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Reading Week #80

11.27.2015 by Nicola //

Happy Friday! Hasn’t November gone by fast?

Pictured above is my advent calendar of loose teas! I hung it from the bookcase and have had to stare at it for over a week. Soon, soon, my pretties…

It’s been quite the week in longreads and there’s a ton of great stuff to read this week. Dive in!

–– ON ROBOTNIC.CO ––

I was feeling chatty this week so I’ve made both an episode of Bookish Blether and a new video talking about all the books I bought on my holidays a couple of weeks ago. Choose your medium! (The podcast, of course, also has Holly’s picks!)

On my business blog I wrote about Freelance Finance in a post that’s proven to be rather popular.

–– ARTS & CULTURE ––

The literary internet blew up for Claire Vaye Watkins’ essay On Pandering this week. If you’re a women, chances are you’ll relate. It’s also sparked debate, with Marlon James’ comments some of the most challenging I’ve read.

An excellent report from Maureen Dowd in which The Women of Hollywood Speak Out. It’s not too much of a downer, but it is rightfully cautious about the women’s moment we’re in. To quote Amy Pascal, the only executive casualty of the Sony hack: “All of a sudden, we’re in this era of, ‘Oh, my God, girls. It’ll last about as long as it always does: about five more minutes.”

This pair of essays form Dani Shapiro on taking criticism were enlightening: What Do You Do When The Internet Hates You? and On What People Think.

Let’s Talk About How I Got Great Feedback, Then Didn’t Write For A Week. I feel ya, Nadia.

Alan Bett asked Scottish authors and Martin Cathcart Froden and Helen McClory about writing their first novels. They gave some very good advice.

Suddenly Sontag gives an interesting view on the author and critic.

–– DIGITAL / LIFE ––

Rachel Syme’s long-awaited SELFIE – an essay on selfie culture – is a fantastic longread that celebrates the practice and will dispel you of (most) any icky feelings that might remain.

Props to my friend Stef for sharing The Secret Power of ‘Read It Later’ Apps. I’m a huge proponent for many of the reasons this author outlines and I will evangelise about Pocket til the cows come home. (Don’t believe me? They emailed me to say I was in the top 1% of Pocket users last year!)

Life Is Surprising: An Interview With Lauren Graham in Rookie. I’ve been rewatching Gilmore Girls recently, and as Graham says, “I’ve [noticed] that there’s not a lot to watch that is comforting… That’s a big part of what entertainment is: It offers you a magical place to go and a place to imagine yourself in.”

I also started watching Aziz Ansari’s Netflix series Master of None this week, but more interesting than the show itself are the conversations it’s starting. Samhita Mukhopadhyay wrote about the show and “why it matters to see myself on TV“.

–– ON PAPER ––

Pictured: two new books I requested from the lovely people at & Other Stories. They publish fantastic works in translation, and I’m really excited for these two.

I’m currently reading Notes From No Man’s Land by Eula Biss which, so far, includes a lot of new angles (for me) on discussions of personal racial identity. I really believe in the Graywolf Prize for Nonfiction, guys.

What’s on your nightstand?

–– &c. ––

I love Tony Zhou’s Every Frame a Painting video essay series. This week he honoured one of my all-time favourites, Buster Keaton, in The Art of the Gag. [VIDEO, 8 mins]

Alone Together: At Book Riot Live – Elizabeth Minkel, who I met at the event, wrote about the dualism of solitary reading and the communal experience of the Book Con.

The best of Mexico City’s photojournalism.

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Read anything good this week? Hit reply or tweet me about it, won’t you?

Have a lovely weekend!

Reading Week #79

11.20.2015 by Nicola //

Photo credit: Jonathan Balkind.

Happy Friday! How are things?

I had the best day yesterday. A morning of reading, writing and drinking tea followed by a radio appearance, a quick meeting, then a great meal out with my husband and on to book club. I’m feeling a wee bitty delicate today, but still in good spirits.

Lots of good reading to be had this week too – scroll forth for the links!

–– ON ROBOTNIC.CO ––

As mentioned, I was on BBC Radio Scotland yesterday reviewing Mockingjay pt 2, True Romance, and a new documentary on Steve McQueen. Catch up on iPlayer.

Look what finally fell off the back of a truck… my October Reads!

In the latest episode of our podcast Bookish Blether, Holly and I discussed Books & Travel.

On my business blog I wrote about Freelance Finance in a post that’s proven to be rather popular.

–– ARTS & CULTURE ––

Rebecca Solnit on 80 Books No Woman Should Read. I’ve already read this twice, and will be taking every opportunity to reference “the penis-gun-death thing”.

How The Hunger Games staged a revolution – excellent cultural context reporting on the making and reception of The Hunger Games series from Danny Leigh.

Jesse Eisenberg wrote An Honest Film Review and lots of critics got their knickers in a twist. His book, Bream Gives Me Hiccups, is still one of the best I’ve read this year.

In Bookends, Leslie Jamison and Francine Prose discuss how other jobs informed their writing. I really like this feature.

–– DIGITAL / LIFE ––

Leah Betts died 20 years ago and we still can’t be honest about drugs. If you’re not familiar, Leah Betts died after taking ecstasy in 1995. When I was at school her death was used to scare kids out of taking drugs. This article illustrates the damage it has caused.

In light of last week’s terrible events in Lebanon, Paris and elsewhere, I was directed back to this fascinating, reassuring and terrifying piece by Yuval Noah Harari on The Theatre of Terror.

Sheila Heti on the Woman Who Changed Her Life made me want this kind of mentor.

–– ON PAPER ––

My reading slump has continued virtually unabated this week, but I have read a few more essays in The Unspeakable by Meghan Daum, which I’m enjoying immensely.

I also started reading Leaving Orbit by Margaret Lazarus Dean. It won the Graywolf Press Nonfiction Prize and, if the introductory chapter is any indication, it’s going to be a great read.

What are you currently reading?

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I linked Linda Barsi’s most recent video last week, and I’ve been rewatching her previous videos since.

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Read anything good this week? Hit reply or tweet me about it, won’t you?

Have a lovely weekend!

Reading Week #78

11.13.2015 by Nicola //

I’m back in Glasgow at its dreichest and darkest. Like, it’s 10.40am and I have the lights on because it’s so overcast and pelting down.

On a brighter note, I’m in a giving-no-effs kind of mode this week and it’s the weekend! I hope you’re all making the most of what you’ve got, too.

–– ON ROBOTNIC.CO ––

It’s just occurred to me that I still haven’t done my October book reviews… those will be up soon, promise.

Since we were both off on our holidays, Holly’s and my latest episode of Bookish Blether is all about Books & Travel!

–– ARTS & CULTURE ––

I enjoyed Helen O’Hara’s take on JLaw, Katniss Everdeen, and what they mean for young women.

Lunch Breaks: Finding balance between full-time work and part-time art. My friend Candace was frustrated that the majority of productivity tips seem to come from work-from-home creatives, so she wrote the advice that she wanted to read. And it’s fantastic.

Eli Horowitz Wants To Teach You How To Read. Great feature from Anne Helen Petersen at Buzzfeed.

In the New York Times, Aziz Ansari on Acting, Race and Hollywood.

Here’s a game to play: When you look at posters for movies or TV shows, see if it makes sense to switch the title to “What’s Gonna Happen to This White Guy?” (“Forrest Gump,” “The Martian,” “Black Mass”) or if there’s a woman in the poster, too, “Are These White People Gonna Have Sex With Each Other?” (“Casablanca,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “The Notebook”). Even at a time when minorities account for almost 40 percent of the American population, when Hollywood wants an “everyman,” what it really wants is a straight white guy. But a straight white guy is not every man. The “everyman” is everybody.

–– DIGITAL / LIFE ––

Is emotional labor feminism’s next frontier? Because it ought to be.

What’s Your Ratio? – Rosie Spinks on creating your own work/income/life formula. This is something that I’ve been thinking and reading about and working towards for many years, but I was really comforted to read this today and feel like I am succeeding.

Have you noticed yourself leaning away from timelines and towards group chats online? I have, and found this compelling – Small Social Is Here: Why Groups Are Finally Finding A Home Online.

Richard Lawson is the only mainstream journalist I’ve found who gets YouTube culture but can also critique it generously. Here’s his recent piece on Troye Sivan’s foray into pop music.

–– ON PAPER ––

Although traveling usually = reading, I was at a book convention, followed by a red-eye flight, followed by getting back to work, so I’ve been struggling to make time to read this week. Pictured are my US purchases – mostly essays, with a dash of mythology.

I’m still working my way through the hilarious and comforting The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson and the enlightening The Unspeakable by Meghan Daum.

I also started Ubik by Philip K Dick for book club. It’s a weird yin.

What’s are your current reads?

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Need a creative kick up the butt? Linda Barsi’s got you covered. Fight To Believe You Are The Shit [VIDEO, 3 mins]

While we’re at it, here’s Hank Green compiling some of the most excited people ever. [VIDEO, 4 mins]

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Read anything good this week? Hit reply or tweet me about it, won’t you?

Have a lovely weekend!