Golden Apple of the Sun by Teju Cole
strongest lockdown lit i’ve (yet) to encounter
Tag: history
Dictee by Theresa Hak Kyung Cha
an excellent early 80s hybrid text with a distressing – and violent – context
The Invention of Sicily: A Mediterranean History by Jamie Mackay
in the middle of another canadian winter, i depressingly read about a warm, interesting, place
Showa: A History of Japan 1926 – 1939 by Shigeru Mizuki
interesting entry-level text about modern Japanese history
The End of Obscenity by Charles Rembar
interesting book of the legal history of removing literary censorship
Movements in European History by DH Lawrence
a mediocre history text then a pro-UBI, anti-“the Arts is special” rant
The break-up of the Soviet Empire in Eastern Europe by Ghita Ionescu
like a newspaper but a book… from 1965
The Broken Spears by Miguel León-Portilla (ed.)
historical documents on colonisation of Mexico translated from Nahuatl
An Underground Guide To Sewers by Stephen Halliday
great book on the history of subterranean poo tubes
Sharks, Death, Surfers by Melissa McCarthy
lovely object with an essay on more than three things
Berlin: City of Stones by Jason Lutes
the first part of a lauded comic about the weimar republic
Fludd by Hilary Mantell
an early novel from a writer who’d get more exciting with age
The Bridge Over The Drina by Ivo Andrić
One of the most important and engaging novels I’ve ever read, a sprawling fictional exploration not of a specific person,Continue Reading
Why I’m No Longer Talking To White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
essential reading, especially if you’re a racist
Black Lamb and Grey Falcon by Rebecca West
Wonderful, massive, beautiful, biased.
Hark! A Vagrant by Kate Beaton
What’s the difference between comics and cartoons?
The Road To Tahrir Square by Lloyd C. Gardner
US so vain, I bet you think Arab Spring is about you
Blitzed by Norman Ohler
Hipster military history: if you’re not cool, this isn’t for you…
D. H. Lawrence and Italy
I review a Lawrentian travel writing collection containing Twilight in Italy, Sea and Sardinia and Sketches of Etruscan Places.
The Shepherd’s Life: A Tale of the Lake District by James Rebanks
Living in the city is bad for the soul
Castration and the Heavenly Kingdom: A Russian Folktale by Laura Engelstein
You are in a wooden hut in the depths of Siberia, thousands of miles from the lands of your ancestors.Continue Reading
¡Tequila!: Distilling the Spirit of Mexico by Marie Sarita Gaytán
Marie Sarita Gaytán is an American academic (an Assistant Professor of Sociology) and ¡Tequila!: Distilling the Spirit of Mexico is anContinue Reading
The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth
The Wake by Paul Kingsnorth was a surprising literary hit of 2014. Not a “literary hit” in that it soldContinue Reading
The Minister of Evil – The Secret History of Rasputin’s Betrayal of Russia by William Le Queux
The Minister of Evil: The Secret History of Rasputin’s Betrayal of Russia is a very strange book. I read itContinue Reading
Beyond Good and Evil by Friedrich Nietzsche
I’ve never read much philosophy. Technically JUST Mary Wollstonecraft’s Vindication of the Rights of Woman. So, for me, reading Friedrich Nietzsche’sContinue Reading
And Man Created God (Kings, Cults and Conquests at the Time of Jesus) by Selina O’Grady
Selina O’Grady’s And Man Created God is a non-fiction history book about the wider social, political and cultural background ofContinue Reading
Orlando by Virginia Woolf
I really like Virginia Woolf, and more than that I like the IDEA of liking Virginia Woolf. Pro-writing, pro-women, literaryContinue Reading
The Rings of Saturn by W. G. Sebald
W. G. Sebald’s The Rings of Saturn is one of the strangest books I have read it a while. It isContinue Reading
A Long Weekend in Italy: Naples, Pompeii and Capri
Mount Vesuvius is big. It creaks over Naples from the southeast, with a threat made obvious by the fame ofContinue Reading
Pompeii: A Documentary
Please enjoy a lo-fi video I made during a day trip to Pompeii last weekend. I will write a fullContinue 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
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
Triumph Of The Now 