March 18, 2021
Book Notes: “The Psychology of Money” by Morgan Housel
The Psychology of Money is one of those books that has been drifting on and off my radar for several months. I’ve seen various people on Twitter recommend it. And several authors I respect – Daniel Pink and James Clear – gave it a strong endorsement. I don’t get at lot of my reading ideas from Twitter, but in this case I’m glad I did! ...
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March 17, 2021
The truth Christianity lost sight of
In a recent meditation, Fr. Richard Rohr quotes Bishop Michael Curry, the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, on the subject of ‘loving the “true you”’: “There is a Jewish proverb, “Before every person there marches an angel proclaiming, ‘Behold, the image of God.’” Unselfish, sacrificial living isn’t about ignoring or denying or...
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March 16, 2021
The things I’m most looking forward to after Covid
Here in the UK, we’re approaching the anniversary of our first Covid-induced lockdown. And we’re currently taking tentative steps towards coming out of our third and, hopefully, last. Though the government keep telling us it is about ‘data not dates’, they have laid out a series of dates from now until June for granting greater freedom...
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March 15, 2021
Book Notes: “Girl, Woman, Other” by Bernardine Evaristo
I picked up a copy of Girl, Woman, Other last summer. It’s sat on my reading pile ever since though. Almost every week I’ve been looking at it, remembering I want to read it, but finding something else grabbing my attention more. But, last weekend, looking for some fiction to read, I realised I only had one novel left on my unread pile...
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March 12, 2021
How I finally established a journalling habit
On Monday 16th November last year I starting writing in my journal again. I’ve not missed a day since. Not even Christmas day. I’ve tried journalling many times over the years. But it never sticks. A few weeks later I lose interest, momentum, and it all grinds to a halt. So this is a record for me. And I’m trying to figure out what’s d...
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March 11, 2021
Home alone again
For the first time in what feels like forever, I am working from home, alone. No one is asking for snack every half hour. My meetings are taking place uninterrupted. I can work from wherever I want in the house. And it all feels... strange! My youngest went back to her Primary school on Monday. And my eldest returned to her Secondary s...
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March 10, 2021
Should you always finish a book once you’ve started it?
If you’ve been reading my writing for a while, you’ll know I tend to only write about the books I enjoy. I rarely bother to jot down anything about a book I didn’t like. I’m not in the business of formal book reviews; I mostly want to holler about the books that mean something to me and, perhaps, trigger a reader or two to go out and g...
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March 9, 2021
We don’t see things as they are; we see things as we are
I’ve been reflecting on the words from Fr. Richard Rohr that make up the title of this post for some months now. It’s classic Rohr: Oodles of truth and cause for reflection in just a few words. I can’t recall the first time I heard him say it, but it’s fair to say it’s stuck with me. And when it came up again in one of his daily medita...
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March 8, 2021
Book Notes: “I Never Promised You a Rose Garden” by Jonny Oates
My wife, Rachel, got me I Never Promised You a Rose Garden for Christmas. Truth told, I’d never heard of Jonny Oates, or this book before. And seeing the names of people endorsing it – Nick Clegg, Laura Kuenssberg, and Gary Gibbon – I assumed it was a purely political book. This would have been fine; I’m quite happy dipping into a poli...
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March 5, 2021
FYI: “Transcendent Kingdom” now available in the UK
Yaa Gyasi’s second novel, Transcendent Kingdom, is now out here in the UK. Long-time readers of my writing will recall my admiration for Gyasi’s first book, Homegoing. And I was so looking forward to her second that I had it imported from the US, months ahead of its UK release. Here’s what I wrote about it in December: “Transcendent Ki...
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March 4, 2021
Welcome to HEY World, the new home for all my writing
I have news of a significant change to how I send out my email newsletters. For the last couple of years I’ve been using a tool called Substack to deliver my emails to you. However, I am moving away from there and from now on I will be using a new service called HEY World. I’ll explain why (if you’re interested) below. But, if you are ...
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