.
Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman is another book that was shortlisted for the Booker this year and one I didn't particularly take to. Set in contemporary urban London, it is the story of Harrison Opuku, a 12 year old migrant boy from Ghana who lives in a council housing estate. Harrison is all wide-eyed wonder at a lot of what ...
Cover of Jonathan Cape editionMy head is still spinning, and I'm still grappling with a gastric-induced headache after what has been nothing short of a chaotic literary roller-coaster ride with this book. I myself am surprised that I got through it in a matter of a few days considering its thick spine and subject matter. ...
This was a hard one for me and after much contemplation I think I'm going to go with this poem by Philip Larkin. I think Noah and the Whale could make this into a great song. Charlie Fink are you listening?When First We Faced (by Philip Larkin)When first we faced, and touching showed How well we knew the early moves, ...
