1. Eliot, T. S.: The Waste Land ¹ and Other Poems
2. Gaiman, Neil: Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes
3. Gaiman, Neil: Sandman Vol. 2: The Doll’s House
4. Gaiman, Neil: Sandman Vol. 3: Dream Country
5. Gaiman, Neil: Sandman Vol. 4: Season of Mists
6. Grahame, Kenneth: The Wind in the Willows (r ² )
7. Orwell, George: Down and Out in Paris and London
8. Pratchett, Terry: Pyramids
9. Russell, Willy: Blood Brothers (r ³ )
10. Seneca: Dialogues and Essays
11. Shakespeare, William: Julius Caesar (r ⁴ )
12. Shakespeare, William: The Tempest (r)
13. Simenon, Georges: The Cellars of the Majestic
14. Simenon, Georges: The Judge’s House
15. Simenon, Georges: Signed, Picpus
16. Simenon, Georges: Inspector Cadaver
17. Simenon, Georges: Félicie
18. Simenon, Georges: Maigret Gets Angry
19. Simenon, Georges: Maigret in New York
20. Simenon, Georges: Maigret’s Holiday

21. Simenon, Georges: Maigret’s Dead Man
22. Simenon, Georges: Maigret’s First Case
23. Simenon, Georges: My Friend Maigret
24. Simenon, Georges: Maigret at the Coroner’s
25. Simenon, Georges: Maigret and the Old Lady
26. Simenon, Georges: Madame Maigret’s Friend
27. Simenon, Georges: Maigret’s Memoirs
28. Simenon, Georges: Maigret at Picratt’s
29. Simenon, Georges: Maigret Takes a Room
30. Simenon, Georges: Maigret and the Tall Woman
31. Simenon, Georges: Maigret, Lognon and the Gangsters
32. Simenon, Georges: Maigret’s Revolver
33. Simenon, Georges: Maigret and the Man on the Bench
34. Simenon, Georges: Maigret is Afraid
35. Simenon, Georges: Maigret’s Mistake
36. Simenon, Georges: Maigret Goes to School
37. Simenon, Georges: Maigret and the Dead Girl
38. Simenon, Georges: Maigret and the Minister ⁵
39. Simenon, Georges: Maigret and the Headless Corpse
40. Simenon, Georges: Maigret Sets a Trap
41. Simenon, Georges: Maigret’s Failure

Rather than set out any specific goals for 2023 in terms of how much to read and what to read, I am simply going to aim to read every day and follow wherever the literary-nose takes me.

1. Having only read excerpts previously, I felt I should read the poem in its entirety given that 2022 was the centenary of its publication. I ended up reading it several times to fully digest it and did so with the support of this detailed hypertext version, which complemented the copy I had bought for Kindle, perfectly.
2. ‘r’ indicates re-reading
3. Re-read for work.
4. Also re-read for work.
5. Maigret and the Minister and the following two novels, Maigret and the Headless Corpse and Maigret Sets a Trap, have been the most engrossing Maigret stories yet.

1. Aurelius, Marcus: Meditations (r²)
2. Dahl, Roald: Fantastic Mr. Fox (r)
3. Dahl, Roald: Danny the Champion of the World
4. Dexter, Colin: The Dead of Jericho
5. Dexter, Colin: The Riddle of The Third Mile
6. Dexter, Colin: The Secret of Annexe 3
7. Dexter, Colin: The Wench is Dead
8. Dexter, Colin: The Jewel That Was Ours
9. Dexter, Colin: The Way Through the Woods
10. Dexter, Colin: The Daughters of Cain
11. Dexter, Colin: Death is Now My Neighbour
12. Dexter, Colin: The Remorseful Day

13. Flea: Acid for the Children
14. Glei, Jocelyn K.: Unsubscribe: How to Kill Email Anxiety, Avoid Distractions, and Get Real Work Done
15. Kiedis, Anthony (with Larry Sloman): Scar Tissue (r)
16. King, Stephen: On Writing
17. Kureishi, Hanif: The Buddha of Suburbia (r)
18. le Carré, John: The Looking Glass War
19. Murakami, Haruki: Sputnik Sweetheart
20. Murakami, Haruki: The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle³
21. Packer, Dr J. I., et al (Ed): Holy Bible (ESV) (r)
22. Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone⁴ (r)
23. Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (r)
24. Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (r)
25. Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (r)
26. Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (r)
27. Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (r)
28. Rowling, J. K.: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (r)
29. Rowling, J. K.: Tales of Beadle the Bard
30. Shakespeare, William: Macbeth (r)

31. Simenon, Georges: Pietr the Latvian⁵
32. Simenon, Georges: The Late Monsieur Gallet
33. Simenon, Georges: The Hanged Man of Saint-Pholien
34. Simenon, Georges: The Carter of Le Providence
35. Simenon, Georges: The Yellow Dog
36. Simenon, Georges: Night at the Crossroads
37. Simenon, Georges: A Crime in Holland
38. Simenon, Georges: The Grand Banks Café
39. Simenon, Georges: A Man’s Head
40. Simenon, Georges: The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin
41. Simenon, Georges: The Two-Penny Bar
42. Simenon, Georges: The Shadow Puppet
43. Simenon, Georges: The Saint-Fiacre Affair
44. Simenon, Georges: The Flemish House
45. Simenon, Georges: The Madman of Bergerac
46. Simenon, Georges: The Misty Harbour
47. Simenon, Georges: Liberty Bar
48. Simenon, Georges: Lock No. 1
49. Simenon, Georges: Maigret
50. Simenon, Georges: Cécile is Dead
51. White, T. H.: The Sword in the Stone
52. Wolf, Virgina: A Room of One’s Own

In 2022, I intend to continue my journey with the inimitable Inspector Maigret; immerse myself in George Smiley‘s battle with his nemesis Karla; and return to the fantastical realms of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld and Tolkein’s Middle-earth.

1. Pun definitely intended.
2. (r) Indicates ‘re–reading’.
3. Easily the most enjoyable, strange and challenging book I read this year.
4. Revisiting the world of Harry Potter during the summer holiday epitomises the pull towards comfort that I felt this year.
5. Having completed the Martin Beck series last year and the Inspector Morse series early this year. I needed to select the next detective, whose world I could lose myself within. I settled on Georges Simenon’s Jules Maigret and have not been disappointed. I am already 20 books in to the series of 75 currently available from Penguin.

One of the things I love about running are the unexpected sights that you encounter along the way. I haven’t run on the lower part of the prom for a while and I discovered this great new piece of street art this week. The purple and neon-pink are evoking total 80s vibes. I feel like they should install speakers and play a constant rotation of synth-pop and new wave music. A Flock of Seagulls anyone? 😉

Art work by Mr Skosh.

“The precipitous time travel of literature never ceases to make my head spin. To discover these things all out of order and yet find them in conversation with each other — so close they could be touching. A thought moving at the speed of light, yet also crawling forward with impossible slowness.”

~ Bellwood, Lucy, Make Haste Slowly, 2021

I, too, marvel at those serendipitous moments when ideas appear to echo across time and place; connected as if they are “in conversation with each other”. It is one of the true joys of reading widely and regularly.

Zelda Hallman captured her performing the song live in the studio. The raw energy and focus that Apple displays, losing herself within the song, is deeply compelling. It has provided some much needed catharsis during what has been a rewarding but very challenging week.

I am posting it here for posterity. Maybe it will help you too.

Hat tip to Phil Gyford for sharing it.

1. Aurelius, Marcus: Meditations (r²)
2. Confucius: The Analects
3. Epictetus: Discourses and Selected Writings (r)
4. Gracián, Baltasar: The Pocket Oracle and Art of Prudence
5. Mascaro, Juan: The Dhammapada
6. Seneca: Letters from a Stoic (r)
7. Tzu, Lao: Tao Te Ching
8. Walker, Brian Browne: Hua Hu Ching: The Unknown Teachings of Lao Tzu
9. Ward, Benedicta: The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

I have begun 2021 with fewer texts, covering a wider range of subjects and ideas. Alongside Aurelius and Seneca, I am going to re-read specific sections of the bible; take a broader look at Western philosophy³; and also read Stephen King’s ‘On Writing‘ which has been sitting unread in my Kindle Library for over a year. Not a philosophical text per se, but one that I hope will go some way to helping me achieve one of my goals for 2021.

1. Aurelius, Marcus: Meditations (r)
2. The Bible (NSV)
   • New Testament:
     • The Epistles of Paul
     • James’ Epistle
   • Old Testament:
     • Psalms
     • Proverbs
3. King, Stephen: On Writing
4. Russell, Bertrand: History of Western Philosophy
5. Seneca: Dialogues and Essays

1. Hat tip to Doug Belshaw for that one.
2. (r) Indicates ‘re-reading’.
3. I feel that I have a firm understanding of Stoicism. And from sixteen years of teaching A-Level Literature and Media Studies, a sound understanding of more modern philosophies, particularly romanticism, modernism and post-modernism. My knowledge of various religions is good and I have a reasonable grounding in Eastern philosophies and theology but there are significant gaps in my understanding of Western philosophy. I hope that Bertrand Russell’s much lauded (and criticised) book can help begin to plug those gaps.

1. Adams, Douglas: The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy (r¹)
2. Adams, Douglas: The Restaurant at the End of the Universe (r)
3. Adams, Douglas: Life, the Universe and Everything (r)
4. Aurelius, Marcus: Meditations (r)
5. Confucius: The Analects
6. Dexter, Colin: Last Bus to Woodstock
7. Dexter, Colin: Last Seen Wearing
8. Dexter, Colin: The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn
9. Dexter, Colin: Service of All the Dead
10. Dickens, Charles: A Christmas Carol (r)
11. Epictetus: Discourses and Selected Writings (r)
12. Gracián, Baltasar: The Pocket Oracle and Art of Prudence
13. le Carré, John: Call for the Dead
14. le Carré, John: A Murder of Quality
15. le Carré, John: The Spy Who Came in from the Cold

16. Le Guin, Ursula K.: Tehanu
17. Le Guin, Ursula K.: Tales from Earthsea
    • The Finder
    • Darkrose and Diamond
    • The Bones of the Earth
    • On the High Marsh
    • Dragonfly
18. Le Guin, Ursula K.: The Other Wind
19. Le Guin, Ursula K.: A Description of Earthsea
20. Le Guin, Ursula K.: The Word of Unbinding
21. Le Guin, Ursula K.: The Rule of Names
22. Le Guin, Ursula K.: The Daughter of Odren
23. Le Guin, Ursula K.: Firelight
24. Le Guin, Ursula K.: Earthsea Revisioned²
25. Mascaro, Juan: The Dhammapada
26. Melville, Herman: Moby Dick
27. Seneca: Letters from a Stoic (r)
28. Sjöwall, Maj; Wahlöö, Per: Roseanna
29. Sjöwall, Maj; Wahlöö, Per: The Man Who Went Up in Smoke
30. Sjöwall, Maj; Wahlöö, Per: The Man on the Balcony
31. Sjöwall, Maj; Wahlöö, Per: The Laughing Policeman
32. Sjöwall, Maj; Wahlöö, Per: The Fire Engine That Disappeared
33. Sjöwall, Maj; Wahlöö, Per: Murder at the Savoy
34. Sjöwall, Maj; Wahlöö, Per: The Abominable Man
35. Sjöwall, Maj; Wahlöö, Per: The Locked Room
36. Sjöwall, Maj; Wahlöö, Per: Cop Killer
37. Sjöwall, Maj; Wahlöö, Per: The Terrorists³

38. Tolkien, J. R. R.: Tales from the Perilous Realm (r)
    • Roverandom
    • Farmer Giles of Ham
    • The Adventures of Tom Bombadil
    • Smith of Wooton Major
    • Leaf by Niggle
    • On Fairy Stories
39. Tzu, Lao: Tao Te Ching
40. Walker, Brian Browne: Hua Hu Ching: The Unknown Teachings of Lao Tzu
41. Ward, Benedicta: The Desert Fathers: Sayings of the Early Christian Monks

1. (r) Indicates ‘re–reading’.
2. This completed my first reading of the entire ‘Earthsea Cycle‘. I read the first three novels in 2019 and took a break but I was very happy to rejoin Ged and Tenar; not least due to the revisioning Le Guin undertook returning to Earthsea eighteen years after ’The Farthest Shore.‘ Her exploration of womanhood and female empowerment from ’Tehanu‘; through ’The Finder‘ and ’Dragonfly‘; culminating in ’The Other Wind‘ was deeply gratifying. I admire Le Guin’s bravery in returning to a world she had firmly established and to then completely redefine it.
3. It was very satisfying to immerse myself in such a tightly constructed sequence of crime novels; and interesting to read the series that established nordic–noir as a genre.

Jennifer and I ushered in the Christmas break by treating ourselves to Chinese food and watching ‘In the Mood for Love’ by Wong Kar-Wai. It is a personal favourite; and one that we have enjoyed together for as long as we have been a couple.

Built on a modest premise, Wong meticulously depicts the heartbreaking (unrequited) romance between Su Le-zhen (Maggie Cheung) and Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung). Moving into next-door apartments with their spouses, they come to the unhappy realisation that their respective partners are cheating on them with each other. They consider the possibility of their own affair but agree they will not act on their feelings for each other, lest they be “no better than they are.”

The film’s impact is indebted to its modesty. The romance between the two leads evolves in vignettes: glancing looks, passing comments and brief encounters are all we are given for the first thirty minutes of the film. They only begin to spend more time in each other’s company once they admit the truth of their spouses’ infidelity. Yet, they never act on their true feelings for each other. As Roger Ebert noted, reviewing the film in 2001: “whole continents of emotions go unexplored”. Wong reinforces this narratively, skipping from event to event the connective tissue is discarded leaving space for the viewer to fill in the gaps. Like a good Hemingway novel, what is not said (or seen) is as important as what is.

As moving as the romance between the two leads is, this is not why I so frequently return to the film. ‘In the Mood for Love’ is a mood piece about Hong Kong in 1962. The soul of the film belongs to the city itself. The cinematography, mise-en-scène and music are expertly matched, capturing the city and its inhabitants in a very specific time and place. Drawing inspiration aesthetically from film noir (Wilder, Preminger), minimalism (Bresson) and narratively from Hitchcock (Vertigo/Rear Window), the Hong Kong of Wong’s childhood is rendered mysterious and alluring with a dream-like quality that is intensely beguiling.

Shots linger, focussing on consequential and inconsequential details alike, and the pacing is deliberately slow. Even the many iconic tracking shots of Maggie Cheung, on her way to buy wonton noodles, add to the static, dreamlike quality of the film. As Wong put it himself: “We tried to recreate the film from our memories. And in our memories, everything moves much slower.” Filmed almost exclusively in medium shots and close ups, you are never quite sure where or when events are taking place; the scenes “surface and then submerge back into the murk of memory” (Steve Erickson, 2012). Low angles, and carefully positioned shots placed just outside windows or inside doorways create an intimacy with each location; placing the viewer in situ with the surroundings and characters.

Wong’s canvas is painted in saturated colours and musky hues. It is in one moment vibrant and the next shadowy and subdued. The props and costumes are similarly contrasting; Jadeite vases and cups standout against backdrops of deep reds and browns and the cheongsams worn by Maggie Cheung shift between warm and cold colours reflecting the changing mood of the film’s narrative. The music that complements the visual aesthetic is a mixture of perfectly timed pieces that capture a city caught between its past and present. Chinese opera and classics of the solitary island period sit comfortably alongside the gentle warmth of Nat King Cole. Yet it’s the haunting melody of Yumeji’s Theme that most accurately conveys the nostalgic, meditative atmosphere.

Every time I watch the film, I am struck by its contradictory nature. Exotic, yet universal; subtle, yet bold; it is a masterpiece of filmmaking that succeeds in being both mysterious and seductive. The streets, apartments, offices and noodle bars of 1960s Hong Kong are brought to life; and they are both gritty and romanticised. Through Wong’s dreamy, voyeuristic lens, the city becomes a part of your own memories.

He remembers those vanished years.
As though looking through a dusty window pane,
the past is something he could see, but not touch.
And everything he sees is blurred and indistinct.

~ Wong Kar Wai – In the Mood for Love

Race, gender, religion, wealth: All topics fraught with difficulty at the best of times and I have struggled to fully form the words I would use to express how I feel about any of these issues in the current climate. However, Nick Cave has come to my rescue responding to questions about ‘mercy’ and ‘cancel culture‘ on his blog…

Mercy is a value that should be at the heart of any functioning and tolerant society. Mercy ultimately acknowledges that we are all imperfect and in doing so allows us the oxygen to breathe — to feel protected within a society, through our mutual fallibility. Without mercy a society loses its soul, and devours itself…

As far as I can see, cancel culture is mercy’s antithesis. Political correctness has grown to become the unhappiest religion in the world. Its once honourable attempt to reimagine our society in a more equitable way now embodies all the worst aspects that religion has to offer (and none of the beauty) — moral certainty and self-righteousness shorn even of the capacity for redemption. It has become quite literally, bad religion run amuck.

And there it is…

We cannot and should not deny our history, nor should we try to remove it as if it never happened. If society is to be equal, we must work openly to build a wider more honest narrative about our histories – good or bad. We must ensure that education provides the opportunity for people of all cultures and backgrounds to learn and debate ideas free from persecution.

But if we seek to simply cancel out the pieces of our past that we are angry about or not proud of, we will replace one biased view of the world with another. You can only redeem yourself when you are able to acknowledge your mistakes. As humans, we are more likely to do that, in a society that is open and merciful.

—

N.B. None of this is to say that I don’t appreciate the deeply held anger felt by so many people due to the way their gender, race, religion, sexual preference, et al, has been and continues to be treated. The struggle is real. However, we must strive to be better than those who came before us and not allow our baser instincts to drive our actions and decisions as we seek to make society a more fair and equal place for generations to come.

The latest episode of Reasons to be Cheerful features an interview with historian Rutger Bregman about his upcoming book: Humankind.

In the clip below, Bregman argues that our default view of humanity is a pessimistic one. A view that he believes has been cultivated over the centuries to benefit those in power. He goes on to say that making more positive assumptions about humanity can therefore be considered both revolutionary and dangerous.

This is a thought provoking perspective that is definitely worth consideration. Our democracy is founded on deeply entrenched structures that have allowed the rich and powerful to maintain social inequality. Religious institutions, the monarchy, and the government have and do rely on our need to be governed. No revolution has ever resulted in the people choosing to go without some form of rule. One form of governance is simply replaced by another.

What if we tore up the rule book and decided to structure society in a completely different way? We don’t have to overthrow the government to do it. At least, not straight away! 😉

Since the onset of the global pandemic, we have witnessed the human capacity to do good in multitudes. In the UK, for example, private companies have used their capital, expertise and resources to help in the fight against Covid-19 by building ventilators. Schools and other business have donated personal protective equipment to help protect nurses and doctors working on the frontline. Local communities have come together in earnest to support each other, delivering food and medicines to those who are most vulnerable.

With the ‘milk of human kindness’ so readily on display, surely we can create a kinder, more humane society? A society that is less “chartered”. A society that is equitable and open, where the rules to which we adhere are based on the needs of the many not just the few.

Idealistic? Maybe. But Bregman’s views about humankind are not unfounded. To explore them further, begin with this adapted excerpt from his book about a real life Lord of the Flies. Spoiler Alert: The boys do not turn savage and murderous. Instead, their tale is one of “friendship and loyalty”. You can follow that with this essay on the decency of humanity, published in The Correspondent. We’re hardwired to help each other.

And, remember: