26 members recommend for July

'The Golden Gate' by Vikram Seth (Faber & Faber, RRP £5.99 or £4.79 on Amazon)

A word to the quick in this faltering stanza;
In the space of the lines left here
Let me attempt to convince you of a bonanza
To be found in sheaves not so dear.
A novel in verse, startling and bold
First written in 1986, and yet not old
A meditation on what makes life pleasurable and true
At first appearance flighty, and yet you do
Soon discern the depths within
Characters well drawn, rounded
Musing on art, love and sin
In tetrameter well-crafted, not hounded
Into life by Vikram Seth, 'The Golden Gate' is to be praised
Buy it, and enjoyment will be raised.

RD

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'Words Fail Me' by Teresa Monachino (Phaidon, RRP £7.95 or £6.36 on Amazon)

This is a delightful look at some of the exasperating quirks of English. Monachino has collected some of those oddities that can baffle a non-native grappling with the language: why is abbreviation such a long word? Why does monosyllabic have so many syllables? There are things that will make you chuckle out loud, and the book is set beautifully, a delight to look at. RD

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Shakespeare's Sonnets and Kandinsky's paintings
Both have a feeling of abstraction, though the Sonnets are about and addressed to real people. Kandinsky puts marks, colours, outlines in his paintings that suggest reality. In fact they suggest a number of possible interpretations. That line there could be a horse, a hill or a human. Or all three. In the same way, Shakespeare suggests multiple possibilities in every line. You have to work at the meaning but in the end you stand back, look at the overall picture, and simply admire it without understanding every nuance or layer of meaning. You can see 'Kandinsky: The Path To Abstraction' at Tate Modern until 1 October. You can read Shakespeare's Sonnets any time. JS

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Howies jeans
Pardon? I just bought a pair in their summer sale. They're made from organic cotton and washed with an 'eco ball' to go easy on the world's dwindling supply of pummice. One of the back pockets is stitched to reveal the coastline of Cardigan Bay in Wales, where Howies is based. Inside the waistband it says (in large) "Life is sweet", and underneath (in small) "terms and conditions apply". A long white label on the inside is printed with a detailed and disturbing story about cotton production headlined "100% cotton. 73% true". It explains that the avearge 100% cotton T-shirt contains 73% cotton – the rest is chemicals. That cotton is the world's most sprayed crop, accounting for quarter of the world's pesticides. That's why they use the organic stuff. I love the way Howies use every opportunity to express their point of view, to connect, to create a dialogue. Their words are always well put – well said and well placed. JD

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The Stories of English by David Crystal (Penguin, £6.49 Amazon).

If you're a very vigilant reader of these recommendations, you'll know that this is the second time this has had a mention. However, I make no apologies about this. It’s an amazing, compendious survey of the development of our language from its earliest influences through to its current international diaspora. And just in case you’re daunted by a 600 page, closely typed book on language, the title is accurate. It’s a compelling set of narratives, a story in its own right. Finally, I can say no more for it than that I’ve been left with an even greater respect and love of English than I had before, and I’ve got a store of insights and quirky facts that will serve me well for the years ahead. ML

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The Snack Thief by Andrea Camilleri (Picador, £6.99, or £3.99 on Amazon).

Camilleri's irascible, emotionally stunted and enormously likeable Inspector Montalbano returns to solve two interwoven murders in Sicily. His misanthropy provides black humour and wry insight while he goes about dealing with Tunisian gangsters, the Italian Secret Service and – worst of the bunch - the victims' families and neighbours. The deliciously spare prose is spiced with heaps of Sicilian food and police banter, but haunted by a slow-burning loneliness. TR

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'The English: A Portrait Of A People' by Jeremy Paxman (£7.19 on Amazon).

OK, it's been around for a good six years and in some places it's showing it's age, but on the whole this book is an excellent, entertaining and engrossing analysis of who the English are and how we came to be as we are (I'm speaking for myself here). Some chapters are better than others, but his point about how Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries destroyed a whole tradition of medieval art but simultaneously opened the way for a culture built on words is masterful. RH

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'The Ship: The Art of Climate Change'

Timely exhibition based on the experiences of a group of international artists and writers who, over the past five years, have travelled to the Arctic as part of the Cape Farewell project. The aim was to bring the realities of climate change to life in a way that even the most alarming statistics often fail to do. The results are fascinating, beautiful and often deeply worrying. Food for thought as the temperatures keep rising. Natural History Museum, 3 June - 3 September 2006. NA

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'The Brand Gap' by Marty Neumeier (New Riders, RRP £13.95, £9.20 on Amazon).

One of the clearest and most entertaining books on branding around. It sets out all the fundamentals of what a brand is and how you go about bridging the gap between logic (the strategic stuff) and magic (the creative stuff). Begins with one of the most sensible definitions of the word ‘brand’ I’ve come across: "A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service, or company. It's not what you say it is. It's what they say it is." NA

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The Friday Thing
The Friday Thing is the scurrilous weekly email newsletter that recently eviscerated Noel Edmonds over his 'cosmic ordering' obsession. It will keep you up to date with news items such as a piece on the Lebanon that "aims to offend everyone", the latest on the Church of the SubGenius, and what to do in hot weather - "Wait until it cools down in the evening before you hold that dog fight". www.thefridayproject.co.uk FT

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Bad Design Amnesty
As part of the London Design Festival, Purpose Design are inviting submissions for a 'Bad Design Amnesty'. This is an exhibition (and, later, a book) of the most hated pieces of design – graphic, product, architectural or whatever. A fun project and a great excuse for some well-worded rants. For more, go to www.purpose.co.uk. MR

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WordCount™

Warning! WordCount™ can be addictive. This brilliant web site is an artistic experiment in the way we use language, showing the 86,800 most frequently used English words. 'The' is at no.1, with ‘conquistador’ at no. 86,800. 'Love' is in the 300s, while 'hate' is in the 3000s – surely something to celebrate? Check out your ‘name neighbours’ (e.g. ‘honestly julie campaigns’) and invent new slogans like 'Resurrect denizens northbound!'. Or indulge in covert swearing. 'Khmer calorie' anyone? www.wordcount.org FT

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The Cloudspotter's Guide by Gavin Pretor-Pinney (£7.79 on Amazon).

Hands up everyone who knows their cumulus from their altocumulus. Or their
stratus from their nimbostratus. Well, quite. This enjoyable little book
from one of the chaps who brought us 'The Idler' magazine is as light as
its subject matter but don't let that put you off. Surprisingly interesting
once you get into it. Honest. RH

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This month’s plugs by Jim Davies, Roger Horberry, Nick Asbury, John Simmons, Rishi Dastidar, Martin Lee, Fiona Thompson, Mike Reed and Tim Rich. These are not necessarily the views of 26, but we hope they’re not far off the mark. Any contributions gratefully received.

posted by jim @ 10:13 AM