Browsing and buying

    Does the fact that the Norrington Room's Philosophy Help Desk was unmanned when I was there the other day suggest that it was the nihilists' shift or perhaps the immaterialists'? "Come back at noon for a platonist, or at 3.00 if it's nominalism you're after..." It reminded me of this.

    Enough nonsense - Blackwell's yielded several books, as the photograph shows. I'm looking to Nigel Warburton's A Little History of Philosophy to fill the (many, large) gaps in my knowledge. Julian Baggini says of it, "Warburton packs a heck of a lot into what is something of a Goldilocks volume: neither too much nor too little, the exegesis neither too thin or too thick and lumpy, his Little History can be consumed as a nourishing treat in its own right or provide the perfect fuel to kickstart anyone's journey into philosophy."

    Matthew Dennison's Eternal Boy: The Life of Kenneth Grahame is, I fear, a very sad tale as the author "charts with consummate poignancy the life of the author of The Wind in the Willows - from bookish bachelorhood to the torment of an emotionally arid marriage touched by tragedy".

    Ronald Blythe's In the Artist's Garden was, as this post shows, among the delights of last year's reading. His The Time by the Sea: Aldeburgh 1955-1958 looks at his involvement in the early years of Benjamin Britten's Festival. "It is a tale of music and painting, creativity and landscape. It describes the first steps of an East Anglian journey, an intimate appraisal of a vivid and memorable time." D.J. Taylor calls it "one of the best thing [Blythe] has written".

    In the bookshop's spirituality section I came upon Living on the Border: Reflections on the Experience of Threshold by Esther de Waal - "There is a traditional saying of ancient wisdom: 'A threshold is a sacred thing.' In some places of the world, in some traditional cultures and in monastic life, this is still remembered. It is something, however, that we often forget today. To take time to pause at a threshold - be it a place, or a moment between one action and the next - is to show reverence for the handling of space and time, and respect for those we meet. Pausing allows us to let go of all the demands and expectations of the previous activity, and to prepare for the encounter with another. In company with the poets and artists of the Welsh border country in which she lives, Esther de Waal explores what this ancient wisdom has to teach us about our public lives in the world today."

Comments

[Fran H-B]

These all sound so interesting, I wouldn't know which one to pick up first!

[Cornflower]

Always hard to choose what to read next!

[Nicola]

Nihilists' shift indeed! I'm due another visit to Blackwells but I've never darkened the door of the Norrington Room. I really should. Sometimes Oxford calls your name!

[Dark Puss]

Nothing in your bag on Natural Philosophy? :-)

[Alexandra Macgregor]

I like the idea of the threshold or pause. The School of Philosophy uses this as a means to still be mind before embarking on another task. Its particularily good for children as it helps them to refocus their attention. Its something we should all learn to do.. a very mini meditation.

[Malissa Palma]

I buy books as indicated by my perspective at the time, regardless of whether I have a craving for perusing something light, amusing or something philosophical, or rather a fascinating memoir or a decent novel.

[Cornflower]

You must go, Nicola!

[Cornflower]

I'm a bear of little brain, DP ...

[Cornflower]

I agree, Alexandra.

[Cornflower]

The joy of a good bookshop that can provide such a range!