Meister Eckhart - video

 I have uploaded my short story about Meister Eckhart onto YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=u128X1krz8I

Wittgenstein and Hitler - video

 

I have uploaded my short story about Austro-British philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein and Austro-German chancellor of Germany Adolf Hitler onto YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_d9QLQpzUwc&pp=0gcJCZkLAYcqIYzv

Johnson - video

I have uploaded my short story about American blues musician Blind Willie Johnson onto YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8YsWqUHvbr0&pp=0gcJCUELAYcqIYzv

Arius - video

I have uploaded my short story about Cyrenaic theologian Arius onto YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ABbarxIJ4Tg

 

Joyce

 Winamop has published my short story about Irish writer James Joyce. This is the description on the website: 'Simon King likes to drop in on the life of a notable figure. This time it's Irish novelist, poet and critic James Joyce. We join him in his early life on a traumatic visit to the home of Oliver St. John Gogarty.'

https://www.winamop.com/sk2604.htm

This part four from Fifteen Characters: Volume Three.

Popper

 Winamop has published my short story about Austrian philosopher Karl Popper. Here's the description on the website: 'Simon King likes to drop in on a scene from the life of a notable figure in history. This time we visit philosopher, academic and social commentator Karl Popper as the second world-war ends.'

https://www.winamop.com/sk2602.htm

This is part three from Fifteen Characters: Volume Three.

Ahoy Facebook #26

 

New acquisitions. 🙂

Three books: Nero: The Man Behind the Myth by Richard Holland, Dialogues and Essays by Seneca and One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn.

Nero has acquired a reputation as a tyrannical leader, although this biography presents a more nuanced account. He was quite enlightened and civilised and sought to rule in peace and not in the militaristic way of of his predecessors. Also, there is no evidence that he himself set Rome on fire.

Seneca was Nero's tutor, a Stoic philosopher. Here he writes about several timeless philosophical issues.

This book was quite seminal when it came out, as it exposed the shocking conditions of the gulag to the rest of the world. Khrushchev himself had it published during the 'thaw,' an attempt to recognise the excesses of the Stalinist period.

New acquisitions. 1/2 👍

Two books: El proyecto Chile: La historia de Los Chicago Boys y el future del neoliberalismo by Sebastián Edwards and El pensamiento político de Jaime Guzmán: Una biografía intellectual by Renato Cristi.

I'm currently in Chile over a month (visiting my sister, her partner and my new nephew), so I thought that I'd buy books about Chile. I have become more interested in its political, social and economic history, which is especially interesting.

In this book, Edwards writes about how Pinochet appointed the Chicago Boys. They initially had a free market program designed for Chile as far back as 1956. Initially, when the military dictatorship came into power in 1973, Pinochet had nationalist, authoritarian and protectionist principles. However, Milton Friedman came in with his 'shock therapy' treatment in 1975 so as to contain raging hyperinflation. 

Chile still had very high unemployment, poverty and inflation for a long time. Indeed, in 1982 the banks collapsed and they had to renationalise many parts of the economy. Edwards says that this economic program would have been voted out during a democracy. However, during the late 80s things started turning around and they had high economic growth. However, it really took off during the return to democracy under the centre-left coalition government. They presided over growth rates of 7% which significantly reduced poverty. However, they also introduced social programs which helped with this. Chile went from being a mid-tier country to being the country with the largest GDP per capita in Latin America and it later joined the OECD.

However, it has had a lot of social and economic inequality and not enough social mobility, which Edwards acknowledges is a problem (it did go down a bit under the Concertación governments, though). There were a lot of protests during 2019 for precisely this reason and a hard-left government was voted into power recently (though they have moderated themselves whilst in power).

Jaime Guzmán was a minister during the Pinochet Government and he wrote the controversial constitution in 1980. Whether or not one agrees with his politics, he was an interesting figure. He read a lot of political philosophy, which informed the constitution. He was assassinated by a hard-left group in 1991, a year after the return to democracy. It was the the  first (and only) political assassination following the return to democracy.

New acquisitions. 2/2 👍 

One record: The Shape of Jazz to Come by Ornette Coleman

This is one of my favourite albums ever, so I was delighted to run across it in a record shop in Santiago. Coincidentally, I was even wearing my Ornette Coleman t-shirt at the time!

Here are all the books that I read I read this year. 👍

https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2025/5993530?fbclid=IwY2xjawRte9xleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR7O-6ot885WAxo22fsxcktl1_UHDipEHjuNh83qsfuJq4QX9EXzkvSAtQOMiw_aem_XUpKpTND67xrMnIG5WFJmQ

New acquisitions. 🙂

Six DVDs: The Magnificent Ambersons by Orson Welles, Badlands by Terrence Malick, The Thin Red Line by Terrence Malick, Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola, Come and See by Elem Klimov and Home from Home: Chronicle of a Vision by Edgar Reitz.

New acquisition. 🙂

One record: One Size Fits All by Frank Zappa.

I was thinking recently that I'd like to own this on vinyl. I was pleased to run across it at a record shop in Chesterfield. It was reasonably priced, too (£13), so it made complete sense to purchase it.

New acquisition. 🙂

One book: Igor Stravinsky - A Creative Spring by Stephen Walsh.

I bought this book about Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. I have over a hundred books in my 'to-read pile' (which is why I want to stop buying so many books), however I have a section of musical biographies in this pile. I have one on Bartok, so I thought that I could read this one on Stravinsky afterwards.

This is part one of two volumes, chronicling his early life in Russia and later France, when he has his earliest and most iconic pieces performed. I thought that it'd be interesting to read about the premier of The Rite of Spring, which caused a riot. He is one of the most distinctive composers ever, let alone the modernist period, so it'd be cool to read this.

New acquisitions. 🙂

Six CDs: Symphony No. 8 Unfinished/Symphony No. 5/Rosamunde: Ballet Music No. 2 by Franz Schubert/Slovak Philharmonic/Michael Halasz, The Best of Wagner by Richard Wagner, The Best of Erik Satie by Erik Satie, Switched-On Bach by Wendy Carlos/J. S. Bach, The Essential Cole Porter by Cole Porter and Spiderland by Slint.

I thought that writing volume four would be overdoing it a bit, but then I don't really have much of an audience, so I might as well write whatever the hell I want (within reason).

Oliver Cromwell

Luther

Doris Lessing

Frank Zappa

Don van Vliet

Alaric

Jorge Luis Borges

Julio Cortázar 

Eric Dolphy

Mel Brooks

David Lynch

Igor Stravinsky

Irene

Pablo Neruda

Anton Von Webern

New acquisitions. 1/2

Two records: Out to Lunch by Eric Dolphy and Angels and Demons at Play by Sun Ra.

I encountered these records a couple of weeks ago, but I was running low on money. I was paid today, so it was more than propitious to buy them today.

This album by Dolphy is fantastic. It's free jazz, but it has some great melodies and the playing is rhythmic, dynamic and precise.

I also ran across several Sun Ra records. There were a couple that I already own on CD, but I thought that I'd buy one that I hadn't heard before. He released hundreds of albums, so they can't all be corkers, but I recognised the cover of this one, so I'm sure it's good.

New acquisitions. 2/2

One book: Another World - The Oxford Years: A Memoir.

This book was published a day ago. I saw reviews of it online, so I went to Waterstones today to buy it. 

This is a sequel to his previous memoir, which was about him growing up in Cumbria in the late 40s and early 50s. In this second volume, he writes about attending Oxford in the late 50s. He won a scholarship and it was quite rare for someone from his humble working class background to attend this institution at the time. I'm sure that the third volume will be about him working for the BBC and I'll buy that, too.

New acquisitions. 🙂

Six DVDs: 12 Angry Men by Sidney Lumet, The Battle of Algiers by Gillo Pontecorvo, Summer with Monika by Ingmar Bergman, Smiles of a Summer Night by Ingmar Bergman, Winter Light by Ingmar Bergman and The Silence by Ingmar Bergman.

New acquisitions. 1/2 🙂

Seven CDs: Perotin by Perotin/The Hilliard Ensemble, Solo Cello Sonata/Duo for Violin and Cello by Zoltan Kodaly/Yuli Turovsky/Elonora Turovsky, November Steps by Toru Takemitsu/Kinshi Tsuruta/Saito Kinen Orchestra, Four Classic Albums by Freddie Hubbard, Speak No Evil by Wayne Shorter, Spiritual Unity by Albert Ayler and Live 1993: Batschkapp Frankfurt by The Fall.

New acquisitions. 2/2 🙂

One book: Sex and the Intelligent Teenager by Colin Wilson.

I'm getting through some Colin Wilson books at the moment. He is generally seen as an author that you read in your angst-laden teen years, but you later grow out of him. I never read him as a teenager, but I'm really enjoying reading him in my mid-thirties, which probably means that I am either a perpetual teenager or insufficiently sophisticated. Perhaps both.

I was looking at books in his bibliography and I found the title of this one very intriguing. I don't know how you can take a concept like this and pad it out into 192 pages, but I'm still looking forward to reading it.

New acquisition. 🙂

One book: Sparta - the Rise and Fall of an Ancient Superpower by Andrew Bayliss.

I've bought this book about the ancient Greek city state Sparta. It subjected its citizens to brutal military training and subjugated an underclass known as the Helots. They were led by two kings. It would also be interesting to read about how they helped defeat the Persians alongside the Athenians. Of course, it would also be interesting to read about the ten-year war that they had with Athens. They were envious of Athens' burgeoning trade and wealth and the success of their Confederacy. Their society has echoes of fascism and Hitler mentioned Sparta in his speeches. It was an authoritarian culture which, unlike Athens, did not leave a lasting cultural legacy, although Plato preferred the way that they organised their society to Athens. All in all, I'm looking forward to reading this.

New acquisitions. 🙂

Six CDs: Kammermusik by Paul Hindemith/Riccardo Chailly/Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Tant-Schulz by Mauricio Kagel/Rundfunk Sinfionieorchester Saarbrucken, Out of the Cool by The Gil Evans Orchestra, Karma by Pharaoh Sanders, Reign in Blood by Slayer and Dr. Octagonecologyst by Dr. Octagon.

Keynes and Hayek

 Winamop has published my short story about English economist John Maynard Keynes and Austrian economist Friedrich Hayek. This is the description on the website: 'Simon King's story looks in on a meeting in Cambridge between economists John Maynard Keynes and Friedrich Hayek.'

https://www.winamop.com/sk2601.htm

Part two from Fifteen Characters: Volume Three.

Goethe and Napoleon

 Winamop has published my short story about the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. This is the description on the website: 'Simon King drops into the lives of Goethe and Napoleon in the early 19th century. To add some background: Goethe is regarded as the most influential German writer and Napoleon.. well, he was an Emperor!'

This is part one from Fifteen Characters: Volume Three.

https://www.winamop.com/sk2600.htm

https://www.winamop.com/sk2600.htm

Ahoy Facebook #25

 

New acquisitions 😊

Six books: The Library of Alexandria: The History and Legacy of the Ancient World’s Most Famous Library by Charles River Editors, The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, Lincoln by D. Herbert, Flawed Giant: Lyndon B. Johnson and His Times, 1961-1973 by Robert Dallek, Mao’s Great Famine: The History of China’s Most Devastating Catastrophe, 1958-62 and Central Europe by William T. Vollmann.

The library of Alexandria was a library in Alexandria, Egypt. It housed thousands of papyrus scrolls. It had books from Egypt and Greece. The library was eventually destroyed, probably by a fire during a Roman conquest. If I could travel in time, I would probably choose to travel here and salvage some of the scrolls. I bought a short little book to learn more about this.

This is an iconic work from the Enlightenment, in which Smith explains how nations build their wealth. Written at the start of the industrial revolution, Smith offers a defence of free trade and a critique of mercantilism. It includes his famous metaphor of ‘the invisible hand.’ This is a very long, quite complex book which I might get around to reading some day, but it’s good to own anyway.

I bought a biography of Lincoln, who led the United States through the civil war, defeated the confederates and abolished slavery. I thought that it’d be good to read about one of the USA’s most iconic presidents.

Lyndon B. Johnson became president after JFK died. His landmark achievement was the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibited discrimination based on race, colour, religion or sex. It outlawed discrimination in employment, housing and voting rights. It was a major victory for the civil rights movement. He also created Medicare. He had his grand vision about ‘the great society’ and ‘the war on poverty.’ He was an unpopular president at the time, mainly because he increased troops in Vietnam, but he is generally seen as one of the most successful presidents.

I bought a book about Mao’s cultural revolution, but to complement it I also bought this book about the dreadful famine, ‘the great leap forward.’ It left a death toll of between 15 to 55 million people, making it (if the higher figures are correct) the largest famine in human history. It was an attempt to turn China into an industrialised society by collectivising agriculture (the Soviet Union also created huge famines by collectivising agriculture). 

William T. Vollmann won the National Book Award

 for this, a novel about WWII. I quite like long, sprawling, complicated novels, even if I have no idea what I’m reading half the time, so I look forward to reading this eons from now. Also, Dmitry Shostakovich is a character in this book, which is cool.

New acquisitions. 👍

One book: Memoirs by Kingsley Amis.

One record: Crescent by John Coltrane.

Amis here writes about his life here and his encounters with other writers, intellectuals, artists and politicians. He was quite a cantankerous and literate man, so I thought that it'd be interesting to read his account of this period.

This is one of my favourite albums. I own the CD version of this and I play it a lot. I found this record of it and I thought it'd be a good item to own

New acquisition. 👍

Four LP Box set: Sun Zoom Spark: 1970-1972 by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band.

I received some money for my birthday, so I thought that I'd spend it on this Captain Beefheart box set. It is comprised of four records (Lick My Decals Off Baby, The Spotlight Kid, Clear Spot and Outtakes).

New acquisition. 🙂

A small statue of Zeus.

I bought this small statue of Zeus. It is modelled on a sculpture which was built at Olympia and it was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was built by an Athenian sculptor called Phidias (I recently wrote a little story about it). I thought that it'd be a good item to own.

New acquisitions. 🙂

A maroon fez.

The Theban Plays by Sophocles.

I have a Prussian helmet in my flat, so I thought that I could have another hat/decoration with a historical theme to it. I read a book on the Ottoman empire recently, so I bought this maroon fez.

I saw a film adaptation of Oedipus Rex by the Italian filmmaker Pier Pasolini recently. Sophocles is pretty essential reading - we still read his plays thousands of years later, with many of his themes recurring in subsequent literature - so I thought that I'd buy this. It is comprised of three plays (King Oedipus, Oedipus at Colobus and Antigone).

New acquisitions. 🙂

Seven DVDs: The Trial of Joan of Arc by Robert Bresson, Mouchette by Robert Bresson, Au Hasard Balthazar by Robert Bresson, Goodfellas by Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street by Martin Scorsese, Silence by Martin Scorsese and The Irishman by Martin Scorsese

New acquisitions. 🙂

Two posters: an Aguirre: the Wrath of God poster and a Mulholland Drive poster.

My kitchen was looking a bit drab, so I thought that I'd put some posters of some films on the cupboards.

I took out a page out of a book on German cinema and my dad photocopied it and enlarged it. It is a stunning shot from a great film.

This is a Mulholland Drive poster, another great film.

New acquisitions. 🙂

Two records: Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band and Doc at the Radar Station by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band.

I was always hoping that I'd bump into these albums at one of the record shops that I visit, but I never have, so I thought that I'd buy them online. The illustrated covers look great with the larger vinyl format. These are some of the last releases that he made before he retired from music. They're great, colourful, inventive, endlessly surprising albums.

New acquisition. 🙂

One record: An Evening With Wild Man Fischer by Wild Man Fischer.

I went to a record fare in Chesterfield and stumbled upon this. It's quite rare and it was for sale only for £35. Wild Man Fischer was a paranoid schizophrenic who had a rather sad life. Frank Zappa encountered him in the late 60s and made this album with him. It is a classic example of 'outsider art.' Allegedly, it is Warner Brothers' worst-selling album, shipping a meagre 12,000 units.

New acquisitions. 🙂

Six DVDs: The Ladykillers by Alexander McKendrick, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly by Sergio Leone, Once Upon a Time in America by Sergio Leone, Kagemusha by Akira Kurosawa, Ran by Akira Kurosawa and Werckmeister Harmonies by Bela Tarr.

New acquisitions. 🙂

Three mugs: a Ludwig van Beethoven mug, a Franz Schubert mug and a Bela Bartok mug.

I already own some music-themed mugs, so I thought that I could buy more. I've bought three mugs with some of my favourite classical composers emblazoned on them: Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Bela Bartok.

New acquisition. 👍

One record: The Golden Number by Charlie Haden.

Kaczynski

 Winamop has published my short story about American mathematican/terrorist Ted Kaczynski. This is the description on the website: 'Simon King takes us to Montana in the nineteen nineties to meet a rather unpleasant man known as The Unabomber. His name was Ted Kacznski and he killed three people and injured many more.'

https://www.winamop.com/sk2506.htm

Part fourteen from Fifteen Characters: Volume Two. 

Bobby Fischer - video

 I have uploaded my short story about American chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer onto YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HBBlWBZcaek

Hannah Arendt - video

 I have uploaded my short story about German-American philosopher Hannah Arendt onto YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MLKayTM0oMo&t=300s

Gavrilo Princip - video

 I have uploaded my short story about Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip onto YouTube.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XR53MzLAqdQ

Phidias - video

 I uploaded one of my short stories onto YouTube, about ancient Greek sculptor/architect Phidias.

https://youtu.be/j4Vf_NhTJD8?si=Aw0fxlvXWAEuOnMU

Princip

 Winamop has published my short story on Serbian nationalist/terrorist Gavrilo Princip. This is the description on the website: 'Simon King transports us back to the early 20th century, to meet Gavrilo Princip. If the name doesn't ring a bell then maybe Archduke Franz Ferdinand will? Princip is the bloke who shot him; and we all know what happened after that!

https://www.winamop.com/sk2505.htm

This is part fourteen from a forthcoming book called Fifteen Characters: Volume Two.

Metternich

 Simon King is taking us back to the 19th century and we find ourselves in Brighton where we call in on former Austrian chancellor Klemen von Metternich, once a leading light in the "Concert of Europe".

https://www.winamop.com/sk2504.htm

This is part twelve from a forthcoming book called Fifteen Characters: Volume Two.

Arius

 Winamop has published my short story on Cyrenaic presbyter and theologian Arius. Here's the description on the website: 'Simon King takes us right the way back to the first century when Christianity was in it's infancy. Here we find Arius who has some controversial ideas.' Except that that's wrong, as this took place during the fourth century AD, not the first, but nevermind!

https://www.winamop.com/sk2503.htm

This is part eleven from a forthcoming book called Fifteen Characters: Volume Two.

Cook

 Winamop has published my short story about English comedian Peter Cook. This is the description on the website: 'Simon King drops in on another famous name from history, comedian and satirist Peter Cook. Cook was perhaps best known for his "Pete and Dud" sketches with Dudley Moore (and Derek and Clive!). Cook is the title.'

https://winamop.com/sk2502.htm

This is part ten from a forthcoming book called Fifteen Characters: Volume Two.

Ahoy Facebook #24

 

New acquisitions. 😊

Seven books: I, Claudius by Robert Graves, Count Belisarius by Robert Graves, The Secret History by Procopius, Jorge Luis Borges by Colin Wilson, The Seventh Seal by Melvyn Bragg, Caspar David Friedrich by Robert Wolf and The Rise and Fall of Thomas Cromwell: Henry VII’s Most Faithful Servant.

Late antiquity is a fascinating period in history. Robert Graves was a trained classicist who wrote fiction (and a soldier in WWI to boot), so I thought that I’d buy this classic novel about the Roman emperor Claudius. It starts off with Julius Ceasar’s assassination, into Caligula’s assassination and into Claudius’ accession to premiership until his death. The book was adapted into a famous television serial by the BBC. Additionally, Graves also wrote a novel about Justinian’s primary military commander, Belisarius. I thought that I’d buy that, too.

Talking of Belisarius, Procopius was a historian who was there at the time and most historical accounts of this period are based on his books. He followed Belisarius on his campaigns against the Vandals in North Africa and reconquering Rome from the Goths. I’ve been reading secondary sources about this recently, but I thought that it would be delightful to read the primary source. Apparently, he wrote in a very literate arcane Greek, but hopefully the English translation will be intelligible to me.

I’ve bought two books written by men who I appreciate about other men who I appreciate. I’ve been interested in Colin Wilson since my early 20s but, scandalously, I haven’t got around to reading him yet. He seems to have written a lot of garbage on the occult, crime and UFOs, but I was looking at his bibliography and I saw this book about Jorge Luis Borges and I thought that there was no-one stopping me from buying it, so I bought it. Melvyn Bragg wrote this book about The Seventh Seal by Ingmar Bergman, a great film, so I thought that I’d buy it. Bragg saw the film in the late 50s and, after growing up in a working class town in Cumbria in the 40s and 50s, it blew him away. He had not seen anything like it, so he later wrote a book about it.

I have a poster of ‘Wanderer above the Sea of Fog’ by Caspar David Friedrich in my flat. As soon as you walk into the living room of my flat, it is palpably visible. I’ve loved this painting since I was about twenty. It encapsulates the European values of the individual, freedom, the sublime, beauty and autonomy. It has been my favourite painting for a long time, so I thought that I’d buy a book of art criticism about him.

I thought that it’d be interesting to read about the Protestant reformation in England, so I thought that I’d buy this book about Thomas Cromwell, Henry VII’s adviser.

New acquisitions. 🙂

Five CDs: Edge Bamyasi by Can, The Songs of Leonard Cohen by Leonard Cohen, The Best Band you Never Heard in Your Life by Frank Zappa, 88: The Last US Show by Frank Zappa and The Light User Syndrome by The Fall.

New acquisitions. 🙂

Six CDs: Symphony No. 3 by Henryk Gorecki/Dawn Upshaw/London Sinfonietta/David Zinmann, Heroes by David Bowie, Room to Live by The Fall, Flutter by Otomo Yoshihide, Blue by Otomo Yoshihide and Belladonna by Mary Halvorson.

https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2024/5993530?fbclid=IwY2xjawKDOzdleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHvcqtBvWQPE4oZv2VmUv8ynrN9M4_0U18m_zBd8Ta3w8huW7_p3sK3vdPm1E_aem_L22pYKVN10R-a_4IR3jThQ

Here are all the books that I read last year. Didn't do that well last year - hopefully I'll do better this year. 👍

New acquisitions. 🙂

Three CDs: The Complete String Quartets by Ludwig van Beethoven/Alban Berg Quartet, The String Quartets by Franz Schubert/Quator Modigliani and The Complete Peel Sessions: 1978-2004 by The Fall.

I bought a bunch of box sets.

The late quartets by Beethoven and Schubert are some of the best classical pieces that I've heard, so I thought that I could buy all of them.

The Fall recorded sessions for John Peel from 1978 until 2004 (the bulk of their career) and this box set collects all of them. I thought that it'd be a nifty item to own (and listen to).

New acquisitions. 🙂

Six CDs: Studies 1-2 vol. 1 by Conlon Nancarrow, Mingus Moves by Charles Mingus, The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady/Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus Mingus by Charles Mingus, Maggot Brain by Funkadelic, Beggars Banquet by The Rolling Stones and My Generation by The Who.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/jan/16/david-lynch-twin-peaks-and-muholland-drive-director-dies-aged-78?fbclid=IwY2xjawKDPNNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHkHesU6LMU4_DW5i1jS3BJ9za7NvnTzY6FScfmR-hU68aivrUTA8-ORlyVDj_aem_Z6zAz2MysPaMJv7KKv6qaA

Oh no! ☹️

I have completed my new novel, 'Digital Papyrus.' This is my second novel and my seventh book. (They're all slim little volumes.)

I find it hard to gauge the quality of my writing. I have no idea if this is a masterpiece or a pile of garbage (or something in between). When some people tell me that they enjoy my books, I can't tell if it's genuine or they're being polite.

I'm printing twenty copies of this. I toyed with the idea of charging for this, as I don't have much money, but I'm still not sure many people would be willing to pay for this, so I'm still giving them away. There are still five copies available.

SYNOPSIS: Paul Harloe is a classicist at Oxford, specialising in ancient Greek political history and philosophy. His friend Edward Mackintosh, a computer scientist, has invented a groundbreaking device aimed exclusively for him...

New acquisitions. 🙂

Two t-shirts: an Ornette Coleman-themed t-shirt and a Miles Davis-themed t-shirt.

I went to an Ornette Coleman concert in 2009 when I was a gawky 19-year-old. I bought a t-shirt then, but I've worn it so much over the years that the print faded. I thought that I could buy another one, so this is precisely what I've done. On top of that, I've bought a Miles Davis-themed t-shirt (another jazz legend) to let the whole world know how much I like him.

New acquisition. 🙂

One book: How Much is Enough: Money and the Good Life by Robert Skidelsky and Edward Skidelsky.

I'm currently at Oxford, as I'm attending a concert here tomorrow. I went into the Blackwell's book shop and bought this book. Robert Skidelsky is an authority on J. M. Keynes. Keynes thought that the point of work was that it should give you enough money so that you can have leisure time. He wanted people to be paid more and to work fewer hours. He even thought that we would have a fifteen-hour working week, which has not happened. He was against the pursuit of wealth for its own sake. He was a lover of the arts and he thought that people should have more free time so that they can pursue the 'good life.'

New acquisitions. 🙂

Six CDs: The Absolutely Essential 3 CD Collection by John Lee Hooker, The Absolutely Essential 3 CD Collection by Howlin' Wolf, The Absolutely Essential 3 CD Collection by Bo Diddley, The Essential Recordings by Big Mama Thornton, The Best of Sonny Boy Williamson by Sonny Boy Williamson and Rock me Mama by Lightnin' Slim.

New acquisitions. 🙂

Two records: Recording Together for the First Time by Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington and Birds of Fire by Mahavishnu Orchestra.

The copies of my latest book have arrived. 🙂

I did my last four books either when I was living at home or a year after I had moved into my flat, when I had savings. I could only fund this by asking money from my dad, but he did so under the condition that I sell them. I would like to still give them away, but I no longer have the resources to do that.

I'll charge £10 for each copy. If you live abroad, I'll add an extra £3 for international shipping.

This is a voluntary exchange, this is not a tax. I'm not forcing you to do this. If you decide that you don't want to pay for this, then I'm fine with that and I won't feel upset.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg41r4kx0lko?fbclid=IwY2xjawKDQJpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHnicvMFxI4kJm4awIKiSGvxmLtVPXMhjb_KWIO4hZkGlRYBhWtiFFUj5MKnC_aem_6kglhf4JwbIg9gwcPWK0Jg

☹️☹️☹️☹️

New acquisitions. 🙂

Six DVDs: Passport to Pimlico by Henry Cornelius, Kind Hearts and Coronets by Robert Hamer, Marnie by Alfred Hitchcock, Get Carter by Mike Hodges, All the President's Men by Alan J. Pakula and The Devil, Probably by Robert Bresson.

Fifteen Characters: Volume Three

After finishing Fifteen Characters: Volume Two, I want to continue writing little stories about historical figures. However, to save money on production costs, I will amalgamate them and call my next book 'Fifteen Characters: Volumes Two and Three.'

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Napoleon

John Maynard Keynes

Fredrich Hayek

Karl Popper

James Joyce

Diocletian

Louis Armstrong 

Richard Nixon

Vladimir 

Touissant Louverture

Nicias 

Andrei Tarkovsky

Romulus Augustulus

Mehmed II