book Club

Books About Frida Kahlo

Bookcub is a new category in my blog for chatting about books: some music related, some not. Please feel free to have a few glasses of wine, eat a load of crisps and argue about which Harry Potter book was best...that's what people do at bookclubs right?

It's funny how, having written a song about someone who is so obsessed with collecting Frida Kahlo trinkets they chase one into the sea and drown, I'm always being given gifts of Frida Kahlo trinkets. And I love them! The character Sally in the song Frida Kahlo's Delight might have learnt her lesson but I never did.

One thing I still haven't found though is a great biography of Frida Kahlo. I've read The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver (one of my favourite authors since I was a teenager) and really enjoyed it, but it doesn't really take the place of a biography. It was a fictional novel and her character, even if it was based on her real life and real events, was serving a purpose in the story and only showed us one small part of her life. So a biography of Frida Kahlo is on the to do list.

Frida Kahlo Her Photos is a well curated collection of photos owned by Frida. It reminds me of visiting Francis Bacon's studio where all the photos are strewn around and you can go through every gruesome, scribbled on image on the computer screens one by one. It's an insight into the artists interest. With this book it feels a little voyeuristic. Frida was so meticulous about her public image it seems bizarre to be leafing through her family photos and seeing photos of her as a young girl before she became Frida The Icon! The introductions to each section are beautifully written, and awfully translated which only adds to their charm.

The Diary Of Frida Kahlo is a reprint of her personal diary with drawings, paintings, lots of bits of poetry/writing and it makes me wish I could read spanish! There's translations at the back, with commentary, but since there are no page numbers on the original diary entries it's a bit of a hassle to find the corresponding page and you lose that instant impact of seeing the image and words together. It's a beautiful coffee table book and one of these days I'm going to spend a bit more time pouring over it.

Silo Series by Hugh Howey

I'm all about books set in dystopian futures! If it's not post apocalyptic I'm not interested. This series is the best I've read in a long time. Every book in the trilogy is an absolute page turner. I'm not actually sure if it's meant to be young adult fiction or not, the language is generally quite simple but then the subject matter isn't. At no point do teenagers fall in love or find themselves in a love trianlge and that's pretty much the defining trait of YA fantasy/sci-fi right?

Often I find with fantasy or sci-fi the beginning of a series, where you're being introduced to a whole new world and seeing how everything works (be it magical powers or utopian regimes), is all great and exciting but then once the world is established it can drag a bit. The excellent thing about these books is that they move between characters who have tangential story-lines, and goes back and forth in time from this future to present day (ish) America. So you're constantly being introduced to new environments.

The series started out as a few short stories Howey wrote and self published. I like that. I'd give Howey a high five if he was here.

Books by American comedians

For some reason I read a bunch of memoire/essay collection style books by American comedians lately even though I didn't really enjoy them. I guess I was just thinking sooner or later I'd come across one I loved. Still haven't gotten round to Lena Dunham so fingers crossed that'll be worth it. Here's my in-a-nutshell review of all three:


Bossy Pants by Tina Fey - Pretty good
Yes Please by Amy Poehler - Ok
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me by Mindy Kahling - Don't bother