On Being Good God-Damn Good-Looking
I recently cut my hair. Drastically. Cut fucking loads off. And I look much better for it. (You’re goddamn right,Continue Reading
Author: scottmanleyhadley
I like to read but little else. I have bad mental health and a dog. And a baby. And no hair. And a blog.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
I thoroughly enjoyed The Bell Jar. And I realise “enjoyed” might not sound like the appropriate word… I loved Plath’sContinue Reading
State of the Nation
Nothing interests me on The Mall. And only the pelicans do in St James’s Park. But I like walking, passing,Continue Reading
On Killing Oneself in the Workplace
Sat at my desk at work, barely a minute (or at the very most two or three) goes by withoutContinue Reading
Desolation Angels by Jack Kerouac
I found myself, as I neared the end of this, oddly, unexpectedly, moved. This novel charts Kerouac’s last year orContinue Reading
On Coaches and Trains
I’m writing this on a coach. I know. How embarrassing. I’m failing to read Kerouac by the insufficient, electric, light,Continue Reading
On The Overwhelming Sadness I Felt My Last Morning In Rome
Sat in the central courtyard, Michelangelo’s Cloister, of the National Museum of Rome, I was filled with an immense andContinue Reading
On Being Back In England
It’s cold. It’s raining. I feel ill and exhausted. And I have to go to a job in the morning.Continue Reading
Strong Motion by Jonathan Franzen
Jonathan Franzen, the best-selling, critically lauded author of The Corrections and Freedom, also penned two other long novels before heContinue Reading
On Ancient Rome
The Roman Forum is fantastic. Eerie, elegant, a little bit scary… Despite being full of other tourists and located inContinue Reading
on euro food culture
I’m in Rome. And a bit pissed*. Earlier today I was served lunch in a small Tuscan-Umbrian border town (Chiusi)Continue Reading
On The Phrase “I Want To Pump You Full Of Spunk”
I don’t believe there is a man alive who hasn’t said, thought, heard, written or read the phrase “I wantContinue Reading
On Things That Do Impress Me (Much)
A few days ago, as part of my scathing review of Charles Mingus’ Beneath The Underdog, I mentioned that IContinue Reading
The First Rap I Ever Did
Witness the birth of Hip-Scott
On Santa Croce With No Baedeker
Rather lamely, Florence is probably the non-British city I know best. It’s full of beautiful, wonderful buildings, sculptures and paintings,Continue Reading
Beneath the Underdog by Charles Mingus
I used to love Charles Mingus before I read this.
On Daniel Craig as James Bond on Roofs
I was up a tower in Siena this afternoon and was gifted this beautiful view of the red-tiled roofs ofContinue Reading
On the rolling hills of Tuscany
I’m spending a short spell off Shit Island*, which is always pleasant. Even leaving it to be in a countryContinue Reading
One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
This is a very serious book. It’s a deeply realist exploration of a single day in a Soviet-era prison camp,Continue Reading
Black Hole by Charles Burns
Black Hole is a graphic novel, all about the socio-psychological repercussions of a sexually transmitted disease afflicting a bunch ofContinue Reading
On Wee And On Toilet Humour
There’s a pun in that title. Particularly pertinent if you’re aware of my constant struggle to not be utterly tired,Continue Reading
On Dark Thoughts and Distracting Oneself From Them By Thoughts Of Adorable Animals
“Dark thoughts”. Everyone gets them. Some more than others. Some much more than others. I am plagued by – notContinue Reading
On The Lukewarm Critical Reception of The Book of Mormon
I saw The Book of Mormon when it was new. Before it was new, perhaps. I saw it in previews. SoContinue Reading
Novel on Yellow Paper by Stevie Smith
This is absolutely my kind of thing. Stylistically experimental, full of various exploratory digressions and displaying a full and rounded insightContinue Reading
The Glass Bead Game by Herman Hesse
This is a strange and complex novel. A long, winding, dense and serious tome that manages to be set hundredsContinue Reading
Old School Friend
‘Which way?’ ‘Wherever, man. Just somewhere without CCTV, you know? My ket dealer got fuckin’ three years ‘cause some factoryContinue Reading
On The High End Contemporary Art Scene
This evening I went to an Art Show. A Contemporary Art Show. Get me. And I didn’t even take any smack.Continue Reading
The Best Rap I Ever Did
Had my Spanish class tonight, no time to blog. Take this link to the (current) apex of my rapping careerContinue Reading
On Masturbation As The Opening To A Relationship
There’s a story I remember being told as a teenager that has recently come back to me. It was aContinue Reading
Jean Baptiste Baigorri’s Cramond Island by Irkus M. Zeberio
(Caption: My weekend was made complete by the late discovery of Saint Agur Delice – a new product, introductory offer,Continue Reading
Stag’s Leap by Sharon Olds
(Not a flattering picture…) Poetry. Contemporary poetry. Not something I grapple with regularly/have ever consciously grappled with before. This oneContinue Reading
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
It’s a Booker winner. And you can kind of tell. It has that well-crafted, stylistically-interesting, intelligent – but with a narrativeContinue Reading
Hip-Scott: The Sex Rap
Please watch my hot new Rap Video! No nudity in this one, just a steamy subject matter!
On Worrying
I’m a worrier. It’s what I do. I worry. If there is a single thing I have to do, haveContinue Reading
The Lighthouse by Alison Moore
This is a chilling, haunting novel that has, more than anything else I’ve read recently, really loitered in my thoughtsContinue Reading
On Jazz and Not Engaging With The Body
I like jazz. And, yeah, I know that makes me a “square”. What I like about it is its energy,Continue Reading
The Final Testament of the Holy Bible by James Frey
This book was a Christmas present. So I didn’t buy/choose it myself. I went in blind. James Frey is anContinue Reading
Catch-up Book Reviews Part Three
A Time To Every Purpose Under Heaven by Karl Ove Knausgaard Kanusgaard is my favourite contemporary writer, entirely because ofContinue Reading
Catch-up Book Reviews Part Two
Brief Interviews With Hideous Men by David Foster Wallace When this is good, this is very, very good. When it’sContinue Reading
Catch-up Book Reviews Part One
One of the main reasons why I’ve set this up is in order to (intelligently) review what I read, getContinue Reading
Introduction
“Who are you?” makes sense. But is “rude”. “What are you?” is reductive. But “rude”. “What do you do?” isContinue Reading
Triumph Of The Now 