Reading List
Biographies
I spend a lot of time chasing up particular authors; and so, from time to time, I check their biographies. To be frank, these are rarely worth reading on their own account, but often contain clues for new things to Read.
The Delian Mode (2009)
★★★
Serial | Short, beautifully assembled documentary on Delia Derbyshire's life and works, with a wonderful soundscape. Watch on youtube
J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography (1977)
★★
Book | This is a really nicely written book, if you're interested in the topic; just pleasurable to read. JRRT didn't have a very exciting life, but Carpenter has a wonderful style to make up for it. Only for people specialising in JRRT, but very recommended if you are.
Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1981)
★
Book | I want to work through these for some better quotes on Reading and making mythologies.
https://www.tolkienestate.com/en/writing/letters.html
The Man in the Willows (2019)
★★
Book | Biography of Kenneth Grahame. Very readable; you get a pretty unambiguous sense of why he wrote what he did, I think, the sorts of unhappinesses and impossibilities that lead an adult to spend so much time writing about happy Mr Mole and a golden afternoon that never ends. Inessential, but I'm glad to have read it.
the Edge of the Ceiling (1980)
Serial | Unwatched. Another documentary about Garner, a generally of-interest-to-us author and rather odd man.
Far off Things (1922)
★
Book | Autobiography of Machen; tedious, not recommended.