New haircut & another book read

So this week has been pretty ace. It's been a little stressful at work but everything is better when it's the weekend.

On Friday I finished a book I've been reading for a few weeks now.

Life after life by Kate Atkinson. It took me a good 1/3 of the book before I even got into it.
I was very confused at the beginning. The book description read;

What if you had the chance to live your life again and again, until you finally got it right?

During a snowstorm in England in 1910, a baby is born and dies before she can take her first breath.

During a snowstorm in England in 1910, the same baby is born and lives to tell the tale.

What if there were second chances? And third chances? In fact an infinite number of chances to live your life? Would you eventually be able to save the world from its own inevitable destiny? And would you even want to?

Life After Life follows Ursula Todd as she lives through the turbulent events of the last century again and again. With wit and compassion, Kate Atkinson finds warmth even in life's bleakest moments, and shows an extraordinary ability to evoke the past. Here she is at her most profound and inventive, in a novel that celebrates the best and worst of ourselves.

Eventually I was absolutely captivated. The story began to add up and I couldn't put the book down. I was incredibly impressed with the writing style (I say this like author's aren't professionals but you know what I mean... it was an very complex writing structure.) It was a story that was both sad and beautiful.

So anyway, today saw me having a new haircut. It was the shortest cut I've had in about 10 years so I was a bit scared! I had Tony from Arthur Razor cut if off. He's a barber based in West London, both friend and client. We are currently re-designing his website which you can see live soon at www.arthurrazor.com. He's cut Dan's hair for almost a year now and always done an amazing job. He's cut the likes of Colin Firth as well. Oooh la la.

See some snaps of my new look!

And The Mountains Echoed - Khaled Hosseini

On Monday, I started a new book on my commute to and from work. Surprisingly, I was quickly able to sink into the book, reading it from my iphone and ignore the rush, pushing and shoving moody commuters I share my journey with for over 2 hours a day.

And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini was read in just under a week. It was my plan to only read it during my commutes, but since starting this book on Monday morning, I soon realised that I couldn't put this book down and thus ended up reading it here and there over my weekend.

I've previously read 'The Kite Runner'- now made into a film and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' , many years ago which was the follow on and I've always loved the way that Hosseini is able to flick from first person to third person, effortlessly and enough to not confuse the reader. His books are beautiful descriptive and I love his depth, enough to allow me to visualise so easily the setting in which he writes.

And the Mountains Echoed

"So, then. You want a story and I will tell you one: Afghanistan, 1952.

Abdullah and his sister Pari live with their father and stepmother in the small village of Shadbagh. Their father, Saboor, is constantly in search of work and they struggle together through poverty and brutal winters.

To Abdullah, Pari - as beautiful and sweet-natured as the fairy after which she was named - is everything. More like a parent than a brother, Abdullah will do anything for her, even trading his only pair of shoes for a feather for her treasured collection. Each night they sleep together in their cot, their heads touching, their limbs tangled.

One day the siblings journey across the desert to Kabul with their father. Pari and Abdullah have no sense of the fate that awaits them there, for the event which unfolds will tear their lives apart; sometimes a finger must be cut to save the hand.

Crossing generations and continents, moving from Kabul, to Paris, to San Francisco, to the Greek island of Tinos, with profound wisdom, depth, insight and compassion, Khaled Hosseini writes about the bonds that define us and shape our lives, the ways in which we help our loved ones in need, how the choices we make resonate through history and how we are often surprised by the people closest to us."

I don't know a whole lot when it comes to books and authors as I usually read books given to me as gifts, or which I spot every now and again, and buy. Usually, I'm drawn to those that people are reading on their commutes as to stand with a book open, reading, which probably means that it's too good to not read whilst you're sandwiched front to back with fellow commuters.

If you get chance to read this book, or if you pass by it in a bookstore, it's definitely worth a read. Definitely one to add to ruthay's reads.

Memory Palace - Sky Arts Ignition - Hari Kunzru - V&A

Sky Arts Ignition: Memory Palace brings together a new work of fiction by the author Hari Kunzru with 20 original commissions from leading graphic designers, illustrators and typographers to create a multidimensional story.

The way we read books is changing. Memory Palace explores how a story might be imagined in a different format – as a walk-in book.

The Story

Hari Kunzru's story is set in a future London, hundreds of years after the world’s information infrastructure was wiped out by an immense magnetic storm. Technology and knowledge have been lost, and a dark age prevails. Nature has taken over the ruins of the old city and power has been seized by a group who enforce a life of extreme simplicity on all citizens. Recording, writing, collecting and art are outlawed.

The narrator of the story is in prison. He is accused of being a member of a banned sect, who has revived the ancient ‘art of memory’. They try to remember as much of the past as they can in a future where forgetting has been official policy for generations. The narrator uses his prison cell as his ‘memory palace’, the location for the things he has remembered: corrupted fragments and misunderstood details of things we may recognise from our time. He clings to his belief that without memory, civilisation is doomed.

Yesterday Dan and I went to see this exhibition (since I've ben wanting to see it for a long time!) Dan kindly bought us a years membership at the V&A, so now we can go to all the exhibitions when we want (yay!) The main reason I wanted to go was because I knew that Sam Winston was a commissioned artworker for this particular exhibition. For those of you who do not know, I had the pleasure of working alongside Sam in March 2012. You can read about my time with him here. His work is absolutely fascinating.

The exhibition was really great. A few particular pieces I really enjoyed was that of Hansje van Halen, as well as Sam Winston's which you can see below and another piece that he did here. Sam goes into much more detail of the process behind his art which you can see on his website.

One thing which interested my attention was the work of Johnny Kelly. The exhibition mainly talked about memories which were mostly physical. It explored the landscape, the hospital, some form of religion and churches, civilisation etc. Whereas, the very last part of the exhibition was one that everyone could contribute to. 

'This is what we do for the dying. I am permitted to add one memory of my own to the store. The others will hold it, will cherish it as carefully as the words of a Lawlord'.

If you could keep on memory, what would it be? Just take a second to think about your memory. Out of everything you have done, achieved, not achieved, significant moments in your life.  That time you landed the best job? That time you bought your first car, the time you travelled and stood on top of mount everest? What would be be?

We could write one thing, one memory into this computer with an interactive pen. These were then printed out in A2 format on black paper with our white drawings/words/messages. 

I didn't see one single memory which mentioned anything physical or materialistic. 

It was about people. That person they met which showed great kindness, the moment the person fell in love, "grandpa's hand" , "Mark's smile and your continuous generosity. Love Pat x". The common theme was people, love, -a memory with someone special in their life. 

If you could remember only one thing, if you could have only one memory, what would it be?

Am I going to be published?! ... An Anthology of Typewriter Art by Barrie Tullet

I was thrilled to recieve an email yesterday from my former Graphic Design tutor, Barrie. I received an email a few months ago asking if my work can be featured in his book 'An Anthology of Typewriter Art'. Of course, I was over the moon and sent my work across.

Then a few weeks later I received an email saying the copyright might not be cleared for the extract of text that I used from the book and they were waiting for confirmation from the publishers. It didn't look too good.

But behold! Yesterday the copyright was cleared and I will now be definitely featured in the book. 
The print run will be approximately 10,000 and it's expected to be published in April 2014 by Laurence King Publishing 'now recognised as one of the world's leading publishers of books on the creative arts.' 

I'm absolutely thrilled to bits and so honoured to be asked to be a part of it.

I won't give away the photograph of the typographic piece I created because I don't want to spoil the surprise ;)

Watch this space!!

'Enna Burning' - Shannon Hale

So back in May 2013, I dedicated a whole page to my new project which was 'A book a week'.

I did great!... Up until my second week in. I read 'The Goose Girl' by Shannon Hale which was a lovely book to read. You can see the review here.

I've finally had a little more time to finish the follow on book called 'Enna Burning'. As said in a previous post, I've been busy with my new job and moving to London with Dan that I simply have been short of time.

I personally found the introduction to this really slow and I found myself putting it down a few times because I was getting a little bored. I stuck it out though and about a third of the way into the book, it really began to pick up and I started to get into it. It was quite interesting how this book changes to the character Enna, as though she is telling the story when it the last book, 'The Goose Girl', this was written about her from the narrative of a character called Isi. Isi is still a character in this book so it's nice to see a flip, but still know their history as characters and friends.

By 3/4 of the way in, I literally couldn't put the book down and chapter after chapter flew by. I was captivated in the intensity of what was happening to the characters. Much like 'The Goose Girl', the story quickened towards the end and I found that the book ended too soon and everything I thought would happen, happened. I guess this is a little disappointing. I would have preferred if the author, Shannon would have made the beginning a little quicker so I could go on and enjoy the rest of the book and feel as though it lasted a little longer!

But still, Shannon's writing is so clever and descriptive. I don't want to repeat myself and say what I said in the last review of her book. It will be interesting to read her other books and she is she still uses the same writing style and the same subject of pretty much, mystical fairy tale type stories. If anyone is after an easy read, this is no doubt a great book. If you don't like strange names- stay away! Those who read my last review on 'The Goose Girl' would know what I meant!

Haha, thanks for reading again. I'll update again in a week or so.

Thanks!

R

'The Goose Girl' -Shannon Hale

This week I read 'The Goose Girl' by Shannon Hale.


'The Goose Girl is a fantasy novel by Shannon Hale based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale of the same title.'


(I had no idea about this!) I think if I had known, I could have possibly written more about her originality and the difference between the two.


'At the age of sixteen Crown Princess Ani is told she must leave everything she knows, to marry someone else she has never met. It will create a powerful alliance. But fate has much worse in store for her. Ani must use every ounce of cunning and determination to defend what is rightfully hers, from those who want to take it from her.'


The first thing that stuck me about this book was its beautiful detail. I read the synopsis on the back of the book and assumed it would be a little fairytale about a Princess who was not understood and oh my, has such a hard time being a Princess, but I was actually surprised. (I did make a note myself that I wouldn't give any of the vital bits in the story away and ruin it for anyone who wants to read it, so don't worry!) The detail that author, Shannon Hale goes into let me feel the bitterness of winter on the back of my neck. I could feel the sun on my hair and the wind on my neck, like it did with the character, Ani.


When I started reading the first chapter or two, I was actually put off by the names and I'm so glad they were shortened. Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Isilee was Ani throughout but I was still left with, Falada, Terne, Conrad, Ungalod, Geric and not to mention the name of her own Kingdom-  Kildentree. Whilst all of that is nice, I couldn't help but skip and glaze over their names. I recognised them as I read them without actually reading them (if you know what I mean). I guess it's better than using normal boring names since this is a fictional story so I guess anything goes.


About half-way through I was wondering when some action was going to happen, as I read on and read on I was thinking that the pages towards the end of the book where getting shorter and shorter and I was wondering if the story would end how I wanted it to because there seemed little pages left for all the things that had yet to happen in the story. Luckily for me, the things I wanted to happen, did happen but all a bit too quickly for my liking. I expected it to be a bit more dragged out but before I knew it, the story was moving on and I felt a little disappointed that the story had moved on so fast.


Ani seems like she's so out of place with the royal family she shares her life with. Eventually, she finds where she belongs and although this book is fiction, there's a little under lying meaning of truth that perhaps anyone who is lost, will find themselves. It's a story of love, it's a story of loss.


I think anyone looking for an easy read would enjoy this book. The way it's written is beautiful and I literally couldn't put it down. I'm a fast reader so for me, the book ended all too quickly but I'd definitely read it again.