Tag Archives: Books

Arts & Literature, Books, Music, Reviews, Videos

Graphic Novels: ‘The Final Symphony – A Beethoven Anthology’ (Dec 2020)

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A new original graphic novel, The Final Symphony: A Beethoven Anthology, celebrating Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday, has been published via Z2 Comics and Deutsche Grammophon. 

The Final Symphony: A Beethoven Anthology, written by Brandon Montclare and Frank Marraffino, was inspired by the composer’s life and music. The graphic novel reimagines the life of the legendary composer through striking new visuals created by world-class artists. Readers will be able to experience both masterpieces and lesser-known gems in a brand new light. The deluxe edition will be accompanied by an exclusive double vinyl LP following the story through the composer’s own works.

Featuring Alice Sara Ott, Ezinma and Max Richter

Pianist Alice Sara Ott, violinist Ezinma and composer Max Richter, are all featured in their own chapters in The Final Symphony: A Beethoven Anthology. In the chapter featuring Alice Sara Ott, drawn by Creees Lee, the pianist invites the composer to hear one of his works played in a modern concert hall. The chapter featuring Ezinma, drawn by Jarrett Williams, celebrates Beethoven’s groundbreaking musical personality, and Max Richter has been transformed by artist Dave Chisholm, who also wrote the chapter.

Books, News, Podcasts, Reviews, Science

Science Podcast: The Top Stories, Breakthroughs And Books Of 2020

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Our last episode of the year is a celebration of science in 2020. First, host Sarah Crespi talks with Online News Editor David Grimm about some of the top online news stories of the year—from how undertaker bees detect the dead to the first board game of death. (It’s not as grim as it sounds.)

Sarah then talks with Online News Editor Catherine Matacic about the Breakthrough of the Year, scientific breakdowns, and some of the runners-up—amazing accomplishments in science achieved in the face of a global pandemic. Finally, Book Review Editor Valerie Thompson joins Sarah to discuss highlights from the books section—on topics as varied as eating wild foods to how the materials we make end up shaping us. 

Biology, Events, Evolution, Science, Videos

Top Lectures: ‘A Series Of Fortunate Events’ By Biologist Sean B. Carroll

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Is simple chance the source of all the beauty and diversity we see in the world? Sean B. Carroll tells the story of the awesome power of chance. Sean’s book “A Series of Fortunate Events” is available now: https://geni.us/mPPrdQH

Watch the Q&A: https://youtu.be/adrqThhSgYg

Why is the world the way it is? How did we get here? Does everything happen for a reason or are some things left to chance? Philosophers and theologians have pondered these questions for millennia, but startling scientific discoveries over the past half century are revealing that we live in a world driven by chance.

Sean B. Carroll is an award-winning scientist, writer, educator, and film producer. He is Vice President for Science Education at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Balo-Simon Chair of Biology at the University of Maryland. His books include The Serengeti Rules (Princeton), Brave Genius, and Remarkable Creatures, which was a finalist for the National Book Award. He lives in Chevy Chase, Maryland. This talk and Q&A was recorded by the Royal Institution on 6 October 2020.

Architecture, Books, Cities, Design, Technology

Design Books: ‘The Ideal City – Exploring Urban Futures’ (Gestalten)

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Urban life is humankind’s biggest experiment to date, our cities are constantly evolving and adapting to climate and economy. The cities we have today are not necessarily the ones we need, but big and small innovation is rethinking visions of urbanization.

Together with pioneering research and design agency SPACE10, we present future-orientated design which enhances quality of life and makes our urban spaces more vibrant.

As technology and urban life edge ever closer, The Ideal City explores the ambitious actions and initiatives being brought to life across the globe to meet tomorrow’s demand in clever, forwarding-thinking ways. From pedestrian infrastructure to housing, the book uncovers what is being discussed at the forefront of urbanism through expert essays and profiles.

SPACE10 is a Copenhagen-based research and design agency that is on a mission to enable a better everyday life for people and the planet. They specialize in innovation and future-living, often presenting models both for urban spaces or food that could lead to me a more sustainable future.

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Architecture, Books, Design, Home Design, Profiles

Profile: Spanish Architect & Designer Ricardo Bofill – ‘Dreamer Of Modernity’

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December 2, 2020

What Bofill creates with exceptional mastery are spaces or the sense of space. He describes this ability, probably jokingly, as being an escape from the claustrophobia of his childhood in Barcelona, living in bourgeois apartments crammed floor to ceiling with decorative objects.

Postmodernity in the work of Bofill does not have to be the abolishing of rules or the death of history. In his own words, postmodernity “breaks with cultural hegemony to adapt models to different cultures, considering the place and its history.” It is more of a reaction against the uniformity of modern architecture.

Ricardo Bofill was born on December 5, 1939, in Barcelona. The son of a contractor, in the dullest hours of the Franco regime. As he explains himself, the feeling of being, not in the middle of the world but the outskirts, in a periphery—a Catalonia that was not just physically isolated from the cultural capitals but also far from national, political decision-making—sparked dreams of freedom and faraway lands, and was probably what later inspired his nomadic lifestyle. The importance of the vernacular, it’s engagement with classicism, Bofill’s sense of atemporal elegance—all find their roots in this early period.

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Architecture, Books, Home Design, Homes

HOME DESIGN: ‘LIVING IN – MODERN MASTERPIECES OF RESIDENTIAL ARCHITECTURE’

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Openhouse has spent the last six years giving readers a closer look at some of the most extraordinary houses around the globe. In their first book, the editors open the doors to their highlights, including exclusive photography and rarely seen homes.

With a range of architectural styles from Brutalism to 20th-century mastery from the likes Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, this book portrays the stories of architects and residents of the most remarkable and inspiring living spaces around the world. Enter the adobe house of Georgia O’Keefe in New Mexico, step into the Modernist Casa Pedregal designed by Luis Barragán in Mexico City, and discover the sensorial architecture of George Nakashima’s house, studio, and workshop in New Hope, Pennsylvania.

From case study houses to cutting edge contemporary architecture, Living In describes what it feels like to occupy these spaces from the perspective of their owners—who themselves have become stewards of architectural history.

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Arts & Literature, Books, Homes, Travel, Videos

Literary Travel: ‘Hill Top’ – Cumbria, England Home Of Beatrix Potter (Video)

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Hill Top, the much-loved Cumbrian home of author Beatrix Potter, creator of the character Peter Rabbit™. Although the farm is closed at the moment you can still explore the writer’s paintings, drawings, treasured objects, as well as the surrounding countryside that inspired her. Look out for your favourite characters along the way.

Hill Top is a 17th-century house in Near Sawrey near Hawkshead, in the English county of Cumbria. It is an example of Lakeland vernacular architecture with random stone walls and slate roof. The house was once the home of children’s author and illustrator Beatrix Potter who left it to the National Trust.

Books, Food, History, Podcasts

Book Podcast: ‘Borough Market – Edible Histories’ Author Mark Riddaway

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Award-winning food writer Mark Riddaway travels back through the centuries to tell the fascinating, surprising and often downright bizarre stories of some of the everyday ingredients found at London’s Borough Market.

Discover how the strawberries we eat today had their roots in a clandestine trip to South America by a French spy whose surname happened to be Strawberry, why three-quarters of Britain’s late-18th-century intake of tea was sold on the black market, and what Sigmund Freud found so fascinating about eel genitalia.

From the humble apples and onions that we’ve grown on these shores for centuries, to more exotic ingredients like cinnamon and bananas that travel from across the world to finesse our food, Borough Market: Edible Histories offers a chance to digest the charming stories behind every last morsel.

Books, Cities, Foreign Affairs, Interviews, Politics, Videos

Interview: Fareed Zakaria – ‘Ten Lessons For A Post-Pandemic World’ (Video)

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Fareed Zakaria of CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” discussed his latest book “Ten Lessons for a Post-Pandemic World.” The discussion covered the consequences of the pandemic and how COVID-19 could reshape the nation and the world, globalization and the digital age.

Books, Culture, Landscape, Photography

New Photography Books: ‘In Search Of Elsewhere’ By Steve McCurry (2020)

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 In Search of Elsewhere takes us across the globe and offers new perspectives on many of the locations that the photographer has already made famous – from India, Myanmar and Cuba, to Kashmir and the white-washed temples of the Himalayas. Each image is reproduced at large format and in remarkable detail and this new compilation reveals the incredible depth of his work.

A unique collection of previously unseen images spanning Steve McCurry’s extraordinary career.

Steve McCurry is known for creating some of the most iconic images of recent times and in this new collection, he shares previously unseen photographs from his incredibly rich archive.

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