Tag: books

Does anyone ‘relate to’ the ‘Two Peasants Binding Firewood’ by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, ‘as Moralist and Entrepreneur’ as the Barber Institute of Fine Arts identifies their maker? If not, what could be the use of art that approaches humanity through the making of types, not persons?

August 1, 2026

Who is the fictional character you relate to the most? Does anyone ‘relate to’ the Two Peasants Binding Firewood by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, ‘as Moralist and Entrepreneur’ as the Barber Institute of Fine Arts identifies their maker? If not, what could be the use of art that approaches humanity through the making of types, … More Does anyone ‘relate to’ the ‘Two Peasants Binding Firewood’ by Pieter Brueghel the Younger, ‘as Moralist and Entrepreneur’ as the Barber Institute of Fine Arts identifies their maker? If not, what could be the use of art that approaches humanity through the making of types, not persons?

‘It’s dark and I can’t see a thing, but the scent of Sixten’s coat finds its way in, causing something inside me to shift. To be rearranged.’ Do you suddenly stop worrying about death? Some thoughts based on reading ‘When the Cranes Fly South’ by Lisa Ridzén.

July 30, 2026

‘It’s dark and I can’t see a thing, but the scent of Sixten’s coat finds its way in, causing something inside me to shift. To be rearranged.’ Do you suddenly stop worrying about death? Some thoughts based on reading When the Cranes Fly South by Lisa Ridzén. The following lines of free verse came to … More ‘It’s dark and I can’t see a thing, but the scent of Sixten’s coat finds its way in, causing something inside me to shift. To be rearranged.’ Do you suddenly stop worrying about death? Some thoughts based on reading ‘When the Cranes Fly South’ by Lisa Ridzén.

Do Booker winners become so for a reason? The 2026 Longlist came out on 28 July

July 29, 2026

Do Booker winners become so for a reason? The 2026 Longlist came out on 28 July The question is open. Each year I set out to read at least some of the books. Here is the list for this year, which I will update as I progress through my reading and responses: 2026 Booker Longlist … More Do Booker winners become so for a reason? The 2026 Longlist came out on 28 July

As I read Jem Calder’s celebrated novel ‘I Want You to Be Happy’, Ella Fitzgerald’s best-known lyric sung through as if it has lived with me forever. This is really a blog on that novel.

July 28, 2026

As I read Jem Calder’s celebrated novel ‘I Want You to Be Happy’, Ella Fitzgerald’s best-known lyric sung through as if it has lived with me forever. This is really a blog on that novel. To be honest, I was reading Jem Calder’s novel because is aid I would because he is appearing at the Edinburgh … More As I read Jem Calder’s celebrated novel ‘I Want You to Be Happy’, Ella Fitzgerald’s best-known lyric sung through as if it has lived with me forever. This is really a blog on that novel.

I think I will choose as ‘a quote that perfectly describes my life’ Robert Browning’s ‘Feeling for foot-hold through a blank profound, …’

July 27, 2026

Since nothing is certain, we aren’t likely, any of us to get hold of truth and keep hold of it. The sands shift and what looks a solid foothold in the mountainside crumbles when asked to bear the weight of a person already in doubt of it, falling more from lack of any faith that … More I think I will choose as ‘a quote that perfectly describes my life’ Robert Browning’s ‘Feeling for foot-hold through a blank profound, …’

Some reaons for missing a technology that still required a person to drive and regulate its process: the case of the hand loom and cottage industry in literature. A blog on extracts from George Eliot’s ‘Silas Marner’ and Douglas Stuart’s ‘John of John’.

July 26, 2026

Which outdated technology do you miss the most, and why? Some reaons for missing a technology that still required a person to drive and regulate its process: the case of the hand loom and cottage industry in literature. A blog on extracts from George Eliot’s ‘Silas Marner’ and Douglas Stuart’s ‘John of John’. My collage … More Some reaons for missing a technology that still required a person to drive and regulate its process: the case of the hand loom and cottage industry in literature. A blog on extracts from George Eliot’s ‘Silas Marner’ and Douglas Stuart’s ‘John of John’.

Changing the ending? The issue is not with ‘books’, so to speak, but with stories, where changed endings are only one form of a work, which must exist through history as ‘translations, versions, or adaptations of works’ that involve ‘a conversation with an earlier writer’. Let’s choose, then, as so many have already done, a story where conversations with the original are ‘an encounter … across the span of two-and-a-half millennia’. Part Three of an examination of three versions of ‘The Oresteia’ before Simon Stone’s brilliant version: the ‘Girl Who Closed Her Case’ in ‘The Oresteia’ of Zinnie Harris, ‘This Restless House’.

July 25, 2026

Changing the ending? The issue is not with ‘books’, so to speak, but with stories, where changed endings are only one form of a work, which must exist through history as ‘translations, versions, or adaptations of works’ that involve ‘a conversation with an earlier writer’. Let’s choose, then, as so many have already done, a … More Changing the ending? The issue is not with ‘books’, so to speak, but with stories, where changed endings are only one form of a work, which must exist through history as ‘translations, versions, or adaptations of works’ that involve ‘a conversation with an earlier writer’. Let’s choose, then, as so many have already done, a story where conversations with the original are ‘an encounter … across the span of two-and-a-half millennia’. Part Three of an examination of three versions of ‘The Oresteia’ before Simon Stone’s brilliant version: the ‘Girl Who Closed Her Case’ in ‘The Oresteia’ of Zinnie Harris, ‘This Restless House’.

Changing the ending? The issue is not with ‘books’, so to speak, but with stories, where changed endings are only one form of a work, which must exist through history as ‘translations, versions, or adaptations of works’ that involve ‘a conversation with an earlier writer’. Let’s choose, then, as so many have already done, a story where conversations with the original are ‘an encounter … across the span of two-and-a-half millennia’. Part One of an examination of three versions of ‘The Oresteia’ before Simon Stone’s brilliant version: the Psychopolitical Orestes and Sartre.

July 22, 2026

Changing the ending? The issue is not with ‘books’, so to speak, but with stories, where changed endings are only one form of a work, which must exist through history as ‘translations, versions, or adaptations of works’ that involve ‘a conversation with an earlier writer’. Let’s choose, then, as so many have already done, a … More Changing the ending? The issue is not with ‘books’, so to speak, but with stories, where changed endings are only one form of a work, which must exist through history as ‘translations, versions, or adaptations of works’ that involve ‘a conversation with an earlier writer’. Let’s choose, then, as so many have already done, a story where conversations with the original are ‘an encounter … across the span of two-and-a-half millennia’. Part One of an examination of three versions of ‘The Oresteia’ before Simon Stone’s brilliant version: the Psychopolitical Orestes and Sartre.

Obviously, for me, most of screen time is taken up by WordPress, and sister app Jetpack (on my mobile): ‘feeling bad’ is often its subject because it is about using my time for registering or reflecting, consolidating, and furthering personal learning.

July 20, 2026

As always, the title is the only way the answer to this prompt will get expressed. The rest becomes a test case and example of what that title’ means in practice. The aim is to extend my learning to state how I prepare to use time in that process – by planned theatre or arts … More Obviously, for me, most of screen time is taken up by WordPress, and sister app Jetpack (on my mobile): ‘feeling bad’ is often its subject because it is about using my time for registering or reflecting, consolidating, and furthering personal learning.

The ease of modern ‘travel’ can hardly be inspired. Only when ‘travel’ equates to ‘travail’ (hard labour and unforeseen difficulty) does it require that input of strong breath from without.

July 19, 2026

For some travel will always be made to include hard work and uncertainties If you test an AI searcher like Co-Pilot on the origins of the word ‘travel’ these days, you get something like this (what I got today): The validity of some of those sources used by the AI tool can be queried but … More The ease of modern ‘travel’ can hardly be inspired. Only when ‘travel’ equates to ‘travail’ (hard labour and unforeseen difficulty) does it require that input of strong breath from without.

This blog uses Elizabeth Strout (2026) ‘The Things We Never Say’ as a test case for a thesis based on the difficulty of erasing trends from history. In it, the narrator says that Artie Dam, thinks his despair at the ‘state of the world’ relates to the hopeless hope that a dangerous right-wing demagogue does not win an American election fought(and won by the wrong person)  in the background of the narrative yet influential within it. However: ‘because he had studied history. He was aware that in all human existence there had never been a time where people were not killing one another, and why he had not been affected by this as strongly throughout his life as he was these days he could not understand’. As he gets home and removes his sailing boots he suddenly understands that his despair had another more primary cause: ‘It was an accretion of loneliness; …’.

July 12, 2026

This blog uses Elizabeth Strout (2026) The Things We Never Say London, Viking / Penguin as a test case for a thesis based on the difficulty of erasing trends from history. In it, the narrator says that Artie Dam, thinks his despair at the ‘state of the world’ relates to the hopeless hope that a … More This blog uses Elizabeth Strout (2026) ‘The Things We Never Say’ as a test case for a thesis based on the difficulty of erasing trends from history. In it, the narrator says that Artie Dam, thinks his despair at the ‘state of the world’ relates to the hopeless hope that a dangerous right-wing demagogue does not win an American election fought(and won by the wrong person)  in the background of the narrative yet influential within it. However: ‘because he had studied history. He was aware that in all human existence there had never been a time where people were not killing one another, and why he had not been affected by this as strongly throughout his life as he was these days he could not understand’. As he gets home and removes his sailing boots he suddenly understands that his despair had another more primary cause: ‘It was an accretion of loneliness; …’.