July 25, 2010

Books update

Here we go - quick update including summary:

#10 - Tanglewreck by Jeanette Winterson - an imaginative but flawed children’s book - I’m looking forward to Alex Scarrow’s latest series to see how it matches up to this (also) time-based romp

#11 - Charmed Life by Diana Wynne Jones - highly regarded but left my distinctly uncharmed. There are four more in the series. The author recommends you read them in a different order to that in which they were published. I’m confused.

#12 - Sum by David Eagleman - thought provoking imaginings of the afterlife. Some corkers earlier on. Some duds and repetition later. Still. A Must Read!

#13 - Switch Bitch by Roald Dahl - some short stories. Dark and enjoyable. Recommended.

#14 - Retribution Falls by Chris Wooding - an enjoyable sci-fi yarn. Better than average. Recommended.

#15 - The Mysteries of Pittsburgh by Michael Chabon - his first book. My fourth (of his). It made me want to revisit early Bret Easton Ellis or suchlike. Enjoyable in places but ultimately confusing.

#16 - Ground Control by Anna Minton - non-fiction about our security-obsessed nation and how things have gone wrong. Absolutely superb. Everyone should read it. At least once.

#17 - Spies by Michael Frayn - my first Frayn and a rewarding experience. The Lives Of Others meets children’s adventure meets something far more. Recommended.

#18 - Charlotte’s Web by E B White - a children’s classic by the writer of Stuart Little. I enjoyed it and I think Jacob will too. But it will probably make you cry. It probably made me cry too.

#19 - Ordinary Thunderstorms by William Boyd - a thriller. Boyd’s getting very good at the them. Recommended holiday reading.

#20 - The Girl Who Kicked The Hornest’s Nest by Stieg Bastard Larsson - a great end to the Millenium trilogy. Almost the equal of book one. Read the series. Not Martin Beck but good all the same.

I think someone along the way I also missed out Put Me Back On My Bike: In Search Of Tom Simpson by William Fotheringham - gripping biography of an enigmatic cycling hero. Recommended. And Goldfinger by Ian Fleming - nuff said.

So let’s call them #21 and #22.

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June 6, 2010

Adidas Originals - Star Wars Cantina 2010 - I’m Adidas through and through but one can’t help but feel that Nike’s Empire wins this one (despite Daft Punk)…

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Write The Future - Nike’s ad for the World Cup 2010

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May 31, 2010
#9 - To Die In California by Newton Thornburg I’ve had this book for about eight years. I’ve started it several times. I’ve enjoyed it every time I’ve started it. But for some reason I’d never progressed past the first thirty or so pages until I picked it up this time. This is a fantastic book. A book that any aspiring writer would love to have written. A book that will have anyone (regardless of whether they’ve got a heart or not) reeling through its 288 pages. That Thornburg isn’t better known is a crime. I implore you to pick a copy up.

#9 - To Die In California by Newton Thornburg

I’ve had this book for about eight years. I’ve started it several times. I’ve enjoyed it every time I’ve started it. But for some reason I’d never progressed past the first thirty or so pages until I picked it up this time.

This is a fantastic book. A book that any aspiring writer would love to have written. A book that will have anyone (regardless of whether they’ve got a heart or not) reeling through its 288 pages.

That Thornburg isn’t better known is a crime. I implore you to pick a copy up.

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#8 - Another Green World by Geeta Dayal May has been the month of Brian Eno down here in Brighton. He’s been curating this year’s Festival and has been a ubiquitous feature of our cultural life for going on a month now. I read this back in February/March, before I knew about the Festival, in an attempt to get more of an insight into the man and one of his masterworks. Unfortunately, while it was an engaging enough read, it was lacking the detail I expected and left me feeling a tad underwhelmed. Sure, Dayal has picked out some interesting stuff but this AGW Lite. His Festival appearances only left me wanting to know more about him. What a lovely fellow. I also kept thinking about the numbers he must have on his mobile phone - Ferry, David Byrne, Bono, Kevin Kelly etc. I need to manufacture a reason to meet him.

#8 - Another Green World by Geeta Dayal

May has been the month of Brian Eno down here in Brighton. He’s been curating this year’s Festival and has been a ubiquitous feature of our cultural life for going on a month now.

I read this back in February/March, before I knew about the Festival, in an attempt to get more of an insight into the man and one of his masterworks.

Unfortunately, while it was an engaging enough read, it was lacking the detail I expected and left me feeling a tad underwhelmed. Sure, Dayal has picked out some interesting stuff but this AGW Lite.

His Festival appearances only left me wanting to know more about him. What a lovely fellow. I also kept thinking about the numbers he must have on his mobile phone - Ferry, David Byrne, Bono, Kevin Kelly etc.

I need to manufacture a reason to meet him.

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#7 - Haroun And The Sea Of Stories by Salman Rushdie I once had a friend called Lou (sounds like the beginning of a limerick) who lent me an illustrated copy of this (doesn’t sound like a limerick any more) which I never read. She kept on telling me how great it was and I never listened. We’re no longer in touch with each other (but I can’t blame the book for that). Anyways, I picked up Rushdie’s foray into the world of children’s fiction in a charity shop earlier this year and finished it off in pretty short order (it is a children’s book after all). It’s a lovely book about the adventures of Haroun as he journeys to save the Sea of Stories. Rushdie’s command of the English language is as evident as ever - the descriptions are vivid and his dialogue positively crackles with energy and inventiveness. By turns Mamet and Dahl this is a story I will be reading to my son sometime soon. It’s also a powerful indictment of a world in which writers can be threatened but for the most part (thankfully) never silenced and adults too should enjoy it.

#7 - Haroun And The Sea Of Stories by Salman Rushdie

I once had a friend called Lou (sounds like the beginning of a limerick) who lent me an illustrated copy of this (doesn’t sound like a limerick any more) which I never read. She kept on telling me how great it was and I never listened. We’re no longer in touch with each other (but I can’t blame the book for that).

Anyways, I picked up Rushdie’s foray into the world of children’s fiction in a charity shop earlier this year and finished it off in pretty short order (it is a children’s book after all).

It’s a lovely book about the adventures of Haroun as he journeys to save the Sea of Stories. Rushdie’s command of the English language is as evident as ever - the descriptions are vivid and his dialogue positively crackles with energy and inventiveness. By turns Mamet and Dahl this is a story I will be reading to my son sometime soon.

It’s also a powerful indictment of a world in which writers can be threatened but for the most part (thankfully) never silenced and adults too should enjoy it.

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Three months and counting…

I started a new job on 3 March 2010 and that’s the excuse I’m sticking to.

Still, the longer you don’t do stuff the more it mounts up. And it has mounted up.

I’ll skip the update although my move into the world of digital marketing has got me thinking.

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March 2, 2010
For lovers of cars and graphic design...
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February 12, 2010
#6 - Neuromancer by William Gibson I consider myself fairly knowledgable about fantasy and science fiction so it pains me to tell you that I was a first-time reader of Neuromancer this past couple of weeks. It was a critical and popular hit on release in 1984 and I really wish I’d have read it then. It’s a great book but one can’t experience the seismic shocks it caused then reading it more than a quarter of a century on. Its narrative style and thematic approach seem almost familiar these days and that’s no surprise given how influential it was and has become. What was cyberpunk then seems more pedestrian these days - a bit like if you listen to the Sex Pistols’ early stuff they come across as a melodic (and slightly angry) rock ‘n’ roll band. Still, it’s a great book with some wonderful big ideas matched to fantastic detailing, particularly in his descriptions of places real and imagined. It seems that sometimes you should believe the hype. And buy and read the book. On release.

#6 - Neuromancer by William Gibson

I consider myself fairly knowledgable about fantasy and science fiction so it pains me to tell you that I was a first-time reader of Neuromancer this past couple of weeks.

It was a critical and popular hit on release in 1984 and I really wish I’d have read it then. It’s a great book but one can’t experience the seismic shocks it caused then reading it more than a quarter of a century on. Its narrative style and thematic approach seem almost familiar these days and that’s no surprise given how influential it was and has become. What was cyberpunk then seems more pedestrian these days - a bit like if you listen to the Sex Pistols’ early stuff they come across as a melodic (and slightly angry) rock ‘n’ roll band.

Still, it’s a great book with some wonderful big ideas matched to fantastic detailing, particularly in his descriptions of places real and imagined.

It seems that sometimes you should believe the hype. And buy and read the book. On release.

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#5 - Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis I felt it was time to read something about the recent financial crsis but couldn’t bring myself to spend top dollar on one of those hardback contributions to the debate on “where it all went wrong”. So, I turned back to a book I last read more than ten years ago. Michael Lewis is another great popular (populist) non-fiction writers (a la Gladwell). I read his Moneyball two or three years ago (an absolute MUST for sports fans) and always remembered Liar’s Poker as a cracking read. If you’re wondering whether the international financial system will learn from recent events (and the bonuses at the City banks suggest not) I suggest you go Back To The Future with Liar’s Poker. Lewis’ description of the people and processes at the heart of selling and trading suggest the profit motive (the internalised driving force behind any corporation) will always override the commons - sense and decency. For subprime mortgages more recently read mortgage derivatives back in Lewis’ day as a salesman. I will read a more up-to-date book at some point but only when something interesting hits the shelves in a charity shop. In the meantime, you should check out Michael Lewis.

#5 - Liar’s Poker by Michael Lewis

I felt it was time to read something about the recent financial crsis but couldn’t bring myself to spend top dollar on one of those hardback contributions to the debate on “where it all went wrong”.

So, I turned back to a book I last read more than ten years ago.

Michael Lewis is another great popular (populist) non-fiction writers (a la Gladwell). I read his Moneyball two or three years ago (an absolute MUST for sports fans) and always remembered Liar’s Poker as a cracking read.

If you’re wondering whether the international financial system will learn from recent events (and the bonuses at the City banks suggest not) I suggest you go Back To The Future with Liar’s Poker.

Lewis’ description of the people and processes at the heart of selling and trading suggest the profit motive (the internalised driving force behind any corporation) will always override the commons - sense and decency.

For subprime mortgages more recently read mortgage derivatives back in Lewis’ day as a salesman.

I will read a more up-to-date book at some point but only when something interesting hits the shelves in a charity shop. In the meantime, you should check out Michael Lewis.

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