I am reading again. Last year, I think I read a grand total of two books. And that was it.
This is a source of personal shame. But the demands of work basically meant I had nothing left by the time I had retained some form of rudimentary training schedule and kept on top of the other stuff I needed to do.
But one plane journey and six days of holiday and I have started reading again with a vengeance. This has been a joy and the literary hits do far have included:
Hokusai: A Life in Drawing by Henri-Alexis Baatsch
A biography I bought at the Hokusai exhibition at the British Museum about seven months ago. It's a beautiful book with lots of amazing examples of Hokusai's artwork. It's not exactly word heavy, but it's an easily digestible biopic of the man and his work.
A biography I bought at the Hokusai exhibition at the British Museum about seven months ago. It's a beautiful book with lots of amazing examples of Hokusai's artwork. It's not exactly word heavy, but it's an easily digestible biopic of the man and his work.
Rusty Puppy and Jack Rabbit Smile by Joe R Lansdale:
The latest hard-boiled East Texan crime thrillers in the always entertaining Hap and Leonard series are a hoot. Lansdale is always an entertaining writer and Hap, Leonard, Brett and pals are the luckless shit magnet underdogs you love to root for.
The latest hard-boiled East Texan crime thrillers in the always entertaining Hap and Leonard series are a hoot. Lansdale is always an entertaining writer and Hap, Leonard, Brett and pals are the luckless shit magnet underdogs you love to root for.
The Power Paradox by Dr Dacher Keltner:
A thought-provoking treatise on the mechanics of power that is part- examination and part-manifesto, whose basic premise is that lasting power must come from genuine altruism.
A thought-provoking treatise on the mechanics of power that is part- examination and part-manifesto, whose basic premise is that lasting power must come from genuine altruism.
Think Like a Freak by Steven Levitt & Stephen J Dubner:
The third book in the entertaining and worldwide hit Freakonomics series, which encourages readers to assess problems from unusual perspectives. It's all good stuff, but I particularly liked the sections on ulcers, Nigerian con letters, teaching and quitting. The Space Shuttle story scared me, too.
The third book in the entertaining and worldwide hit Freakonomics series, which encourages readers to assess problems from unusual perspectives. It's all good stuff, but I particularly liked the sections on ulcers, Nigerian con letters, teaching and quitting. The Space Shuttle story scared me, too.
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck by Mark Manson:
The phrases 'star blogger' and 'self-help author' usually make me want to throat punch people until they stop moving. Manson's book, though, is quite an entertaining read and his basic premises all seem pretty sound. The basic ideas revolve around deciding what to care about, resilience training, accepting problems as learning opportunities and being responsible for your own happiness. It's pretty good and it offers a lot of valuable insights.
The phrases 'star blogger' and 'self-help author' usually make me want to throat punch people until they stop moving. Manson's book, though, is quite an entertaining read and his basic premises all seem pretty sound. The basic ideas revolve around deciding what to care about, resilience training, accepting problems as learning opportunities and being responsible for your own happiness. It's pretty good and it offers a lot of valuable insights.
In other news, I am making myself a promise that reading will become part of who I am again. So expect a few more book reviews in this blog...
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