So I'm blogging again. I guess I like it because it's kind of old school - now everyone's blasting out their lives to the masses on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Although I am on Facebook as I find it useful for staying in the loop about literary events, theatre etc., as well as keeping in touch with certain old friends, I find Instagram and Twitter a bit horrifying (but that's just me). Too much exposure (and yet, the old-fashioned blog feels more intimate). I like being tucked away in a little corner of the Interverse. If someone is here it's either because they randomly landed, or they are genuinely curious & want to know more about me. Might be like stumbling into a ramshackle used book shop - or antiques store (I am an old lady, after all, ha!)
Anyway.
I wanted to share some recent bests. The books I recommend to everyone. And the daily meditation that has had a profound impact on my health, focus and happiness!
Anyway.
I wanted to share some recent bests. The books I recommend to everyone. And the daily meditation that has had a profound impact on my health, focus and happiness!
The Argonauts
Maggie Nelson's books are all amazing, and her latest, The Argonauts, is no exception. I read it in a sitting, and then read it again the next day. It's gorgeous and has lingered with me ever since.
'Maggie Nelson is one of the most electrifying writers at work in America today, among the sharpest and most supple thinkers of her generation.
The Argonauts is, likewise, resistant to summary, though describing it as a love story might come closest. It is, after all, about love and its fruits: both the falling in love and the maintaining of affection, devotion, tenderness. It is about love and marriage, motherhood, pregnancy, birth and family-making, and because it is a book by Maggie Nelson, it turns every one of these concepts on its head.'
--The Guardian
Also great reviews in the LRB and New Yorker
'Maggie Nelson is one of the most electrifying writers at work in America today, among the sharpest and most supple thinkers of her generation.
The Argonauts is, likewise, resistant to summary, though describing it as a love story might come closest. It is, after all, about love and its fruits: both the falling in love and the maintaining of affection, devotion, tenderness. It is about love and marriage, motherhood, pregnancy, birth and family-making, and because it is a book by Maggie Nelson, it turns every one of these concepts on its head.'
--The Guardian
Also great reviews in the LRB and New Yorker
The Lesser Bohemians
Oh how I loved this book! McBride's first novel, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing was widely acclaimed, but this is the novel that grabbed me - it was like a fever, just all-consuming.
'The Lesser Bohemians is a love story narrated through the mind of an 18-year-old girl from Dublin who comes to London to take up a place at drama school, and falls wildly in love with an established actor more than twice her age.'
-- LRB
'The Lesser Bohemians confirms McBride’s status as one of our major novelists. She writes with beauty, wisdom and humour and she is uniquely sensitive to what is being communicated with every look or jerk of the body. If, in DH Lawrence’s formulation, the novel is “the one bright book of life”, then the life here radiates through the pages and illuminates ours.'
--The Guardian
'The Lesser Bohemians is a love story narrated through the mind of an 18-year-old girl from Dublin who comes to London to take up a place at drama school, and falls wildly in love with an established actor more than twice her age.'
-- LRB
'The Lesser Bohemians confirms McBride’s status as one of our major novelists. She writes with beauty, wisdom and humour and she is uniquely sensitive to what is being communicated with every look or jerk of the body. If, in DH Lawrence’s formulation, the novel is “the one bright book of life”, then the life here radiates through the pages and illuminates ours.'
--The Guardian
The Infinity Call
I am so grateful I discovered Kelly Morris's Infinity Call. I'd dabbled with Headspace and some of the other meditation apps, but they never really did it for me. Then a friend told me about The Call. It's a women-only live podcast (that stays up for 24 hours, so you can do it when it suits you. I always do it the moment I wake up, before coffee or anything, right there in my bed).
Basically, it's a 20-minute guided meditation by Kelly Morris, who is seriously the most brilliant badass - as the above poster attests, her meditations are amazing, but she gives these talks afterwards that are just wonderful. Hundreds of women around the world are tuned in, and there's an incredible sense of connection and warmth and power and support.
This past year has been one of intense highs and lows for me, spanning London to LA and back to London again, but I've remained steady and focused and strong, and it's entirely due to my daily meditation with Kelly.
Get on The Call ladies!
Nina xox
Basically, it's a 20-minute guided meditation by Kelly Morris, who is seriously the most brilliant badass - as the above poster attests, her meditations are amazing, but she gives these talks afterwards that are just wonderful. Hundreds of women around the world are tuned in, and there's an incredible sense of connection and warmth and power and support.
This past year has been one of intense highs and lows for me, spanning London to LA and back to London again, but I've remained steady and focused and strong, and it's entirely due to my daily meditation with Kelly.
Get on The Call ladies!
Nina xox
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