list of books on sale as chosen by rachel whiteread, at tate britain
high rise by j g ballard
where I'm calling from by raymond carver
quicksand by henning mankell
about looking by john berger
meanwhile, trees by mark waldron
confessions of a crap artist by philip k dick
the safety of objects by a m holmes
gilead by marilynne robinson
mountains of the mind: a history of a fascination by robert macfarlane
the testemant of mary by colm toibin
my brilliant friend by elena ferrante
the collected stories of lydia davis
pondlife: a swimmer's journal by al alvarez
depths by henning mankell
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label books. Show all posts
18.1.16
fje: recent reading
the blazing world by siri hustvedt (fiction)
a study of feminism, authorship and the workings of the art world.
europe in autumn by dave hutchinson (fiction)
speculative portrait of a near future europe after the failure of the EU project and the schengen agreement.
a time of gifts by patrick leigh fermour (non-fiction)
travels on foot in holland, germany, austria and czechoslovakia in 1933/34.
from the woods to the water by patrick leigh fermour (non-fiction)
travels on foot in hungary, yugoslavia and romania in 1934.
the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction by walter benjamin (non-fiction)
a marxist reading of art, which I read in conclusion to my time working with raphael forquemin, to help get some structure around the political and economic discussions we had.
wings of the kite-hawk by nicolas rothwell (non-fiction?)
the landscapes, history and characters of remote australia. from the library of goetz stoeckmann.
the marriage plot by jeffery eugenides (fiction)
liberal arts in love.
blood meridian by cormac mccarthy (fiction)
harrowing happenings in the american west.
wuthering heights by emily bronte (fiction)
world's end by t.c. boyle (fiction)
dutch settlers' and native americans' postmodern adventures in the hudson valley.
studies in tectonic culture by kenneth frampton (non-fiction)
the backbone of my study tour of carlos scarpa's work in northern italy. while it makes for a dense read, it brings a lot of depth to my understanding of the origins of contemporary ornament. Notable for its non-anglocentric sources, coverage of modernism prior to the 20th century, extensive use of drawings and very insightful analysis.
a study of feminism, authorship and the workings of the art world.
europe in autumn by dave hutchinson (fiction)
speculative portrait of a near future europe after the failure of the EU project and the schengen agreement.
a time of gifts by patrick leigh fermour (non-fiction)
travels on foot in holland, germany, austria and czechoslovakia in 1933/34.
from the woods to the water by patrick leigh fermour (non-fiction)
travels on foot in hungary, yugoslavia and romania in 1934.
the work of art in the age of mechanical reproduction by walter benjamin (non-fiction)
a marxist reading of art, which I read in conclusion to my time working with raphael forquemin, to help get some structure around the political and economic discussions we had.
wings of the kite-hawk by nicolas rothwell (non-fiction?)
the landscapes, history and characters of remote australia. from the library of goetz stoeckmann.
the marriage plot by jeffery eugenides (fiction)
liberal arts in love.
blood meridian by cormac mccarthy (fiction)
harrowing happenings in the american west.
wuthering heights by emily bronte (fiction)
world's end by t.c. boyle (fiction)
dutch settlers' and native americans' postmodern adventures in the hudson valley.
studies in tectonic culture by kenneth frampton (non-fiction)
the backbone of my study tour of carlos scarpa's work in northern italy. while it makes for a dense read, it brings a lot of depth to my understanding of the origins of contemporary ornament. Notable for its non-anglocentric sources, coverage of modernism prior to the 20th century, extensive use of drawings and very insightful analysis.
13.9.12
A Library on Fire.
Ever wondered how a library accommodates all the new books without ever having to under go physical expansion?
The spatial resolution exists in the form of a metal skip bin.
Recently an exhaustive process of 'weeding' has been undertaken to accommodate the introduction of new literature for a future school of medicine. Items of low usage were recently targeted and removed in a blitz of up to 8000 casualties. This perpetual process does not account for the fact that many of the items removed were in formats of slide film and videotape - that are only accessible on equipment available in the library itself - and therefore not typically borrowed out nor registered as in demand. Extra shelf space does express the complete waste of children's books potentially gifted to community services or the loss of one-off architectural editions which have now all gone to ground without being offered to the respective resource centres for use in their own collections.
Was there any way that these items of knowledge could have be saved?
The heavy pad locks used to secure shut the bin lid suggests not.
So for now we can all visit the skeletal metal monument to lost recordings currently erected on Level 5, search the catalogue for what will never be known or simply wonder aloud just what the '10 Favourite Buildings' of Ignasi Solà-Morales might have been from the few ghost catalogue entries which remain. At least when we are all done and disappointed we can still self-loan the 'Invasion of the Space Lobsters' - 813.54 INV.
The heavy pad locks used to secure shut the bin lid suggests not.
So for now we can all visit the skeletal metal monument to lost recordings currently erected on Level 5, search the catalogue for what will never be known or simply wonder aloud just what the '10 Favourite Buildings' of Ignasi Solà-Morales might have been from the few ghost catalogue entries which remain. At least when we are all done and disappointed we can still self-loan the 'Invasion of the Space Lobsters' - 813.54 INV.
Image: www.dtravelsround.com
11.10.10
Escaping Reality
Considering this is my final semester of university (let's assume for now that I am not going to do a PhD any time soon), I have been playing more games and reading more fiction than I should. I've probably been playing games more than any other semester so far! This is probably not a good thing. (So when I say I've not been working that hard and LW is also surprised that I'm not working that hard this close to the end, please believe me!)
However it provides a good hour or two of escape and in that sense is quite useful. I have also been amused how much these games and fiction books that I have been indulging in have been affecting my dreams. I enjoy feeling like my life is slightly more trippy because of these fiction worlds I'm holding in my mind and have occasionally wondered what it would be like to do a dissertation on fiction (although I suppose most of our work is technically fictional).
On the other hand, the world of fiction can also provide one with some valuable life post-it notes to help one through dissertation, which for me have included:
- Try and try again until you get it right (The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom)
- Sometimes you need to explain yourself in reverse chronology (Braid)
- Stick together to survive (Left 4 Dead 2)
- Keep your blade sharp - why not use a katana or machete? (Left 4 Dead 2)
- When I am an architect, I shall wear midnight. (I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Pratchett)
- Sometimes what you are looking for is hiding in a pile of white stuff (Shaun the Sheep - Aardman Animations)
- Go with grey and a hint of colour. Too much colour can ruin it for everyone. (Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde)
- You can and will change your mind...but you will also adapt (After the Quake - Haruki Murakami)
- Holding "shift" rewinds your dreams - this helps relieve the nightmares of dissertation. (Braid)
- Exercise your brain with a little problem-solving every now and then. (Freecell, Sudoku, Winterbottom, Braid)
I would highly recommend finding some good but controllable distractions for when you undertake your dissertations (if you haven't already). Sometimes you just need a good break and what better place to go than another world?
However it provides a good hour or two of escape and in that sense is quite useful. I have also been amused how much these games and fiction books that I have been indulging in have been affecting my dreams. I enjoy feeling like my life is slightly more trippy because of these fiction worlds I'm holding in my mind and have occasionally wondered what it would be like to do a dissertation on fiction (although I suppose most of our work is technically fictional).
On the other hand, the world of fiction can also provide one with some valuable life post-it notes to help one through dissertation, which for me have included:
- Try and try again until you get it right (The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom)
- Sometimes you need to explain yourself in reverse chronology (Braid)
- Stick together to survive (Left 4 Dead 2)
- Keep your blade sharp - why not use a katana or machete? (Left 4 Dead 2)
- When I am an architect, I shall wear midnight. (I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Pratchett)
- Sometimes what you are looking for is hiding in a pile of white stuff (Shaun the Sheep - Aardman Animations)
- Go with grey and a hint of colour. Too much colour can ruin it for everyone. (Shades of Grey - Jasper Fforde)
- You can and will change your mind...but you will also adapt (After the Quake - Haruki Murakami)
- Holding "shift" rewinds your dreams - this helps relieve the nightmares of dissertation. (Braid)
- Exercise your brain with a little problem-solving every now and then. (Freecell, Sudoku, Winterbottom, Braid)
I would highly recommend finding some good but controllable distractions for when you undertake your dissertations (if you haven't already). Sometimes you just need a good break and what better place to go than another world?
28.7.10
The Rabbits - John Marsden & Shaun Tan
I purchased 'The Rabbits' from the State Library shop this week. It was in the children's picture books section, but so far I've found that when it comes to Shaun Tan, the fewer the words in the book, the older you need to be and the longer it takes to 'read' it. It was also interesting to read this, having read John Marsden's 'Tomorrow When the War Began' series when I was much younger, which seemed to promote guerilla resistance.
I found this book quite dark but more blunt than I would like. Whereas 'The Arrival' could be more widely applied to stories of migration, 'The Rabbits' was clearly about Australia (gum trees and billabongs were mentioned in the text). Particularly unsubtle was '...and they stole our children' (which makes me a little disappointed in Marsden). I was also somewhat amused (L: rabbits are rather prolific) but concerned by the use of 'rabbits' as I understand they are considered vermin and have a particularly negative history in Australia.
On the other hand, I still think Tan is an excellent illustrator, and I think he has softened Marsden's words through his images. I also really like the toffy rabbits in their commissariat uniforms and the lapine agricultural machines.
Here are some excerpts:
The rabbits came many grandparents ago.
At first we didn't know what to think. They looked a bit like us.
There weren't many of them. Some were friendly.
They came by water.
They didn't live in the trees like we did.
They made their own houses.
We couldn't understand the way they talked.
They ate our grass.
They chopped down our trees and scared away our friends...
and they stole our children.
Who will save us from the rabbits?
This particular image is used on the front cover and one of the reference images used is a painting of James Cook landing at Botany Bay - E.P. Fox. Spot the similarities?
Images from http://www.shauntan.net/books.html
27.7.10
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