reflections – research – reading
Where would you go on a shopping spree? My dream shopping spree? Definitely in a book shop. Or better still in several bookshops (it is a fantasy shopping spree after all). One would have to specialise in politics and history, another would have shelves packed with fiction in translation. Perhaps there'd be an author in … Continue reading bookshops, of course… and liberty
Around mid-December last year, I finished reading John le Carré’s Silverview. This was le Carré’s final book, published posthumously, so I’d been drawing out the book as long as possible, rationing the number of pages each night. But of course, too soon, the final page had been turned. So I spent a while reading and … Continue reading finding the future in the past
This blog is something of a detour. It shares my thoughts on a book I first read late 2019 but continue to mull over today. The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (translated by Stephen Snyder) is a dystopian and allegory-laden story of loss — of expression, freedom and, ultimately, life. It’s also a powerful reminder … Continue reading a tale of loss and forgetting: ‘the memory police’ by yoko ogawa
This post takes a detour from German politics to reflect on some of my favourite historical fiction set in Germany, written by the late Philip Kerr. The two themes aren’t so different. Politics needs to be understood in the historical context, and well-written and well-researched fiction can play a valuable role in bringing that historical … Continue reading man out of time
This year, as usual, I’ve kept a note of every book I’ve read. Not the books for research, but simply for personal enjoyment. Quite a few found their way onto the bookshelf via Jewish Book Week (Jonathan Wittenberg, Ruth Gilligan, Barbara Honigmann, for example); some were written by long-time favourite authors, while others were the … Continue reading the reading list 2017
What’s your early library memory? An intriguing question which opened a Jewish Book Week discussion on libraries in the digital age, as well as a highly topical one. We’ll return to it shortly, but first: Jewish Book Week — what is it, and what does it mean for me? In a nutshell, JBW brings together … Continue reading for the love of books
This blog goes a bit off topic and takes a breather from all the politics. Over the past couple of years, I've developed the habit of keeping note of each book I've read. For no special reason, really, other than I like to look back and appreciate anew what’s kept me inspired, entertained and engrossed (or … Continue reading 2016: the reading list
the green left hand 