Non-Fiction |
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A Flat Place by Noreen Masud (Penguin, £10.99)
Morecambe Bay, Orford Ness, the Fens, Orkney Islands… all of these written about in A Flat Place. I picked it up like an idiot shopper in hurry, checking those names and its “nature-writing” looking cover. And on page nine there’s “The first time the therapist had mentioned complex trauma…” What? So, add Lahore to the list of places, add dealing with Complex PTSD and you get a very different book than the one I’d hurriedly grabbed for a Friday night read. There is nature too in this complex memoir. -Ross |
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Time for Magic : A Shamanarchist’s Guide to the Wheel of the Year by Jamie Reid, Stephen Ellcock, Philip Carr-Gomm, John Marchant (Watkins, £26.99)
A beautiful book on the art of the (until now) unjustly overlooked artist Jamie Reid. Best known for his work with the Sex Pistols -particularly that iconic image of her late majesty- Reid continued producing political art throughout his life, including for XR and Pussy Riot. Reid was also a lifelong Druid, and many of his works were based on the eight druid seasonal festivals. In a delightfully idiosyncratic format, each chapter starts with an article by Philip Carr Gomm, former Chief of the Order of Bards, Ovates, and Druids, explaining the symbolism of each festival. Despite giving Reid the authorship it was published posthumously and begins with biography of the artist and includes stories of from his life woven throughout. –Kate |
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The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity by David Graeber & David Wengrow (Penguin, £12.99)
This is a book I passionately advocate to everyone I know. It deserves all of its fawning and seemingly endless cover quotes. Yes, it will turn everything you thought you knew about the so-called trajectory of history on its head. Yes, it will suggest astounding possibilities you probably haven’t considered. Revolutionary, fascinating, challenging, and entertaining, a book to return to. -Giselle |
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The Moon Looks At Them All: of friends and friendship By John Lucas (Greenwich Exchange, £14.99)
This book is primarily about male friendship and friendship with poets at that. Those who’ve been around the literary scene a while will be most interested, but there is also a chapter on Brian Clough who Lucas did not meet but admired, Ted, who the author worked with on a building site almost seventy years ago, and several trad jazz colleagues, who were most definitely not on the literary scene. -Ross |