Since March, exams have been studied for, stressed over and passed. Gigs have been attended, films watched and books read. Many a life drama has been dealt with badly. At present, I am riding the all too calm waters of unemployment, spending my days avoiding newspaper articles about graduate unemployment and skulking mysteriously about bookshops.
Aforesaid skulking has resulted in a couple of book purchases..
Bicycle Diaries, David Byrne -
I bought this as an incentive to learn to cycle. Having been a petulant and easily intimidated child, I never learnt to ride a bike. My first and only attempt at cycling was abruptly ended by a privet hedge and, having an awareness of the power of nature from a young age, I took this as a sign that I was never meant to be a cyclist. But now I am a man. And real men cycle. Unless they're in Sons of Anarchy, in which case they ride bikes bigger than my bedroom and that appear to necessitate peculiar walks.
Byrne is, to say the least, evangelical about cycling. Cycling proves to be a great way of appreciating the various ways in which cities work. I enjoy books that have an unpredictable and ambling feel to them and Byrne's book is full of illuminating asides on urban planning, the music industry and cultural stereotypes. The cover is also rather lovely.
Your Face Tomorrow: Fever and Spear, Javier Marias -
I haven't read this yet as, according to the blurb, it 'illuminates how trust and betrayal characterise all human relationships'.
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