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Reading Week #24 – From An Independent Scotland?

09.19.2014 by Nicola //

Happy Friday!

This is an odd post to write. Today we found out the fate of Scotland. Will it become an independent country? You’ll know better reading this than I do writing it. Thing is, I’m having to write it ahead of time before I spend Friday out and about. So um… yay/boo?!

I’m also getting ready to head to the east coast on Monday to visit my brother in New Jersey and taking a long weekend in Toronto! Any tips? Shoot me an email!

While my feed has been inundated with #indyref this week, I found a few wee gems to share. Read on!

–– ON ROBOTNIC.CO ––

Announcing: The [Female] Essayist Project. I’d like to read more women in non-fiction, and I love essays, so here it is! I’ll be aiming to post about one essay collection per month. Please share your recommendations!

Over on my business blog: Top 5 Business Podcasts, and Notebook: On Working Remotely.

–– ARTS & CULTURE ––

Inspired by my aforementioned Female Essayists Project mentioned above, a friend shared Olivia Laing in the Guardian: ‘Every hour a glass of wine’ – the female writers who drank. I loved the little I’ve read of her book on male writers who drank, called The Trip to Echo Spring, and plan to finish it soon. Marguerite Duras sounded like a badass.

In film and literature: Notes on Sontag, a new documentary about the writer.

Did you know that non-fiction books usually aren’t fact-checked? It makes sense, without making sense.

–– DIGITAL ––

Susan Orlean gave an AMA on SkillShare, where she’s offering an online course in writing non-fiction. I’m considering signing up. Have any of you tried it?

On the digital age and its effect on writers: I Promise to Be a Worse, More Prolific Writer by Elizabeth Spiers. She’s also on FT.com with The Diary. Thanks to Jess Furseth for pointing me in her direction.

Reboot or Die Trying is another year of detox from another journalist… except this time it’s well worth a read.

–– ON PAPER ––

I’m trying out and, so far, loving this little-known notebook trick from Japan. It’s a nice, quick solution for indexing — which I never quite get around to.

I’m currently reading a couple of books I thought I’d mention:

1. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon — my current fiction pick. I’ve intended to read this for many years. It seems to be beloved by those who’ve read it.

2. Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay — my non-fiction pick, and probably the first book you’ll hear about as part of my Female Essayists Project.

3. Okay I lied, there’s one more — California by Edan Lepucki. I requested an e-galley of this after hearing about it during the Hachette-Amazon dispute. 20 pages in and may well be hooked.

What book(s) are you currently reading?

–– &c. ––

Why The Body Diversity On ‘Orange Is The New Black’ Is So Important.

Leo Babauta weighs in on How to Get Motivated After a Vacation. I might be needing this after my holiday to North America…

What were your favourite reads of the week?

Reading Week #23 – Indian Summer

09.12.2014 by Nicola //

Happy Friday, readers!

It is pretty much the most glorious September ever. It’s like 20C! I could not be happier.

Let’s not waste any time and get on to the links!

–– ON ROBOTNIC.CO ––

I spent last weekend at Imagination Festival, live-tweeting away and sharing their great discussions with the world. So, on my business blog, I dropped some tips on The Art of Live-Tweeting your event.

–– ARTS & CULTURE ––

The lovely BookTuber Ron has been on her game lately. I loved this video about Eliza Haywood HBIC (Hot Bitch In Charge, duh!). If the next one isn’t on Nellie Bly I’mma throw in on that one.

Megan Daum profiles Lena Dunham in the New York Times, ahead of Dunham’s forthcoming book. They also published an excerpt, Growing Up in Therapy, which I’ll wait to read in the book. (Incidentally, I’m so fed up with elder writers’ insistence that 28 is too young and inexperienced an age to write a memoir. I hope she’s kept all the interesting [read: frustrating, confusing, inhibiting] years that “experienced” writers edit out.)

Film v Movie – which side are you on? I use them interchangeably because fuck it.

–– DIGITAL ––

How copyright became the best defense against revenge porn. It’s not perfect, but we’re getting there.

Every so often, I forget that Sadie Stein writes an awesome daily Paris Review blog. Then I remember and have a binge. Recent favourites: Snow Day, Charmed Objects.

–– ON PAPER ––

I’m currently 7 books ahead on my 52 books goal. A few highlights from my recent reading:

1. Patti Smith’s Just Kids – it’s as moving and lyrical as you’ve heard it is. Have you read it yet?

2. Nick Hornby’s More Baths, Less Talking – which is the lasest of a series of books which reproduce his reading column for The Believer magazine (sometimes published as The Polysyllabic Spree). His column and the magazine have been going for 10 years now, and I plan to buy the omnibus, Ten Years in the Tub, very soon.

3. I’m currently reading and thoroughly enjoying Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay, particularly her Scrabble antics and cultural commentary.

4. I’m also beginning my journey with the original Sherlock Holmes stories, beginning chronologically with A Study in Scarlet.

Do you have any book recommendations for me?

–– &c. ––

The mystery of Jack The Ripper’s identity has been cracked. And he sounds like a right nasty wee Elliot Rogers-type character.

Illiteracy in Britain is growing with nearly HALF of poor 11 year-olds leaving primary school under-literate. Save The Children is campaigning for improvement, here’s my friend Jean’s video on the topic.

What were your favourite reads of the week?

Reading Week #22

09.05.2014 by Nicola //

Somewhere over the Atlantic... — Somewhere over the Atlantic…

Hello Reading Week pals. It’s Friday!

After 5 full nights back home in Glasgow, I’m still a bit of an empty-headed, jetlagged mess. But hey, I made it to work.

This week I’ve been mostly been falling asleep at 10pm and getting back up to speed.

Here’s some reading for you to enjoy this weekend.

–– ON ROBOTNIC.CO ––

Yesterday I reviewed this week’s releases on BBC Culture Studio with Janice Forsyth and Nigel Floyd. For our thoughts on Before I Go to Sleep, The Hundred-Foot Journey, and The Guest, listen on iPlayer.

It’s time for capsule reviews of the 9 books I read in August.

ICYMI here, Canongate has been publishing my Nudge Your World blogs.

–– ARTS & CULTURE ––

If you’re in or near Glasgow, this weekend I’ll be live-tweeting from Imagination Festival, a festival of cultural and political discussions about Scotland’s current place in history and its development.

After news that a previously unpublished in English Murakami novel will follow his recent release, the ever-clever Melville House posted this: Publishers scramble for their own “Murakami One-Two”. I’m looking forward to “Born Alive” by David Mitchell more than The Bone Clocks, personally.

Eleanor Catton sets up grant to give writers ‘time to read’. To read her doorstop of a novel, perhaps? Regardless, that’s my kind of grant!

From The Onion archives: Miranda July Called Before Congress To Explain Exactly What Her Whole Thing Is. Incidentally, I’ve just downloaded an e-galley of her upcoming novel and I’m well excited to read it.

–– DIGITAL ––

In video, I’ve been enjoying Rebecca Schinsky’s In My Mailbag videos on the Book Riot YouTube channel.

In podcasting, on the flight home I had a big binge catch-up on No Such Thing as a Fish, the QI trivia podcast. Ever a fun listen.

Facebook is always changing shit. Amy from SavvySexySocial made this great video on the New Facebook Linking Policy: How To Benefit While Playing By The Rules. *praise emoji* (Incidentally, despite doing this my reach is still fucked.)

–– &c. ––

The wonderful Rachel Hills says We’re All Girl Bosses Now. And ain’t that the truth.

In related news, women aren’t advancing in work, and the experiences of transgender people can go some way to explain why that is. As fascinating as it is frustrating.

The IndyRef debate is getting heated in these final 2 weeks. I haven’t been posting much online but this article takes an interesting angle on the whole situation: Scots voting no to independence would be an astonishing act of self-harm.

In weirdest shit of the week: Tragedy: Russia’s orbiting zero-g sex geckos have all died. Sad!

What were your favourite reads of the week?