Category Archives: Books

Review #19 – Talking to My Daughter: A Brief History of Capitalism (2017) by Yanis Varoufakis

Talking to My Daughter: A Brief History of Capitalism (2017) by Yanis Varoufakis.
Vintage, 2019, Paperback, 224pp £8.99
ISBN: 9781784705756

My niece, Isabella recommended me to read this book. If you’re not familiar with the subject of economics, or capitalism, for that matter, it can be a hard start but I recommend reading it slowly, and sticking with it, as there are concepts, examples, and ideas thrown about in the start to help you better understand. It’s much more enjoyable the farther chapters you reach. The author takes the premise of writing to his daughter that gives the work an energetic flow whereas contemporary books might seem dry. There are matters and workings of the banking system that leave you at moments flabbergasted and you don’t believe it could be so. In all, I learned a lot, and found Yanis Varoufakis’s book an excellent read worth revisiting in the future as an introduction to capitalism and the world around us.

Excellent. ★★★★

“Oscar Wilde wrote that a cynical person is someone who knows the price of everything, but the value of nothing” — p.31

“Oikonomia comprises two words: oikos (household) and nomoi (laws, rules, constraints). This is the etymology of economy, which literally means something like the “laws of running, or managing, a household” — p.35

First published in 2013 in Greek. English translated edition in 2017. The Sunday Times Best Seller.▪️

Review #18 – The Letters of John F. Kennedy, edited by Martin W. Sandler (2013)

The Letters of John F. Kennedy (2013), edited by Martin W. Sandler. Hardcover, 372 pages. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC.
ISBN: 978-1608192717

The Letters of John F. Kennedy is a good collection of personal letters and official correspondence between known and celebrated individuals and world leaders. You receive a brief overview into the Cuban missile crisis and the exchange of letters from Chairman Khrushchev, but also Kennedy’s view on the civil rights movement and the on-going every day issues that his Administration dealt with. 

I was quite astounded as to how close and real nuclear war was and how that affected ordinary Americans in their day-to-day lives. The letter of September 7, 1961 to the nation comes to mind.

I would have liked to have seen more letters by European leaders and by the Queen, Elizabeth II, but I assume as this book has been targeted towards the US market rather than the U.K. that would not include such. You are left with a want for more images/scans of the original letters and a further back story of the aftermath would have been wonderful if included. Nevertheless, you see another side of JFK in these letters that is quite inspiring to see. His quick wit, intelligence, and charm makes me want to learn more about him and it’s admirable to see that he had achieved so much in less than three years in office. 

In all, I quite enjoyed reading this collection, though as mentioned above, I did feel left with a want, an emptiness for more information as you conclude reading the letters, and ask yourself: ‘what then?’▪️

Review #17 – Contact by Carl Sagan (1985)

Contact by Carl Sagan (1985). Click cover to go to Amazon. Source: Amazon

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Download the PDF: Review #17 – Contact: A Novel by Carl Sagan (1985)

TEXT:

ASIN / ISBN: B01NGT5T6A / 978-1857235807

READING DATES: 8 October 2017 to 18 February 2018.

DATE: Saturday, 2 November 2019.

TITLE: Contact: A novel by Carl Sagan (1985)

PUBLICATION: Simon & Schuster; Reprint edition (20 Dec. 2016), 450 pages, Kindle Edition. £5.99

FIRST SENTENCE: “By human standards it could not possibly have been artificial: It was the size of a world.”

REVIEW (1 SENTENCE): Lost girl finds a way to contact dead father, but no one believes her.

QUOTES: “The great radio telescopes of the world are constructed in remote locations for the same reason Paul Gauguin sailed to Tahiti: For them to work well, they must be far from civilization.”

“The universe is a pretty big place. If it’s just us, seems like an awful waste of space.”

“She had studied the universe all her life, but had overlooked its clearest message: For small creatures such as we the vastness is bearable only through love.”

“You’re an interesting species. An interesting mix. You’re capable of such beautiful dreams, and such horrible nightmares. You feel so lost, so cut off, so alone, only you’re not. See, in all our searching, the only thing we’ve found that makes the emptiness bearable, is each other.”

RATING: Excellent 4 stars. ★★★★ 
GOODREADS: 4.13 ★★★★

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On reading the Guardian’s 100 best novels written in English

I love lists. Lists are cool. List are relevant, and there is no better way to experience this in reading other peoples’ lists. So when I found Guardian’s Robert McCrum’s 100 best novels written in English (2015) I was quite excited in having a go.

So, drumroll please, my first novel that I’m going to read is going to be The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan (1678). This is going to be the Penguin Classics paperback edition published in 2008, with an introduction and notes by Roger Pooley. So do look out for the review soon.

After two years of careful consideration, Robert McCrum has reached a verdict on his selection of the 100 greatest novels written in English. Take a look at his full list

The Guardian, 2015

This post contains affiliate links to Amazon UK.

What I’m listening to: The Slightly Foxed Podcast – Episode 3: Stet

Click the link to go the Slightly Foxed Podcast website

From the Episode Notes:

In Episode 3: Stet, Gail, Hazel and Anna discuss the art of editing with author and creative writing teacher Sue Gee, and Helen Bourne delves into the dark side of Beatrix Potter.

www.foxedquarterly.com/pod

Books Mentioned

What I’m listening to: The Slightly Foxed Podcast – Episode 2: The Oldest Paper in the World

From the Episode Notes:

In Episode 2: The Oldest Paper in the World Gail, Hazel and Jennie talk to Frances Wood, librarian, sinologue and former head of the Chinese Collection at the British Library; Andrew Hawkins recounts the story of the oldest paper in the world; and we find out which books our readers are hoping for this Christmas. www.foxedquarterly.com/pod

Books Mentioned

    Germain Greer’s White Beech is out of print, but we may be able to get hold of second hand copies. Please get in touchfor details
    Katie Stewart’s Times Cookery Book is out of print, but we may be able to get hold of second hand copies. Please get in touch for details

Related Slightly Foxed Articles & Illustrations

Other Links

What I’m listening to: The Slightly Foxed Podcast – Episode 1: Kindred Spirits

From the Episode Notes:

In the first episode of The Slightly Foxed Podcast, SF founders Gail Pirkis, Hazel Wood and Steph Allen meet author Jim Ring round the kitchen table at No. 53 to remember how it all began, and Veronika Hyks gives voice to Liz Robinson’s article on Anne Fadiman’s well-loved Ex Libris.

www.foxedquarterly.com/pod

Books Mentioned

    Second-hand copies of Anne Fadiman’s Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader are available. Please get in touchfor details
    James Lees Milne’s memoirs are out of print, but we may be able to get hold of second hand copies. Please get in touch for details

Related Slightly Foxed Articles & Illustrations

    Veronika Hyks reads Liz Robinson’s article Kindred Spirits, which can be read in full here
    The article on The British Seagull, The Best Outboard Motor for the World was written by Ben Hopkinson and appeared in Issue 26 of Slightly Foxed
    The article on Modesty Blaise was written by Amanda Theunissen and appeared in Issue 11 of Slightly Foxed
    The articles on Proust were written by Anthony Wells and appeared in Issues 56, 57 and 58 of Slightly Foxed
    The article on M. R. James was written by Tim Mackintosh-Smith and appeared in Issue 4 of Slightly Foxed
    Jim Ring’s articles have appeared in Issues 14, 18, 27 and 43 of Slightly Foxed. His article on Swallows and Amazons can be read here, and on Erskine Childers here

Other Links

Podcast available at iTunes Podcast and Audioboom. See more information at The Foxed Quarterly website.

What I’m Listening to: The Slightly Foxed Podcast – Trailer: Reading off the Beaten Track

From the Episode Notes:

The independent-minded quarterly that combines good looks, good writing and a personal approach. Slightly Foxed introduces its readers to books that are no longer new and fashionable but have lasting appeal. Good-humoured, unpretentious and a bit eccentric, it’s more like a well-read friend than a literary magazine.

Come behind the scenes with the staff of Slightly Foxed to learn what makes this unusual literary magazine tick, meet some of its varied friends and contributors, and hear their personal recommendations for favourite and often forgotten books that have helped, haunted, informed or entertained them. […]

Gail, Hazel, Steph and SF director Jim Ring meet round the kitchen table at No. 53 to remember how it all began and Veronika Hyks gives voice to Liz Robinson’s article on Anne Fadiman’s well-loved Ex Libris.

Podcast available at iTunes Podcast and Audioboom. See more information at The Foxed Quarterly website.

What I’m reading now: A Classical Education – The Stuff You Wish You’d Been Taught in School by Caroline Taggart (2009)

813vCeGdp6LI’M THE KIND of person that would’ve cherrished a classical education. I would’ve had all my bags ready with the all go to be sent off to Military school, boarding school, grammar school, private school, etc. just like a child that’s awaiting to set off to Disney World. Latin, Ancient Greek, Cicero, Plato, Virgil, Homer, Herodotus, No problem!

Alas it was not to be. What to do? Read this.

Hardcover, 192 pages
Published June 11th 2009 by Michael O’Mara Books
ASIN: B0042JU6L8
ISBN: 1606521322 (ISBN13: 9781606521328)
Buy from Amazon UK

 

From the publisher:

How many times have you wished that you’d been taught Latin at school? Or that your history stretched all the way back to Greek and Roman myths and legends? Or perhaps you wish you knew all about the great inventions and medical developments that have made our world what it is today? A Classical Educationprovides all of these classical facts that modern schooling leaves out and many more. Perfect for parents who wish to teach their children and for those who would like to learn or relearn the facts themselves, A Classical Education is informative and educational, but in a completely accessible way, including:

• Latin and Greek
• Logic and philosophy
• Natural sciences
• Art and architecture
• Poetry and drama
• History and Classical literature

Also including suggestions for further reading and entertaining tit-bits of information on the classics, A Classical Education is a must for anyone feeling let down by modern schooling.

This post contains affliate links to Amazon UK