When I told people I was going to Venice in June, a number of people instantly said I should go to the Biennale. It’s an international Art Exhibition that happens every two years and it takes over the city. You’ll walk down a side street and a sign directing you to a participating country’s exhibit appears. We go to Arsenale, only one section of the two main exhibits on Sunday. It is so diverse and in turns, it is amazing and WTF (as in What the F**k is that doing here and why is it art). Read more…
One Christmas, my mum bought my sister and I a movie for our stockings. Mine was Space Camp. The ever informative IMDB describes Space Camp as the story of a group of American kids who go to space camp during the summer holidays. They learn how to operate the Space Shuttle. A team, consisting of a guy who just entered to meet girls, a wannabe astronaut and an instructor (who wanted to go on a mission instead of teaching), win the chance to sit in the Shuttle while the engines are tested. Then they’re launched by mistake…Ooo kids in space. It also starred a bevvie of (now) well known actors including Kate Capshaw, Lea Thompson, Kelly Preston, Tate Donovan, Tom Skerritt and the super cute kid version of Joaquin Phoenix who played Max, the little boy his robot friend Jinx wanted to send to space (hence the whole being accidently launched thing). Read more…
I will admit that I’m not an avid football fan. I don’t have a jersey and I don’t have an official team to support. But I am a fan of live sports. So when an extra ticket sprang up for the FA Cup semi-finals Manchester United verses Manchester City, I had to go. Read more…
Today Marianne and I went to London bridge to see the Marathon. A woman in the crowd asked us if there was someone we knew running in it. There are probably a person or two who might have been but no – I was there to cheer everyone on. My friend who ran in it before said the only thing that kept her going was hearing her name shouted from the crowds. If I could give that same support, I was going to. Read more…
So today was the first lastbookclub adventure. British Library hosted a reading of The Information by James Gleick. I was slightly late but so was Gleick so it all worked out in the end.
The event started with a reading from the Information. Gleick chose to read a large section from the beginning, which I already read, and also added a few florishes. Next up were some student films – 45 second interpretations of The Information in a visual format. As there were 12 of them and no indication of who made what, it’s hard for me to disect them properly but I did think they were hit and miss. BUT a great idea. How many non-fiction books get creative visual interpretations?
Rhys was able to capture the Q&A at the end with Audioboo. I find it’s these sections that really bring out the real element of the author and his relationship with his work. A couple of the questions were a bit too self-important for my taste (it was the British Library after all). I wish there were a few questions on why he wrote the book and disected the process/ research but I guess that may be up to me to ask at future readings.
I loved reading a book (or some of it at least) and hearing from the author. Getting the book signed was a bonus – like an author’s way of saying thank you. Or at least it is to me. So for future lastbookclub books and events, we’ll be picking books (as often as possible) that coinscide with readings by the author. You can read any book by any one but connecting it with events gives our book club endevours a unique flavour.
Want to get reading? Start with The Information and we’ll go from there.
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