LONDON BY EDWARD RUTHERFURD

A historical London novel written by Salisbury born writer Edward Ruherfurd is recently published in Turkish. A story of London and Londoners through the ages since the geological formation of the city. No, not kidding, just started to read it and the second sentence of the novel starts like this: “Four hundred million years ago, ....”. Not sure how it’s gonna be our relation for the next 1083 pages...

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Salisbury doğumlu yazar Edward Ruherfurd’un Londra isimli tarihi romanını aralık sonunda görüp aldık. Meğer daha yeni çıkmış piyasaya. Kitap, şehrin jeolojik oluşumundan günümüze, çağlar boyunca Londra’dan ve Londralıların yaşamlarından kesitleri içeriyor. Yok şaka değil, daha ikinci cümlesi “Dört yüz milyon yıl önce...” diye başlıyor. Önümüzdeki 1083 sayfa boyunca kitapla nasıl bir ilişkimiz olacak göreceğiz bakalım...  

EXLIBRIS

LONDON TATTOOS

A beautiful photo book by our photographer collegue Alex MacNaughton. Colorful portraits of Londoners with artful bodies. 

LONDONERS BY CRAIG TAYLOR

One of our London books we bought after moving here.

“From the woman whose voice announces the stations on the London Underground to the man who plants the trees along Oxford Street; from a Pakistani currency trader to a Guardsman at Buckingham Palace – together, these voices and many more, paint a vivid, epic and wholly fresh portrait of 21st-century London” 

LONDON BELONGS TO ME

Currently reading this book and -through the pages- sharing the lives of a group of Londoneers who live in the same building: 10 Dulcimer Street, London in 1938...

VINTAGE BIRDS

Vintage book finds from an antiques shop in Edinburgh.

Birds of the Sea and Woodland Birds from Penguin Books collection. 

ANOTHER LONDON

Another good B&W photography book about London city life’s past. The book, contains photos taken during the period between 1930 and 1980 by 41 international photographers such as  Eve Arnold, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sergio Larrain, Marc Riboud.

Another London published by Tate in 2012, is a look from different angles to London’s city life through the lens of foreigner photographers.

THE MOST PRECIOUS BOOK EVER

This morning, one of us made a big surprise to the other one and gave the most meaningful gift ever: Tatanka Ile (With Tatanka).  A black and white photo book full of the photos of our 20 years old cat son Tatanka which we lost in March. The book also contains cat poems written by poets from all around the world.

Tatanka was our taily son, our little black tiger, the pasha of our home. During twenty years, we grove up with him, we organised all our lives considering his comfort, we loved him more then anything.

Now we miss him, we miss him so much...  

LONDON 1958-59

London 1958-59 is a good documentary photography book about London life during these years through the lens of a foreigner photographer.

Chilean photographer Sergio Larrain (1931),  who is one of the members of MAGNUM agency and who visited London in 1958-59, documented a black and white portrait of this big city during his visit. The first UK edition of the book published in 1998 by Dewi Lewis Publishing. 

THE SHERLOCK HOLMES MUSEUM

When we first moved to London two years ago and living in Marylebone, Mr. Holmes was our neighbour. That’s why, The Sherlock Holmes Museum was one of the first museums we visited in London.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels famous character, consulting detective Sherlock Holmes was living in London, Baker Street no:221b where you can visit today the museum. The house is decorated with period themes and accessories which Sherlock Holmes was using in his adventures.

Also on the ground floor of the museum there is a shop where Holmes fans can find curiosities, DVD set of the Holmes series, Sherlock Holmes hats...etc. A funny visit if you are around London.

BOOKS FOR COOKS

Small but beautiful bookshop near Portobello Road. They sell only cookbooks. Meat, soup, vegetarian, smoked, pickled, bakery, world kitchen, magazines... You have all the choices from all around the world to explore in labelled shelves and also “tze” french owner helps to find what you are looking for.

Bookshop has a small cafe where they are trying and serving each day different recipes from the books. They sell also their own small books with all this recipes which they tried with notes about their experiences and what they changed later on. 

DAUNT BOOKS

Our first and favorite bookshop in London. When we were living in Marylebone, we were visiting more often this neighboor shop and almost every day stopping in front of the shop’s window.

Daunt Books is one of the most beautiful bookshops we saw around the world. You can find here every kind of book but they are specialised on travel books and they have a huge collection of travel books where you can spend hours. If you are around London, don’t miss to visit Daunt Books, you gonna love it!

THE BOOK OF CHRISTMAS

Yesterday we visited The Landscape Photographer of the Year exhibition in National Theatre. There were some really good landscape photos. 

After the exhibition, before going to the London Philarmonic Orchestra concert at the Royal Festival Hall,  we stopped at the National Theatre’s bookshop and found The Christmas Book which is about everything about christmas time like traditions, food, legends etc.  The Christmas Book written by Jane Struthers can be a good alternative to the perfect christmassy gift.   

HERCULE POIROT’S CHRISTMAS

Some christmas reading, some crime, some Agatha Christie...