A Primer of Freudian Psychology by Calvin S. Hall
I'd recommend this short, 120-page book to anyone who wants a lucid introduction to Freud's main ideas.
Bottled Air by Caleb Klaces
I read this book twice in quick succession. It’s only a short collection, 70 pages of generously-spaced poems and a few pages of notes, so it didn’t take long. Interestingly, the two readings were very different. The first time, I…
Giveaway: Granta Best of Young British Novelists 2003
The announcement this week of Granta’s Best of Young British Novelists 2013 reminded me that I have a spare copy of the collection from 2003, featuring young talents like Zadie Smith, Monica Ali, Adam Thirlwell, Hari Kunzru and David Mitchell.…
How to Improve your Foreign Language Immediately
How to Improve your Foreign Language Immediately is a very slim book – just 95 pages – and yet it comes with a big promise in the title and big endorsements from Shekhtman’s former students in places like The New…
The Quiddity of Will Self by Sam Mills
This book is unlike any other I’ve read. That, in itself, is a reason I’m glad I read it. In a world in which too many books are reminiscent of other books, this one is truly unique. It may sound…
What is History?
I used to treat books like sacred relics. I would read them carefully, never making notes in the margin or dog-earing the pages. These days, I’m more tolerant. The physical condition of a book means something else to me: well-preserved…
Recovering Bookchin
I read Murray Bookchin’s Social Ecology and Communalism a year or so ago, and in my review I asked for recommendations of more things to read by him. This was a pretty good recommendation. It’s not by Bookchin, but about…
The Crises of Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism has come under increasing attack in the past two decades. It began with a backlash against affirmative action in the US in the 1990s, and intensified after 9/11 and subsequent terrorist attacks in Europe. Now it’s routine to see…
The Moby Dick Big Read
Has anyone else been taking part in the Moby Dick Big Read? I have, and I’ve been enjoying it. The idea is to listen to a chapter a day of Herman Melville’s whaling epic Moby Dick, using the free audio…