Ohhh the luxury of reading books 😍.As an adult, I had to read No one writes to the Colonel for Spanish A Level - sooo difficult. I love audio books do they count? I'm a huge fan of teen dystopia, the stories are so easy to listen to in the car. I tried to listen to Iain M Banks, got a bit lost as I often have to re-read long descriptions, so that would be a bit fiddly whilst driving. My absolute favourite is Chaos Walking (the film is rubbish), which I have listened to twice. Then I've read Hunger Games and Maze Runner. Then there's a 6 book epic by Roderick Gordon called Tunnels, I wished it would never end. I wept openly on the Tube reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. More recently, I tend to watch telly or listen to stuff, I only pick up books on vacation. I'm looking forward to a slightly slower pace of life one day, where I can sit with a good story🌅
I think the best thing I've read as an artist is the book "Drawing From Within" by Nick and Diane Meglin. I read it at least once a year and always find something new.
Otherwise, here's my list of recs from 2021... some gems in there ;)
The DaVinci biography from Walter Isaacson is unbelievably good.
That is a fascinating list, Jason. I have read Company of One, which I found useful. And Cal Newport's work is interesting but I have not read any of his books. I think we speak about 'Drawing from Within' (or is that another book?) in the second half of our conversation. Thanks for these recommendations!
My current favorite science fiction author is John Scalzi. We are seeing him speak tomorrow on his book tour; his work is very readable and snarky. I also just got the graphic novel Roaming by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki. I am embarrassed to say I mostly listen to audiobooks these days. I just got Cory Doctorow's latest, The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation, and will dig into that this week.
I have never read Salmon Rushdie but your review on The Enchantress of Florence intrigues me. May get it on Audible.
I have never even heard of John Scalzi! I will check out his work now. If you are a fan of magical realism, please absolutely read The Enchantress of Florence.
Ha! As I read your list, I thought, I will recommend my favorite book of all time - One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But you must have already read it if Love in the Time of Cholera is a favorite - one of mine too. As for a near-ish future, post modern, somewhat frightening, issue laden read, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. He writes in a style I have not read before.
Thank you, Cindy! Yes, One Hundred Years of Solitude is certainly one of the best books I have ever read. But I could not get into Infinite Jest, no matter how much I tried. While he was undeniably smart, his writing is too verbose for my taste.
Ohhh the luxury of reading books 😍.As an adult, I had to read No one writes to the Colonel for Spanish A Level - sooo difficult. I love audio books do they count? I'm a huge fan of teen dystopia, the stories are so easy to listen to in the car. I tried to listen to Iain M Banks, got a bit lost as I often have to re-read long descriptions, so that would be a bit fiddly whilst driving. My absolute favourite is Chaos Walking (the film is rubbish), which I have listened to twice. Then I've read Hunger Games and Maze Runner. Then there's a 6 book epic by Roderick Gordon called Tunnels, I wished it would never end. I wept openly on the Tube reading A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini. More recently, I tend to watch telly or listen to stuff, I only pick up books on vacation. I'm looking forward to a slightly slower pace of life one day, where I can sit with a good story🌅
I think the best thing I've read as an artist is the book "Drawing From Within" by Nick and Diane Meglin. I read it at least once a year and always find something new.
Otherwise, here's my list of recs from 2021... some gems in there ;)
The DaVinci biography from Walter Isaacson is unbelievably good.
https://www.jasonchatfield.com/blog/2021-book-recommendations
That is a fascinating list, Jason. I have read Company of One, which I found useful. And Cal Newport's work is interesting but I have not read any of his books. I think we speak about 'Drawing from Within' (or is that another book?) in the second half of our conversation. Thanks for these recommendations!
Oh yeah! I think I did mention it on the pod.
My current favorite science fiction author is John Scalzi. We are seeing him speak tomorrow on his book tour; his work is very readable and snarky. I also just got the graphic novel Roaming by Jillian and Mariko Tamaki. I am embarrassed to say I mostly listen to audiobooks these days. I just got Cory Doctorow's latest, The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation, and will dig into that this week.
I have never read Salmon Rushdie but your review on The Enchantress of Florence intrigues me. May get it on Audible.
I have never even heard of John Scalzi! I will check out his work now. If you are a fan of magical realism, please absolutely read The Enchantress of Florence.
It is in my audible library!
Ha! As I read your list, I thought, I will recommend my favorite book of all time - One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. But you must have already read it if Love in the Time of Cholera is a favorite - one of mine too. As for a near-ish future, post modern, somewhat frightening, issue laden read, Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace. He writes in a style I have not read before.
Thank you, Cindy! Yes, One Hundred Years of Solitude is certainly one of the best books I have ever read. But I could not get into Infinite Jest, no matter how much I tried. While he was undeniably smart, his writing is too verbose for my taste.
I actually started trackin gmy reading for the first time ever this year and it's super fun. I rate the books and write a few notes. Here is a link to the google sheet so you can check it out. (ignore the first tab - unless you wanna create yourself a copy) https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1c3EsxiN3ds2Aro3mEJDCVw7622VnNV1Tl8AZxVuBs-4/edit?usp=sharing