Not quite a recommendation yet, but I’m thrilled with two books hand-picked for me by Bookhive in Norwich: Samahani, by Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin, and Brandy Sour, by Constantia Sotereriou. The first is the epic story of a spoilt Omani princess in Zanzibar and her slave/lover; the second a moving and personal portrait of civil strife and division in 1950s Cyprus.
Both are published by Foundry Editions as part of a series by Mediterranean authors.
– Jane Chittenden
It won the Booker Prize in the autumn, so you’ve probably already read it, but if not, please pick up a copy of Orbital by Samantha Harvey. I started to read it as I gazed out at clouds five miles above the earth on a flight to Dublin – not quite the 250-mile altitude of the International Space Station on which Harvey’s six fictional astronauts work, rest and interact with each other, orbiting the earth sixteen times in a single day, but it felt somehow apt. Orbital is a short novel densely rich with images and ideas, almost a long prose poem in praise of earth and yet sympathetic to humanity. Do read!
– Wendy Jones
Paul Murray’s The Bee Sting is every bit as good as the hype said it was; a sprawling, riveting multi-narrative-voice account of a dysfunctional family, that’s rightly been compared to Jonathan Frantzen’s The Corrections.
Colin Walsh’s Kala is also a brilliant read. Centred around the attempts by the eponymous character’s friends, back in their hometown 15 years after her disappearance, to discover what happened to her, and why. Absolutely gripping.
– Tony Clarke
TV – No Good Deed on Netflix. A hilarious dark comedy about the LA real estate market featuring a murder, and a gold digger, a blocked writer, lesbians trying to start a family all vying for the corner lot in Los Feliz.
Play – Nye, was streaming on YouTube in November. The hit theatrical story of Aneurin Bevan beating impossible odds to found the NHS is returning to Cardiff in August with Michael Sheen reprising his titular role. Visually stunning and incredibly moving.
Book – Calling Dr. Laura is a coming of age graphic novel set in the Pacific Northwest of the US. It’s hilarious, beautiful and features chronic illness alongside LGBT themes.
– Regina Beach
I am halfway through Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. It’s about two friends making computer games in the 90s (it’s so much more than that though!) which appeals to both my teenage years and the computer game geek in me. I can also highly recommend the Picasso printmaking exhibition at the British Museum. It’s a different side to the artist and one I’m particularly interested in as a fledgling printmaker myself (which some people will know from my linocut print on the latest edition of the Dark Angels ‘And So We Grow’ poetry book).
– Lisa Andrews
A Real Pain. Jesse Eisenberg delivers a subtle and sensitive movie that is by turns hilarious and moving. It features a superb performance by Kieran Culkin as the totally unfiltered cousin of Eisenberg’s uptight character. They have recently lost their beloved grandmother; to connect with her (and their) heritage, the Jewish cousins embark on a tour of Holocaust sites in Poland. This Jewish odd couple set up could be disastrous, but the narrative that unfolds in a crisp 90 minutes is a consummate piece of storytelling that avoids sentimental pitfalls and bravely does not offer pat resolutions. Recommended.
– Philip Parker
I enjoyed reading Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. There is so much chatter around this series of books so now I can join the conversation. I’m about to start the second book, Iron Flame.
I also thoroughly enjoyed my fourth game of Dungeons and Dragons earlier this month. We stormed a castle and I killed the Goblin King! (Recommendation in itself?!)
– Sarah Elliott
Not so much a recommendation as something I’m looking out for… I really want to see Kyoto at the new Soho Place theatre in London. It is by the same playwrights as The Jungle, which is one of the best plays I’ve ever seen. It is about the negotiations of the Kyoto climate treaty, with an oil lobbyist as the one main characters. It’s on until 3 May. https://sohoplace.org/shows/kyoto
– Olivia Sprinkel
This review was in the Guardian over Christmas: And He Shall Appear by Kate van der Borgh – enjoyable dark academia. Kate is a friend of mine and 26 member. I went to the launch on Thursday 16th. I haven’t had a chance to read it and do a Q&A for this newsletter, but consider this teeing it up for more in Feb…
– Andy Hayes
(Editor’s note: And finally… Philip sent this as an image for the newsletter, and I went for something else, but he raised an interesting point which I think merits treatment as a recommendation!)
The typeface of vehicle registrations gets overlooked. They are functional but rather ugly. The Vehicle Licensing Agency prescribes a form that is known as the Charles Wright typeface (named after the company that originally stamped vehicle registration details on to metal plates in the 1930s). The face has undergone several refinements, not least condensing so as to accommodate more characters on number plates, but at the expense of elegance and tightness of angles of some characters.
Since 2001 this has been the mandatory style, doing away with those wacky italicised versions that ‘expressed personality’. If you are fascinated by this typography then risk visiting License Plate Fonts of the United States, Canada, and Mexico
– Philip Parker