Swimming in a sea of Death: A Son’s Memoir by David Rieff, (Simon & Schuster) 2008, £12.99 Unfortunately I have had recent experience of my father and his brush with his mortality. A serious blood clot carried him off into hospital where, thankfully, at the age of 70, the doctors were able to correct this […]
Understanding and Affirming Children
Posted on by James Woodward
Here are soem books that have helped me understand soem of the more challenging and problematic dimensions of childhood. Grief in Young Children: Atle Dyregov. (Jessica Kingsley Publishers) 2008, 91pp, pbk, £9.99, ISBN 9781843106500 Grief in Children: Atle Dyregov. (Jessica Kingsley Publishers) 2008, 198pp, pbk., £14.99, ISBN 9781843106128 Listening to Children: Alison […]
Holiday Reading Part Three
Posted on by James Woodward
As ever, a mixture of books make up the secret of a good holiday read. My first has been waiting for some time. Richard Hoggart (Promises to keep: Thoughts in Old age) was published by Continuum in 2005. Delightful, modest, engaging and wise are words that most come to mind when considering on […]
God’s Architect
Posted on by James Woodward
What an achievement! This book weighs in at 498 pages of text, plus another 100 with gazetteer and references. Augustus Welby Northmore Pugin is best known as the apostle of the Gothic Revival, his polemical books Contrasts and The True Principles of Pointed or Christian Architecture were responsible for the polychrome gothickry that spread over […]
Holiday reading Part Two!
Posted on by James Woodward
Broken Promises is one of the themes in Michael Levy’s fascinating account of his life and fortunes as a friend and fundraiser for Tony Blair. A kind holiday present from my brother, who managed to make a contribution to my expanding collection of political biographies, I have to say that I am glad that […]
An Ageing Mind?
Posted on by James Woodward
Tradition says that as you get older, you gradually lose your marbles as dottiness and dementia take over from the acuity of younger days. In this cogent book, Gene Cohen, director of the Center on Aging, Health and Humanities at George Washington University, shows that this is just another myth. Quite the reverse, as we […]
On my Bookshelves
Posted on by James Woodward
and waiting to be read…. a bit serious …… any suggestions??!!
Holiday Reading – Part One
Posted on by James Woodward
Readers of my book reviews will certainly know that novels and thrillers are not particularly high up on my list. This book, however, is absolutely wonderful. Written by Robert Harris (The Ghost, Arrow books 2008), it really is a page-turner of the first order. I had, of course, never heard of Harris who is boldly […]
Engraving and Printing
Posted on by James Woodward
Jenny Uglow is a masterful biographer and historian. She has that ability to so describe a scene, a place, a situation that we are taken beyond the facts into the life behind them. In this book (Nature’s Engraver: a life of Thomas Bewick). Uglow takes us to my beloved North East, and the Tyne […]
Writing Biography?
Posted on by James Woodward
Robert Peel by Douglas Hurd This book was certainly a bit of a struggle, at times, but worth it (I think) in the end! My own interest in political biographies lies mainly in those post Second World War lives – and many of those names will be familiar to you. This volume attracted […]
Hay on Wye
Posted on by James Woodward
It is a long drive but worth every pound of petrol! The town of several million books – heaven and that is no exageration. The trip requires some discipline – there are so many shops and stacks of books that soem comcentration in certain areas is necessary for focus and satisfaction. Yesterday was literary […]
Embracing our Age?
Posted on by James Woodward
Most of us prefer the relative comfort of denial when it comes to older age. This is a serious state for it is always better to anticipate and so prepare ourselves for ageing so we can unlock its rich potential. In the words of Antonio Pierro – Getting Older is an Adventure […]
Across the Pond
Posted on by James Woodward
Two nations divided by a single language – was Churchill’s great comment on the relationship between England and America. They are two countries that are so different in many ways. Andrew O’Hagan grew up on the Ayrshire coast and so knew the sound of the Atlantic ocean. He was captivated by the stories about the […]
Summaries are Best?
Posted on by James Woodward
Getting used to my own space is interesting after so long away. Temple House talks to me – it moves and almost speaks from time to time – a very disconcerting experience especially when sleep is needed! Anyway it didn’t matter too much last night because I used the waking hours to finish a remarkable book […]
On forgiving your parents
Posted on by James Woodward
My reading of old age narratives goes on (and on and on)! There is some productivity and much delight in the various way these characters think about the shape of age. I wish I had the capacity to think onto a computer – there is something about the movement of a pen across paper watching […]
Endgame by May Sarton
Posted on by James Woodward
On the 17th of May I wrote about a very remarkable book by May Sarton (At Seventy). You can imagine my delight at finding another journal by her entitled Endgame. One of the great things about living in a University area (Hyde Park Chicago) was the wonderful collection of second hand bookshops. Where better to […]
Acts of Faith?
Posted on by James Woodward
There is a start to a sermon that goes like this: 1. Close your eyes and imagine your perfect world. 2. Open them and think what needs to change for that to happen 3. Go out of the Church and do it. Amen Short and simple. A clear message and plenty of congregational participation. I […]
The Last Gift of Time
Posted on by James Woodward
I have turned to some biographical narrative in order to consider how older people themselves narrate the meanings of age. Perhaps it is not surprising to discover that women do this much more creatively (and I think honestly) than men. This short book is quite amazing in its eloquence, honesty, wisdom and rigour. Reading Heilbrum […]
At Seventy
Posted on by James Woodward
At last – a text as rich in wisdom about age as I have seen. May Sarton At Seventy is a journal of the poet and writer’s life. She takes us through the ordinary ups and downs of life in Maine starting in on the 3rd of May 1982 (her birthday) and ending a year […]
What is in a story?
Posted on by James Woodward
The rain has stopped and there are promising signs of sunshine – I rise early and have some breakfast in Starbucks which at 6 45am is too full! I share a table with a young black woman who is reading her Bible. This, I have found here, is very common. How many of you […]