I'm not sure I read any new books this year, i.e. fiction that had just been published. Intellectually, I've been pursuing what an ethics of care means and how it arises - and so can be encouraged... In this vein, the most provocactive book I've read (still reading) is 'Unfit for the Future' (Ingmar Perrson and Julian Savulescu, OUP). The central idea is that humans simply don't have the empathetic resource to deal with the scale of the socio environmental challenges we have to face. Conclusion: gene editing or empathy increasing drugs. Gold for writing dystopian SF but crap for the reality of facing the future. Much of my reading has been centred on the relation between activism and fiction, so I've been enjoying Octavia's Brood: 'science fiction stories from social movements'. And, as a reward for reviewing Paul Routledge's book proposal, Pluto sent me Red Planets an anthology of writing on 'Marxism and science fiction' (it's heavy and I haven't got into it yet). Talking of China Mieville, though (he co-edits Red Planets, so I sort of was), I'm looking forward to reading his short story collection 'Three Moments of an Explosion' (he's definitely my current favourite author). Another strand of reading has been drama and I loved Cormac McCarthy's typically bleak 'The Sunset Limited: a novel in dramatic form'. I've also read Pulp Fiction, The Big Lebowski, Fargo and Thelma and Louise as screenplays in an attempt to learn to write in drama forms. I don't know enough theatre to be able to relate to stage-play scripts. I guess I'm going to end up writing 'movies for the stage' - I hope that works! Scripts by the Cohen brothers are brilliant, and I'm reading a comiled book about them called Blood Siblings (geddit?) The interview with Thelma and Louise writer Callie Khouri in the screenplay is magnificent and super-confirms my love of the film. I've never seen 'Something to Talk About bit I'll look out for it and her other work Slightly guilty novel pleasure this year: Dennis Lehane's 'The Drop' - I'm looking out for the DVD. Protest at B&M Bargains about their shit employment practices that I nearly didn't go to because I thought it was too late, but which I loved. Great singing with Cory, Lotte, Danielle and others. Best thing watching Tony schmooze the would-be punters out of going into exploito-store: 'Hessh a charmer that one'
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorI am he as you are he as you are me, and we are all together Archives
December 2022
Categories |