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Category Archives: books & writing

booker international prize

12 Thursday Apr 2007

Posted by azahar in books & writing, culture, media

≈ 7 Comments

mbi_logo.gif      Who do you think will win?

The international version of the prize is given every two years to a living author published in English or whose work has been translated into English.

It recognises a body of work rather than being awarded for a single book.

Here is the short-list, which was announced today:

Chinua Achebe
Margaret Atwood
John Banville
Peter Carey
Don DeLillo
Carlos Fuentes
Doris Lessing
Ian McEwan
Harry Mulisch
Alice Munro
Michael Ondaatje
Amos Oz
Philip Roth
Salman Rushdie
Michel Tournier

fnac in sevilla

08 Sunday Apr 2007

Posted by azahar in books & writing, culture, films, media, music, retail therapy, sevilla

≈ 5 Comments

fnac.jpg

Quite looking forward to this . . . I think.

A Virgin-megastore type place that is opening here in May, about a five-minute walk from where I live. I’m hoping that it will have a good English book section. And I’m curious as to how it will change the face of the already very muched changed Avenida de la Constitución, which is in the process of ‘going pedestrian’ with the exception of a new state-of-the-art tramline. I’m also curious as to whether it will fare any better than the Virgin store that opened and closed here within about five years.

I don’t have any recent photos of the Avenida, but found quite a lovely one over here taken just after Christmas. The change is quite amazing, quite minimalist compared to how it was before, which will take a bit of getting used to. But I think the overall effect is a real improvement.

Looking at the photo, the Fnac store will be on the right not far up from that ‘wedding cake’ building and so far it looks like the building is being redone quite tastefully; hopefully no huge gaudy plastic signs will be installed between now and May 4th. The Avenida has already been despoiled by the presence of two Starbucks, only a couple of blocks from each other – I just noticed the newer and bigger one the other day. Why???

Anyhow, we shall see. I think that once the trams start running the Avenida is going to become a much more popular & pleasant place for people to stroll and shop. But it would be a shame if it ended up losing its very special Sevilliano ‘ambientation’.

most depressing song?

07 Saturday Apr 2007

Posted by azahar in books & writing, culture, media, music

≈ 13 Comments

depressed.jpg

Sad Songs Say So Much

While reading Alabaster Crippin’s post about You Are My Sunshine being the most depressing song ever it reminded me of this Grauniad article I read awhile ago (quite awhile ago as it turns out) in which Tom Reynolds, author of I Hate Myself and Want to Die, offers his top 25 miserable tracks.

It’s hard to tell at times if he is talking about songs that are depressing because they make you feel sad or because they are so bloody awful.

Do you agree with his list? Got any more you’d like to add?

5 books that changed your life

17 Saturday Feb 2007

Posted by azahar in books & writing, culture, life stuff

≈ 31 Comments

5-books.JPG

In any way at all, big or small …

  • Fifth Business (Robertson Davies). It was the first book that really opened up new worlds for me. I was about 17 at the time and it was responsible for piquing my interest in subjects such as magic, philosophy, religion, mythology. It was also the first book I admired for the sheer intelligence and wit of the writing.
  • The Salmon of Doubt (Douglas Adams). It wasn’t the book itself that changed my life, but rather that it led me to the h2g2 site where I met Nog four years ago. If I hadn’t read that book I doubt I ever would have ever found h2g2 … or Nog (eep!).
  • Night Watch (Terry Pratchett). The first Discworld book I read. Got me started redeveloping my laugh-out-loud muscles. I’d forgotten that I could laugh so much. 🙂
  • Mother Tongue (Bill Bryson). It showed me just how fun the English language can be and helped me to teach better, with humour and relevence.
  • Foucault’s Pendulum (Umberto Eco). Made me feel clever and thereby warned me of the dangers of becoming an intellectual snob. 😉

Okay, your turn now. List any five books that have made a difference to your life and also explain why or how they did so.

This is also entered in engtech’s 5 things contest.

another book thang!

13 Tuesday Feb 2007

Posted by azahar in books & writing, quizzes

≈ 23 Comments

books_stack2.gif

Here are the instructions:

Look at the list of books below. Bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you want to read, cross out the ones you wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole, put a cross in front of the ones on your bookshelf, and asterisk* the ones you’ve never heard of.

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