Archive for the ‘what i’m reading’ Category
Little London Observationist, Stephanie Sadler, Listen to a Londoner
In new content, what i'm reading on August 23, 2010 at 9:49 am
I was interviewed a while back for an online project called the Little London Observationist. It’s a blog which looks at the ‘little things’ in London and helps us to appreciate the city we live in. It’s compiled by writer and photographer Stephanie Sadler, who describes herself as ‘just a girl in love with London life’. Her blog looks at art, books, fashion etc and features a regular column, Listen to a Londoner, which features an interview with a different Londoner each week, trying to gauge their reaction to London in ten questions.
As Stephanie says “Little London Observationist is all about giving other Londoners a voice rather than just plastering personal opinions on every post.”
And so she asked for my opinion as a writer. She asked me about museums, happiness and life in south London, all of which I’m very happy to talk about. The interview is available to read on the Little London Observationist website.
Electronic Visualisation and the Arts, Computer Arts Society, Chartered Institute for IT, community, online magazine, Ingrid Beazley, Jonathan P. Bowen, Alison H. Y. Liu, Sarah McDaid
In Dulwich OnView, what i'm reading on July 7, 2010 at 3:34 pm
The online magazine Dulwich OnView, for which I write articles sometimes, was showcased (yet again!) at the Electronic Visualisation and the Arts (EVA) conference in London this week. The Computer Arts Society and the Chartered Institute for IT. They say that since it’s conception in 1992, ‘the EVA conference series has established itself as a natural home from which to explore the richly interdisciplinary and constantly evolving world of digital visualisation.’
The paper presented on our project focussed on the social nature of our magazine, highlighting how we come together as a group to make the blog. And this, I believe, is the key to the success of the magazine – we are friends in real life and we have created an online social network which reflects that.
The paper Dulwich OnView: an art museum-based virtual community generated by the local community is available to read on the EVA proceedings website.
With thanks to the authors Ingrid Beazley, Jonathan P. Bowen, Alison H.Y. Liu and Sarah McDaid, who have done a great job of celebrating our successes.
That reminds me, I must go and post an article on DOV. I’ve got a great one waiting to go live….
blogging, food, south London, The Happiness Project
In happiness, what i'm reading on June 29, 2010 at 2:45 pm
I just came across a lovely blog which is quite close to my heart. It’s someone writing about happiness and food (two of my favourite things) and she lives just a few miles away from me. The Happiness Project is an online project with the aim of getting Londoners to ignore the horrid, expensive, dirty parts of our city and to share in all the amazing things there are to see, do – and eat – right on our doorstep. We don’t realise how lucky we are!
The writer also offers a series of ‘rules’ by which we can be more happy. Take a look at her blog and see what you think.
I’m hoping to be able to interview her for my ongoing research project into the nature of happiness. The aim of the research is to unpick what happiness means to us in a modern context and, given she’s using modern technology of blogging and she’s writing about London now, I think she’d make a great addition. Watch this space to see if I can persuade her to get involved ….
Dulwich OnView, British Museum, multimedia guide, Yang-May Ooi, Fusion View, Italian Renaissance Drawings, podcast, Steve Slack, audio guide, writing
In Dulwich OnView, Museums, new content, what i'm reading on May 21, 2010 at 9:17 am
My friend Yang-May Ooi, the writer and blogging expert who taught me much of what I now about blogging, interviewed me recently for a podcast on her website.
Fusion View is Yang-May’s blog which offers her musings on life in the UK – and especially our little corner of south London – often compared with life in Malaysia where she was born. She describes it as ‘personal reflections with a cross-cultural flavour’. There’s everything on there, from recipes and reviews to videos of local sights and interviews with people from all walks of life.
Her library of podcasts is growing rapidly and one of her most recent entries is an interview with me about my work as a multimedia writer. Taking the British Museum’s current exhibition about Italian Renaissance Drawings as a starting point, we explore the process of creating an audio guide and how we turn the content into the little box visitors borrow from the museum when they arrive on the day.
Buddha, Francois Lelord, Hector and the search for happiness, psychiatrist, The Times
In happiness, what i'm reading on April 20, 2010 at 11:34 am
French psychaitrist François Lelord’s book Hector and the Search for Happiness has sold over 2.5 million copies. I remember reading about it when it first came out and was struck by what he’d achieved. His novel is different to my happiness research project in that it’s a story, but the aim is quite similar – to try and unpick what happiness means to us today.
Lelord’s starting point of a modern context is similar to mine. Hector — a psychiatrist like Lelord — sets off around the world to discover the ingredients for happiness because he can’t bear to see his patients so sad. The first person he meets is a banker: wealth, it seems, is one of the great stumbling blocks to happiness. It’s almost like the story of the Buddha, who wanders from person to person, taking advice and contributing to his own thought processes as he goes.
But perhaps the conclusions of this book are rather different to mine. In an interview in The Times today he says:
“I felt rather embarrassed at first as a Frenchman writing about happiness because I always think we are so grumpy at work. Waiters and taxi drivers can be rude. But we often top happiness polls. Happiness is a good glass of wine, the perfect cheese and conversation.
“The British don’t benefit from these things in the same way. In France we think of drink as making us happy because we don’t get drunk, it is a social activity; food is to be savoured rather than an obesity problem, and friendships and family are valued.”
Sex is another problem for the British. “In France we are open about the fact that sex can make you happy — it’s part of French folklore. In Britain you are more obsessed with shopping but that is a passive happiness. Your children love computer games that give them a high but they don’t provide the same contentment as climbing a tree. On the other hand, weather in Britain can make you very happy — you appreciate a sunny day.”
Read the full article on The Times website.
Museopunk, newcurator, ning.com, Pete
In Museums, what i'm reading on April 19, 2010 at 11:19 am
I just had an email from the enigmatic blogger newcurator, who I follow from time to time. Whoever he is, he’s got a good eye for a story and a witty turn of phrase and I always enjoy reading his provocative posts. I’ve also been enjoying following his forum, Museopunk, where people from the museum sector share ideas about museum futures.
It turns out that Ning.com (the service that runs Museopunk) will be closing its free service. Boo!
But, Pete says: “I’m not done with forums. I hope to get a new one set up soon.
I suggest going here and signing up to the newsletter. Big plans afoot so that’s the best place to find out.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed here. I hope the discussions can continue on the new format.”
I wonder what his big plans are?! If you’re into museums and fun ideas being shared on the Internet, then sign up to his list and see what happens!
Australia, international move, skype
In what i'm reading on April 9, 2010 at 12:15 pm
So, after a long time with my head in the sand, I’ve registered as a skype user.
I like to think of myself as fairly well-versed when it comes to the online world, but I do now have to admit to feeling a bit like a grandparent.
How do I make a call? Who would I call if I wanted to? How will they know I want to talk to them? Do we have to arrange a time to be online?
There are a few blogs out there my pro-skypers, so I might start taking a look. Or can anyone recommend one to me, perhaps?
It’s all been prompted by my best friend moving to Australia. After numerous leaving parties and fare-thee-wells he and his partner have finally moved overseas – they both have jobs in Sydney. So I guess I’d better get talking to him then.
And if anyone else wants to say hi, my username, id, whatever it’s called is steve-slack.
bbc, happiness formula
In happiness, what i'm reading on March 21, 2010 at 12:04 pm
A few years ago the BBC ran a series of programmes and web articles about happiness, and the potential ‘formulas’ to which one might subscribe in order to try and achieve it.
I remember at the time that this was a rather interesting prospect and have, since then, began working on a book about happiness. The idea is to unpack how we think about happiness in a modern context, by looking back at what’s been written in the past and by talking to people today about how they relate to the subject.
I use this website almost as a repository for my ideas and research into the subject of happiness and what it means to us today, so while I am here directing any readers of this blog toward the BBC’s archive of the programmes, I’m also jotting it down for myself as an aide memoire.
Digital Spy, happiness, Susan Sarandon
In happiness, what i'm reading on March 10, 2010 at 4:59 pm
I’ve been following what some celebrities have been saying about happiness of late, just to get an idea of what it means to them – or at least what they say it means through their media people.
The latest to come out with her thoughts on happiness is Hollywood actress Susan Sarandon, who claims that happiness keeps her young.
The 63-year-old she also takes care of her appearance by avoiding cigarettes.
“Don’t smoke,” she said. “It’s just so bad for your complexion. And I guess be as happy as possible. That really helps.”
Sarandon also revealed that she has a good relationship with her children, adding: “It’s nice to have something in common with your kids… All my kids really are curious and energetic and interested in things.” She concluded: “I hate to sound like the old hippy I am, but I think that even the bad stuff can turn into good stuff. Every day is a miracle, right?”
So nothing really new there, but an interesting perspective. And her attitude towards happiness fits into some of my major family of ideas about what happiness means to us today: Don’t smoke (investing in health), good skin (investing in appearance), energetic (physical stimulation), interesting things (mental stimulation), every day is a miracle (positivity).
Thanks to Digital Spy for the lead.
A Streetcar Named Desire, Donmar Warehouse, happiness, health, Rachel Weisz, What's On Stage
In happiness, what i'm reading on February 20, 2010 at 4:18 pm
You might think that health is important part of happiness, but actress Rachel Weisz has declared quite the reverse, stating that “happiness is the secret to health”. She also said that a happy home life is the key to looking good.
In an interview recently she told a reporter: “I’m pretty healthy but I don’t have any fad diets or anything. I eat meat and drink alcohol, but everything in moderation,” she said. “I think happiness is the secret to health.”
Last week Weisz won Best Actress at the What’s On Stage theatre awards for her role in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse. That’s probably going to make her pretty happy as well!
So do you need to be happy to be healthy? I suppose general well-being does reduce stress in one’s life and being less up tight or axious is going to be good for our bodies. But is it essential, I wonder?
Do you need to be healthy to be happy then? Well yes, I think so, because an unhealthy body does lead to an unhealthy mind.
Perhaps we’ll just say for now that the two are definitely linked. I’ll ponder how linked they are though as I continue my research into the subject as part of my research project into the nature of happiness in modern society.
I found the story about Rachel Weisz and the quotes on Digital Spy.
happiness, Thought for the Day, BBC Radio 4, Anne Atkins, sorrow, depression, Young Foundation, Oscar Wilde
In happiness, what i'm reading on December 9, 2009 at 10:55 am
Anne Atkins’ Thought for the Day yesterday morning reflected on the Young Foundation’s report into the psychological needs of people in Britain today – Sinking and Swimming: understanding Britain’s unmet needs, which dwells on the nature of depression.
We know a great deal more about depression than we used to. It’s an illness – some people get it and some people don’t. In many cases it’s treatable and there are tremendous success stories in how, as a society, we are dealing with it. Still, it’s now reckoned that 1 in 4 of us will experience depression of some sort during our lives. I find that a rather shocking statistic, and a very sobering one when I’m presently dwelling on what makes us happy, not what makes us unhappy.
Through my research into the nature of happiness and from talking to lots of people about what makes them tick it has become clear to me that, for many, the only way to truly understand what makes us happy is to to understand what makes us unhappy.
Anne Atkins thinks she knows where the root of this unhappiness lies in the very nature of society itself. She says:
“Depression is linked to two objective factors: relationships, and material well-being. As society becomes more fractured so we become more wretched. And the greater the disparity grows between rich and poor, the more dejected we become. The way to happiness would seem clear, if not easy. Better relationships and a fairer world.”While acknowledging that the theraputic treatments available for those who are depressed are valid, she seems to suggest that people just need to man up and get over their depression. That tears are good for us sometimes and, as I suggest here, the happier moments in life have to go hand in hand with the unhappier ones. But I think she’s confusing unhappiness (a state of mind for many) with depression (an illness). She’s surely getting confused when she suggests that to get over depression, all you need do is find happiness. I’m no expert on the subject, but I’m pretty sure it’s more complicated that than.
She quotes Oscar Wilde: “Where there is sorrow, there is holy ground.” Depression is much more than sorrow, more than feeling down or simply being unhappy. It’s a chemical inbalance that affects an entire person. Unhappiness and depression are different beasts.
Of course, Thought for the Day is a moment of religious contemplation and yesterday’s speaker seems to suggest that looking forward to a time when there will no longer be any sorrow (I assume she means the end of time for Judeo-Christians) we will have something positive to focus on.
I really don’t agree with her conclusions. You can read the full transcript of what she said on the BBC website.
King's College London, museum studies, Musum of Jurassic Technology
In Museums, what i'm reading on September 30, 2009 at 10:21 am
We had a great meeting of the King’s College London museums reading group yesterday. It’s a forum where academics working in social aspects of museums studies – and educational theory – get together with professionals from the museum sector and discuss the latest papers relating to our work and research. We take a different topic each time – this latest gathering was devoted to four studies of motivations amongst museum visitors.
We read:
The effect of visitors’ agenda on museum learning (Falk, Moussouri, Coulson, 1998) – still one of the most quoted papers on motivational theory. Breaks down the idea that education and entertainment are not indeed opposite ends of the visiting spectrum, but are actually continua which run in parallel.
Motivational factors and the visitor experience: a comparison of three sites (Packer, Ballantyne, 2002) – an Australian study which moves on to the next step and calls for ‘a common theoretical foundation for interpretation in museum other informal learning settings’.
Personality and motivation in visitor satisfaction (Yalowitzm 2002) – a PhD summary comparing cognitive and sensory needs and experiences in three Coloardo visitor attractions.
Accessing and incorporating visitors’ entrance narratives enchances guided museum tours (Tsybluskaya, Dodick, Camhi, 2009) – a great piece of research looking at getting museums visitors talking about a subject before they encounter it, in order that a guided tour might dwell on their expectations.
We talked around these and other pieces of research and ended up looking at examples of museum practice which take us out of our comfort zone – which challenge not only our motivations, but also our expectations of a visit. I’m so pleased we got to discuss the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles, a long time favourite of mine where the very notion of a museum is broken down. I’ve flicked through the guide book again this morning and I still don’t really understand what it’s all about. It’s just brilliant.
Barack Obama, blogs, Journal of Happiness Studies, Mondays, the guardian
In happiness, what i'm reading on August 24, 2009 at 9:45 am
It turns out that Mondays aren’t that bad after all. In fact, they’re the second happiest day of the week.
This piece in The Guardian reports a really interesting piece of research – a long-term study of the content of blogs and their relation to collective happiness. They trawled through a load of content and analysed how ‘happy’ people were by what they were writing. Words like joy, happiness and fun got put in one bracket, while words like sad, boring and loss went in another. And then they looked at not only who was happiest, but when we are happiest.
There are countless ways of measuring happiness, all of which have their flaws, but this seems like a clever way of indicating happiness on a global scale.
According to this methodology, Obama’s first day in office was the happiest for the world in a while. Interesting stuff. It’s all reported in full in the Journal of Happiness Studies.
Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, happiness, Mr Micawber
In happiness, what i'm reading on July 29, 2009 at 8:57 am
The character Mr Micawber in Charles Dickens’ David Copperfield is a good source of quotes on the subject of happiness. In the novel, Micawber, an eternal optomist in the employ of Uriah Heep, is repeatedly convinced that ‘something will turn up’. His name is, therefore, used to refer to someone who lives in constant expectation of a better life.
For example, in chapter 11, he says: ‘I have no doubt I shall, please Heaven, begin to be more beforehand with the world, and to live in a perfectly new manner, if -if, in short, anything turns up.’
A Dickens quote has even given rise to the ‘Micawber Principle’, based on the character’s following observation:
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six. Result happiness.
Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six. Result misery.”
Chinese Ceramics, British Museum, Grayson Perry, Sunday Times
In Museums, what i'm reading on May 6, 2009 at 11:23 am
Oooh exciting news from my former employer the British Museum. Turns out Grayson Perry went to see the new Chinese Ceramics gallery – the last major project I worked on before I left in April – and he really likes it.
There’s a piece about it in the Sunday Times. Thanks Grayson.
bed and breakfast, blogging, derbyshire, highfield
In what i'm reading on April 28, 2009 at 10:36 am
One evening last Christmas my parents and I were sat around talking and we got on the subject of the web. They told me they were interested in setting up a website to promote their bed and breakfast – they run it from their home in Derbyshire, in the heart of the Peak District.
I told them about blogging and my experiences of writing for places like Dulwich OnView. We arrived at the conclusion that perhaps they didn’t need a website, just a blog. So I spent a few hours setting them up with one and sent them off into the world of blogging. And now look at them.
Here’s their blog. I follow it, primarily, for updates from the chickens.
Maybe the credit debacle has meant you’re cutting back on a big holiday this year. If you’re looking for a cheap alternative, a relaxing weekend away at Highfield comes highly recommended by me, their sometime, non-paying guest.
coffee, digitalspy, stranger
In happiness, what i'm reading on April 20, 2009 at 9:31 am
Apparently, the simple act of picking up someone else’s tab in a coffee shop is enough to engender a feeling of well-being for you and your lucky new friend. It’s a craze sweeping coffee shops in America.
DigitalSpy tells us more …
ed haliwell, mental health, the guardian
In happiness, what i'm reading on April 14, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Happiness is abuzz in the news this week with the revalation that we are all really rather stressed, anxious and fearful. The Mental Health Foundation has called for a national campaign to raise awareness of how emotions affect our health and behaviour, and what we can do about it.
It all sounds like a bit of hot air to me, but Ed Haliwell puts it rather well in The Guardian today.
Apparently we need to develop social and economic cohesion and moving towards values and behaviours that lead to happiness.
Sounds simple, eh?
The MHF have an hilarious campaign, not aimed at making us any happier, just making us realise how awful life is. They say:
As part of Mental Health Action Week, you can order your free information pack, which gives you information on fear and anxiety, as well as a poster to help you raise awareness of the week.
Wow, I feel happier already.
Happiness makes up in height what it lacks in length, Pulitzer, Robert Frost
In happiness, what i'm reading on April 13, 2009 at 3:15 pm
I recently came across this poem by American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963).
As with plenty of creative souls, he had a particulary tragic personal life. His father died when Frost was 11, leaving the family penniless. His mother died when he was 26, resulting in the institutionalisation in a mental hospital of his sister some year later. A family rife with depression, he was also forced to commit his daughter to a mental hospital in 1947. Three of his six children died while he was still alive and one committed suicide.
How he then managed to win so four Pulitzer prizes for his work and publish so widely is a wonder. He penned this charming poem in 1942:
Happiness makes up in height what it lacks in length
O stormy, stormy world,
The days you were not swirled
Around with mist and cloud,
Or wrapped as in a shroud,
And the sun’s brilliant ball
Was not in part or all
Obscured from mortal view—
Were days so very few
I can but wonder whence
I get the lasting sense
Of so much warmth and light.
If my mistrust is right
It may be altogether
From one day’s perfect weather,
When starting clear at dawn
The day swept clearly on
To finish clear at eve.
I verily believe
My fair impression may
Be all from that one day
No shadow crossed but ours
As through its blazing flowers
We went from house to wood
geovisit();
For change of solitude.
good life, happiness
In happiness, what i'm reading on March 25, 2009 at 6:46 pm
A piece in The Independent today pointed out that we live in a frenetic, throwaway society and that we don’t take enough time to do things slowly and really enjoy them. They suggest the good life – the elusive happiness we all crave, apparently – can be achieved through celebrating ten simple pleasures of life.
How many of these have you done recently? I wonder if this is the path to happiness:
Roasting a chicken - the smell, the slow cooking, the crispy skin. And the accopanying trimmings.
Going for a walk - recharge the batteries through exercise and appreciate your local area.
Caring for clothes - a sense of achievement through fixing something rather than buying new.
Cleaning the windows – let the Spring sunshine into your home.
Servicing the car - er, like the clothes, I suppose. Not sure it would make me that happy.
Baking a cake - the smell, the satisfaction, the icing. And a cup of tea with it.
Making sloe gin - expectation as it matures in the bottle infront of your eyes.
Reading a map - I don’t understand this one. Just use google.
Brewing a cup of coffee - another aroma one. They like smelly things don’t they?
Or just doing nothing - personally, I find this one terribly irritating.
I can see where they’re going with these ten steps, but I’m not sure they’re necessarily a recipe for happiness. And it’s not a great path to the good life if you’re a wheat intolerant, sober, vegetarian, caffeine-free cyclist who lives in a windowless space and hates baking – but there’s got to be something that makes you happy.
A. A. Milne
In happiness, what i'm reading on March 15, 2009 at 2:50 pm
I was just reliving some childhood memories, flicking through the A. A. Milne’s When we were very young, when I came across one of those nuresery poems that rings a bell, but I don’t know why. The title jumped out at me, obviously, but I wonder what the message of the poem is? As with all Milne poems, the line-spacing is important, so I’ve copied it here:
Happiness
John had
Great Big
Waterproof
Boots on;
John had a
Great Big
Waterproof
Hat;
John had a
Great Big
Waterproof
Mackintosh -
And that
(Said John)
Is
That.
arthur brookes, conservative, gross national happiness, liberal
In happiness, what i'm reading on March 7, 2009 at 7:52 am
Some interesting research about political motivation and happiness from Syracuse University. Prof Arthur Brookes claims in his book Gross National Happiness that conservatives report significantly higher levels of personal happiness than liberals.
Increased happiness in conservatives is not necessarily down to their individual politics, but is linked to contributing life factors. They are are statistically more likely to be married, go to church, and be optimistic about their future – things we know boost personal happiness. For liberals, the rates of happiness are somewhat lower. The author suggests that the liberal equity agenda, while completely honorable, takes a stronger personal toll and contributes to a life with more questions asked than answered. Liberals are more likely to have less smooth home lives, when compared to their conservative counterparts. There’s an interview with the author here.
It’s important to remember most studies like this reporting levels of happiness have collected data via personal response questionnaires. So, in fact it’s more a case of conservatives reporting that they are happier, rather than actually being happy in themselves. For me, this research perhaps means two things:
-1- Conservatives say they are happier than liberals. Is that because they truly are happier (they do appear to have very settled lives) or is it because they feel they ought to say they are happier and living the American dream?
-2- The research shows that liberals report lower happiness levels because they have a more challenging lives. They are less likely to have as much family stability and they have that oh-so cumbersome liberal agenda to which they feel they ought to contribute. It might just be me, but I think living a life with an open liberal agenda that doesn’t mean being tied down to a family, a dog and a church sounds rather fun.
Aristotle asks us whether we would rather be a pig satisfied or a man dissatisfied? To be honest, as much as I crave the perceived stability and wealth of the right, I think I’d rather be a dissatisfied liberal than a satisfied conservative. But that’s just me.
social interaction, virtual happiness, Virtual Happiness Project
In happiness, what i'm reading on February 9, 2009 at 6:05 pm
I just came across the Virtual Happiness Project. It’s a research project with an interesting hypothesis:
1) The origins of happiness lie in social interaction. From sitting round the camp fire to the modern dinner table, we thrive when we are interacting.
2) The Internet has become a more and more social place in recent years. It’s the modern day camp fire.
3) Is the Internet virtual happiness?
These people are trying to evaluate the links between happiness and online experiences. Like many other research projects, it’s trying to unpick what it is that makes us happy. But what excites me about their work is that they are examining happiness in a truly modern context using the Internet as their frame of reference. Interesting stuff.
Take a look at their website and the short video there which explains the project in more detail. More details as and when they publish their findings.
commune, Tobias Jones, Utopian Dreams
In happiness, what i'm reading on February 3, 2009 at 5:51 pm
The subtitle of this book is In Search of a Good Life, so I thought it would be a good read as part of the ongoing happiness project. Turns out it hasn’t provided me with any concrete info for the research project, but it’s certainly got me thinking.
Jones’s book recalls how he spent a year with his wife and newborn child living in a variety of communes in Italy and the UK. But the communities he stays in aren’t what you’d think of when you first hear the word ‘commune’. Rather than political philosophy or social motivation as their main common factor, each community shares a common religious goal. He investigates what placing religion at the hear of a community does to people.
From Quaker pensioners, to old-fashioned farmyards and new age communes. Interesting reading.
Evelyn Waugh, Saki
In what i'm reading on January 29, 2009 at 12:01 pm
Continuing my love affair with Evelyn Waugh, I’ve just read A Handful of Dust. This is perhaps one of the darker Waugh novels, but still a joy to read. Like many of Waugh’s novels it’s an hilarious parody of the upper classes of the 1930s and the inherent contradictions of the establishment. Like much of his other work, there’s an underlying dark tension in this book. Themes of divorce, betryal, one-up-man-ship and child death run throughout – yet it still gets me laughing out loud.
The final chapters are based on the Waugh short story The Man Who Liked Dickens.
If only people still wrote like him. I think he took a lot from Saki, but I’m yet to start drawing the direct links between the two. More on Saki soon …
India, Sanjeev Bhaskar
In what i'm reading on January 8, 2009 at 3:19 pm
I’ve just finished Sanjeev Bhaskar’s book accompanying his BBC ONE series last year. He travelled around India with a camera crew in search of two things – the old India in which his parents had grown up and of which he heard tales as a child, and the new India, a centre of technological innovation and global commerce.
I must say after seeing the TV programmes, I was a bit disappointed with the first half of the book. He seems to travel from city to city, just telling the reader what’s there. But when he gets into the social, religious and political history of India in the C20th, it gets much livelier and his prose becomes more emotional. At the time of Partition in 1947 his parents were part of the huge migration from Pakistan into what we now call India. Although he wasn’t born at the time, it’s an event which has clearly remained in the memory of his family. This, and many other occurances, make for an emotionl and personal book, sensitively written.
Iran, Marjin Satrapi, Persepolis
In what i'm reading on January 4, 2009 at 12:10 pm
I’ve just read Persepolis by Marjin Satrapi. It’s the first graphic novel I’ve ever read. This weekend’s newspapers inform me that the term ‘graphic novel’ is a bit too serious, but likewise, calling it a ‘comic’ doesn’t do it justice. In fact I think it’s an incredibly versatile way of telling a story.
I was gripped throughout. In the past I’ve worked on a gallery display about ancient Iran and I’m currently working on an exhibition about an Iranian Shah from the 1600s, so the content was all quite timely for me. I bought a copy for my aunt for Christmas. I wonder what she thought of it?
