Guy Portman's Blog, page 39
February 6, 2015
7 Institutionalised Male Writers
3 weeks ago I dedicated a blog post to the subject of female writers who spent time in mental institutions. Today it is the men’s turn.
Here are 7 male writers who spent time in mental institutions:
Paulo Coelho
(Born: August 24th 1947)
Prior to becoming the best-selling Portuguese language author ever, Brazilian novelist Paulo Coelho was a successful songwriter. His seminal work, The Alchemist, has been translated into 80 languages. At the age of 17 Coelho’s parents, concerned about his introver...
January 30, 2015
My Japanese Culinary Tour
This week’s blog post is devoted to the dizzying array of culinary delights that I came across in Japan.
Osechi (see below) is traditional Japanese New Year’s fare. Osechi are served in boxes called jūbako(重箱).
On New Year’s Day there was also an abundance of sushi on offer.
Noodles are very popular in Japan, particularly at lunchtime. Below is a picture of a bowl of Soba noodles complete with egg, spinach and a tempura prawn.
Here is a picture I took of a chef making Soba noodles.
In my humble op...
January 23, 2015
A Tour of a High-Tech Japanese House
As I have just returned from Japan I have decided to dedicate a couple of blog posts to my trip. I will return to my usual author/book related themed posts in a couple of weeks.
This week’s post takes the form of a tour of a high-tech Japanese house.
Below is a cross-section of someone’s kitchen wall. I have no idea what half of these do.
The picture below is of a Japanese bath. What more could you possibly want from a bath, except taps, I asked myselfas I tried to figure out how to fill it with...
January 16, 2015
7 Institutionalised Female Writers
Authors’ suffering from mental instability is a subject that has interested me since reading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. As my recent blog post about authors who committed suicide proved to be so popular, I have decided to continue with the mental health theme.
Here are 7 female writers who were institutionalised:
Unica Zürn
(July 6th 1916 – 19th October 1970)
Unica Zürn was a German born author, poet and painter. Zürn began writing radio plays and short stories shortly after the end of World W...
January 9, 2015
The Top 20 Best-Selling Novelists Ever
This week sees the latest instalment of my famous author series. After arduous research I have concluded that the following are the top 20 best-selling novelists of all time. Unfortunately I didn’t make the list.
20. Dan Brown – (Born: 1964) – Brown is a thriller fiction author, whose seminal work was the 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code.
Total Books Sold: circa 210 million
19. J.R. R. Tolkien – (1892-1973) – High fantasy novelist Tolkien is best remembered for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
T...
January 2, 2015
My 2014 – An Overview
Happy New Year
This week I look back on my 2014. It takes the form of concise extracts from my diary. This might seem a rather narcissistic thing to do, but hopefully some of you might find the entries mildly amusing and/or be interested in the links to the book reviews/blog posts/YouTube video.
January
Wednesday 1st – Have I ever had a less memorable New Year’s?
Monday 27th – Read and reviewed Post Office by Charles Bukowski. What a great book.
Friday 31st – It’s Tax Deadline Day – %!@?£*@%
Febr...
December 26, 2014
My Year In Books
This time last year I devoted a blog post to the books that I had read in 2013. I have decided to do the same for 2014. In addition to releasing my second novel, the satiricalblack comedy Necropolis, I read 34 books.
Here is a breakdown of the books I read in 2014. Click on the links to read my reviews.
Non Fiction
If you are interested in African history you might like:
King Leopold’s Ghost by Adam Hochschild –The Belgian King, Leopold II, had grown envious of his European neighbours’ portfolio...
December 19, 2014
10 Books About Christmas
I am not a Christmassy person. However in the spirit of Christmas I am dedicating this week’s blog post to a Christmas related subject, namely Christmas books. Here are 10 books about Christmas from the last 170 years. They are presented in chronological order.
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (1843) - This iconic novella is about a miser called Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge learns to embrace the joys of Christmas after being visited by the ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Yet to Come.
T...
December 12, 2014
My Year in Novellas
A novella is a fictional, prose narrative that is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. Novellas are generally about 20,000 – 50,000 words.
These are my Top 5 novellas that I have read this year:
5. Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Siddhartha is a concise and philosophical novella with a graceful prose style that incorporates both Hindu and Buddhist philosophy. This story about destiny had a cathartic effect on this reader.
My Review: Siddhartha, a Brahmin’s son, finding village life incr...
December 5, 2014
8 Authors Who Committed Suicide
As my blog posts about famous authors have proven to be popular with my followers and fellow authors, I am writing yet another instalment. This week I turn my attentions to the morbid but interesting subject matter of famous authors who committed suicide.
Here are 8 famous authors who committed suicide:
Anne Sexton
(November 9th 1928 – October 4th 1974)
Anne Sexton was a Pulitzer Prize winning American poet. Themes in her confessional style verse included her mental instability and depression. On...
