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Andrew Solomon on Literature and Medicine

Wanted to share with you this thought-provoking article by Andrew Solomon (lecturer on psychology and politics and author of award winning Far From the Tree) about medicine and literature, where he rejoices the surge in interest in books discussing medicine. I couldn’t agree more. I’ve read and reviewed two of the books he discusses: Henry Marsh’s Do No Harm and Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal.  Truly life-changing reads!

Literature About Medicine May Be All That Can Save Us by Andrew Solomon

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Just out! Books for Easter 2016

We’re going away for Easter with a bunch of recently published books which we thought we would share with you. We haven’t read these yet, but they all sound pretty promising…Which one are you bringing?

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Libreria – Taking bookshops to a whole new level

Welcome Libreria! A brand new bookstore concept opening today in London’s East End – 65 Hanbury Street, London E1.

Not only does it look fabulous – artist designed colourful floor to ceiling shelves, a reflective material in the ceiling giving a sense of space, small dens to huddle up in while you read – but it also has curated selections of books according to themes and across genres, a whiskey bar (!),  24 hour opening hours at least once a month and lots and lots of events. Smart phones and tablets are prohibited inside the shop as the founders want to ‘celebrate the analogue’. Love it already!

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Not to be missed: BBC’s adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace

For those of you that have access to BBC One, don’t miss its War and Peace series that started last Sunday. I watched it last night on the Iplayer and enjoyed every second of this lavish costume drama. BBC at its absolute best! Can’t wait for tomorrow’s second episode. For those without access to BBC One, don’t despair, the series has been sold widely and is bound to show up in your country too. Now I’m building up courage to tackle the book itself…

War and Peace on BBC One

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She does it again! Kate Atkinson wins the Costa Prize for the third time

Kate Atkinson won the Costa Novel Award 2015 earlier this week for the novel A God in Ruins. Not bad considering she’s won the prize twice before: in 2013 for Life After Life and in 1995 for Behind the Scenes at the Museum. A God in Ruins follows Teddy, one of the characters from Life After Life, and his struggle to live a ‘normal’ life after his career as an RAF pilot during the Second World War.

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Best Books of 2015

The best books of 2015 lists are being published in the newspapers these days and I have collected the best of the ‘best lists’. I don’t necessarily agree with all their choices, but there are lots of interesting books here.

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Feeling academic? Here’s a list of reading about reading

A list doesn’t come more high-brow than this. If you’ve ever had the urge to get to the bottom of understanding books this offers an excellent selection of literature for you. No light beach reads here, but enough to keep you going for years and come out a scholar, and probably enjoy reading even more. Go on and tackle the literary heavyweights: Roland Barthes, Lucian Freud, Harold Bloom, James Wood, Michel Foucault etc.

So You Think You’re a Literary Critic? 19 Books for Understanding Literature by Richard Davies

 

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Better World Book – saving the world, one book at a time

We are excited to have discovered this marvellous online site. “You buy. We donate” is their catchphrase. New and old books are available for free delivery around the world and for every book you buy, they donate one onwards (while endearingly thanking you profusely), enabling and enriching libraries in poorer countries. It has become our first port of call for online books. With £14 million raised for libraries and nearly 200 million books recycled, how can you not like it?

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A Man Booker Prize Longlist with Punch

A good literary prize brings to light books that you’ve not necessarily heard of before. This year’s  Man Booker Prize longlist is an eminent example, pulling together a selection of 13 books from all corners of the world: Jamaica, New Zealand, India, the US, Ireland, Nigeria and the UK.

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