Thirty: My decade of being late.
So I’ve been pretty terrible at the whole Thirty Things malarkey. I’m not super fussed, mostly because it’s got me blogging again and brough lots of other adventures and stories my way. [Plus, I am secretly rather gleeful that I am shedding my hyper-retentive OCD list abiding ways. It was exhuasting.] And I haven’t done … Continue reading
Pride & Conceit
Gryffindor. District 12. Team Jacob. Miranda. Carrie. Charlotte. People identify with pretend. They just do. And while I am as guilty as anyone of obsessive online quizzes, daydreamy adventures, and entirely delusional fantasies involving crossbows and laser sights while shopping for tinned beans, mine are, more often than not, a little old school. The world … Continue reading
The Art of Choosing
Sheena Iyengar’s study, The Art of Choosing, is a thought-provoking work. Taking in theories of economics, sociology, philosophy, psychology, and even politics, it asks in no uncertain terms ‘What is Choice, and why does it matter?’. Choice, she argues, is a tool and a langauge. Choice is an act, not an outcome, and thus an … Continue reading
I Capture the Castle
This is one of those books I’ve always meant to read. Working in a children’s bookshop once upon a time, it was a go-to favourite for many of my colleagues. In the world of British kids lit it’s legendary, and I believe it is the sort of coming-of-age novel that’s as valuable and valid at … Continue reading
Business, the Sara Grady way
I recently went out to lunch with one of my favourite clients. They are interesting, clever people who think creatively and dream big; an excellent mix for working relationships and delightful luncheons. It was ostensibly a debrief and wrap-up of our last collaboration, and (other than good company) they furnished me with two delightful things. … Continue reading
Edinburgh World Writers’ Conference at the Edinburgh International Book Festival
Yesterday over breakfast canapes and clinking glasses the Edinburgh International Book Festival launched the 2012 programme. One of the highlights of the city’s summer festivals, a gamut of writers, thinkers and philosophers descend on Charlotte Square for almost three weeks of creativity and debate. This year’s line-up echoes the now-standard festival motifs: best-selling writers, big … Continue reading
National Library of Scotland’s Conservation Workshop
I spent this afternoon in the bowels of the National Library of Scotland. While deliciously labyrinthine, I was glad to have a guide. I think I was nine floors below street level before I saw a window. In among the nation’s treasured King James Bible and the First Folio of Shakespeare, I was observing in … Continue reading
Gertrude Bell
I was in the library the other day. I found myself wandering aimlessly among history, politics and travel sections partly in research mode, but also craving a little inspiration. And in my meandering I discovered Gertrude Bell, an enigmatic and wandering adventuress. A contemporary of TE Lawrence (as in ‘of Arabia’) she is, by turns, … Continue reading
The Book of Awesome
Do you ever have these people who are on the fringes of your life – acquaintances, maybe, or folk in your work network – who you think are just totally awesome? The sort of people who light up rooms and change the world and smile with their eyes. You’re not really close, but everything you … Continue reading
Letters of Note
Can I just stop a minute on this crazy whirligig we call life? Because there is something about which you should know. It is called Letters of Note. It is full of wonderful transcriptions and facsimiles of real letters sent by real people, but now published out in the digital ether for our enjoyment and … Continue reading
Que Sera Sara? 