Gay Forum

Simon wrote:Only the best thing EVER

Derry Moore is a world renowned portrait photographer whose work has appeared in Men’s Vogue, Architectural Digest and whose photos appear in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Portrait Gallery. In An English Room he shoots a diverse group of Britain’s finest in their favourite ever places, their personal sanctuary, the place they go to work, read, relax and get away from it all. Through his photos he attempts to discover what makes the essence of “An English Room”.

An English Room is a beautiful hard copy book that would look fine on many a coffee table. Moore shoots his subjects in their choice of room with accompanying text explaining why they love it so. Each room also gets an additional two page spread of photographs. The photos are, as you would imagine, superb - beautifully lit and composed making the architecture come alive. What is particularly impressive is how he manages to imbue his photos of the empty rooms with the personality of the person who loves them. It’s like they’re haunting the rooms after they’ve left.

The book covers a diverse array of individuals from various different fields. We see author Jeanette Winterson embracing the joys of book shop Shakespeare and Company in Paris, actress Harriet Walter in her elegant home framed by a wallpaper of trees rising high into the sky, Alan Bennett in the room he decorated in Primrose Hill 40 years previously, Paul Smith in his studio surrounded by art and vintage toys - a room “full of lovely things”, Stephen Fry in his dressing room at the Apollo Theatre nesting amongst his books and photographs and the Duchess of Northumberland in a tree house that she has built at Alnwick Castle - festooned with fairylights and grander than my flat.

Iago wrote:More seriously, I've been reading Hyperspace by Michio Kaku in order to avoid writing my Kant essay. He uses the same line as every other science populariser, that black holes have gravity of such magnitude that "not even light can escape" but I never understood this. If photons have no mass, what is there for gravity to pull on? Or is it rather that space around the black hole is distorted so steeply that light can't get climb out of the well?

Lucas_HG wrote:Vonnegut... well, he's funny at times but this won't become one of my favourite books. It's nice but not that nice. Good but not that good, really..

Mod wrote:

Lucas_HG wrote:Vonnegut... well, he's funny at times but this won't become one of my favourite books. It's nice but not that nice. Good but not that good, really..

I recommend Breakfast of Champions.

nikolii wrote:I've finally branched off to start reading the casual vacancy. Not sure what I think of it so far.

Joe wrote:Billy & Me by Giovanna Fletcher.