Funktious

Funktious, 9 days ago

@hobbitswife Local-ish; we've lived in Glasgow for 6 years now and this is our 3rd trip to Islay. We've also done Mull once and will probably go back next year! Totally agree that May is the nicest month in Scotland, it's absolutely the time to go on holiday!

Didn't go the Ardnahoe launch - we did Ardbeg earlier in the week and going to Caol Ila tomorrow!

Funktious, 22 days ago

AND OF COURSE I HAVE NOW DROPPED AN IMPORTANT DOODAD DOWN THE GAP BETWEEN THE DECKING.

Funktious, 22 days ago

WORSHIP ME FOR I AM MIGHTY.

Funktious, 22 days ago

Assembled the lawnmower, mowed both lawns, worked out to put it in EasiStore mode and shoved it in the shed, picked the heads of one billion dandelions before they turn into seed clocks (I don’t mind the flowers but am trying to stop the garden becoming even more overrun with them), cleaned the litter tray and I have FINALLY showered and sat down.

Meanwhile Albert has spent two hours doing this.

Funktious, 1 month ago

... and to a bluebell wood...

#bloomscrolling

Bluebells in a sunny woodland
A faint haze of bluebells beneath the trees
Close up of sunny bluebells

Funktious, 1 month ago

... which had some lovely sculptures...

A kraken guards the bin by the seashore
A large willow sculpture of a pear
A willow duck flaps it's wings on a small island in a lake

Funktious, 1 month ago

... and then we returned to a different seaside.

I love the scottish coast so damn much.

View out to sea along a derelict pier or groyne
View out to sea with Ailsa Craig on the horizon

Funktious, 23 days ago

This book made me feel so, so old.

A cool First Contact plot, mothers as diplomats, very "alien" aliens, lots of representation of different but equal identities and families, and a glimpse of a future where many have started to pull together to solve the problems we created.

But there was a lot of political scheming, so much dialogue, tech that made it difficult to follow all that dialogue, many neopronouns and human/alien sex. I felt exhausted by the end!

#books #bookstodon

Funktious, 23 days ago

Read this in one evening; a sweet, easy binge read. It’s not great literature, it’s actually pretty trite, but it has loveable characters, a perfect bookshop on an island setting, a little mystery, a little love story and a bit of heartbreak at the end. If you’re a book lover, then you’ll enjoy this.

A bit like A Man Called Ove but with more books and less libertarianism.

#books #bookstodon

Funktious, 6 days ago

Read this on the ferry crossing to Islay. Perfect little book, with not a word out of place, examining all the choices that are available to us if we let ourselves be aware of them.

Would be a lovely pre-Christmas read, which is probably when I'll go back to it.

#books #bookstodon

Funktious, 5 days ago

"The people in this book might be going to have lived a long, long time from now in Northern California."

Less of a novel and more of an anthology of the lives and communities of these people, the Kesh. Virtually no plot, but a gentle, immersive read that will make you think about the human condition, where we are and where we're going.

This quote from Richard Powers at the back of my copy sums up the importance of this book better than I could in my own words.

#books #bookstodon

Q. What does this novel have to offer for readers in ... the 21st century and beyond? A. The book is visionary in every sense of the word. It offers a profound glimpse into the shift in consciousness that our species will need to trigger if we want to stay around on this planet much longer. Le Guin was as attuned to humanity's great existential challenge as any novelist of that time, and it has required the passage of almost 40 years to appreciate the full extent of her vision. The Kesh are a people thoroughly committed to the project that Bruno Latour calls landing back on Planet Earth. When I read the book, I sometimes forgot whether I was reading ancient history or deep futurology. That's because Le Guin knew that the only way forward through the chief catastrophe of our time - the destruction of the planet by a pathological human culture - required the ability to look backwards and forwards at the same time. Human exceptionalism and commodity-mediated individualism have brought the living world to a precipice. To keep from plunging over, we'll need to foster a culture that finds meaning in love of local place and broad kinship with everything else alive. Le Guin saw in fine detail how our damnation lies in thinking of ourselves as self-creating and our salvation depends on cultivating a sense of interbeing. If we mean to survive as a species, we will have to learn how to become indigenous again. That is the incredible leap of imagination realized in Always Coming Home.

Funktious, 5 days ago

@purplepadma @kimlockhartga I'm slowly making my way through everything Le Guin wrote - I'd say I discovered her too late but actually, I think I found her at just the right age to deeply appreciate her writing, in a way I wouldn't have when I was younger. So I'm loving the journey!

Funktious, 5 days ago

@purplepadma @kimlockhartga I'm trying not to rush, as there won't be any more 😭

Funktious, 2 days ago

An interesting, extended metaphor in a mysterious, eerie, post-Arthurian setting. Definitely more allegorical than fantasy. Loved the themes of national identity and collective memory, and of old age, regret and enduring love.

Really struggled with the dialogue though and the middle section dragged, but the bittersweet ending made up for a lot.

#books #bookstodon

Funktious, 14 hours ago

Pleasant, easy read about a beautiful part of the world.

Enjoyed the anecdotal style and the authors obvious love for his home in the descriptions of the seasons and wildlife.

The strongest parts were those about his relationships with his father and grandfather, recognising both the love and the competition between them.

A bit reticent in places (I'd have loved more on Oxford and the foot and mouth crisis) but understandable for a northern bloke! I'll read his next book.

#books #bookstodon