by David Howarth. David Howarth’s The Shetland Bus tells of a dangerous and tenuous sea-link forged between Shetland and Norway during the war. Initially based in Lunna (later Scalloway) in the UK’s most northerly island-group, a discreet fleet of “fishing vessels” was … Continue reading
Category Archives: Thought-Provoking
Give Up Ironing: a Writer’s Guide to Time Management
by Kathleen McGurl. This book is for anyone who struggles to manage their time effectively, and finds themselves saying “I’d like to [whatever] but I don’t have enough time”. I gave up ironing a decade ago, but still found plenty … Continue reading
16th February 2017
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on Making Peace with Depression: A warm and wise companion to recovery
Making Peace with Depression: A warm and wise companion to recovery
by Sarah Rayner, Kate Harrison,and Patrick Fitzgerald. A perfect book for people who feel controlled by depression: a superbly structured and well thought-out guide to the issues involved – without the pages of dry theory or patronising dictates, or list … Continue reading
Chineasy
by Shaolan Hsueh,and Noma Bar (illustrator). Chinese writing has always been such an enigma for me, so when I first came across this concept via a TED talk (shared on social media), I was hooked. It was a while before … Continue reading
2nd September 2016
by Leigh Forbes
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The Secret Life of the Georgian Garden
by Dr Kate Feluś. The Secret Life of the Georgian Garden follows the course of a typical day as it might be enjoyed by the landed gentry in the years from 1714 to 1837. It’s a fabulous book, which drew … Continue reading
19th April 2016
by Leigh Forbes
Comments Off on Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole: Extraordinary Journeys into the Human Brain
Reaching Down the Rabbit Hole: Extraordinary Journeys into the Human Brain
by Allan H. Ropper and B. D. Burrell. A fascinating look into the world of neurology – similar to, but more accessible than, Oliver Sacks’s book “The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat”. Ropper goes to greater lengths … Continue reading
At the Loch of the Green Corrie
by Andrew Greig. The most astonishingly thought-provoking narrative, which weaves together a biography of the poet Norman MacCaig, fishing, whisky, wild camping in the north west Highlands of Scotland, geology, and that link between the soul and what it means … Continue reading
Busy: How to Thrive in a World of Too Much
by Tony Crabbe. Often the cover quotes on books don’t mean much, but the “Life-changing” on the front of this one has it in a nutshell. Tony Crabbe’s Busy is a Life-Changing Book. Ping Ping Ping… the world is calling, … Continue reading
Messengers: City Tales from a Bicycle Courier
by Julian Sayarer. Julian Sayarer, Emre, is an angry young man, with a rant at the Establishment of truly Floydian proportions. And he writes it beautifully, with some of the most evocative prose I have ever read. It made me … Continue reading