BOOK – Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
Anything by Adiche is worth a read, but this has always stuck with me. It’s the closest I’ve ever come to crying at a book (sorry kids, Dumbledore’s exit didn’t do it for me). Set during the Nigerian-Biafran war, it follows the fallout for four characters from different sides of society. It’s so vividly written and doesn’t shy away from the characters’ mixed loyalties and the difficult moral positions war places them in.
FILM – ‘Navega’ by Mayra Andrade
At the moment my musical obsession is Mayra Andrade. She sings beautiful,
lively Cape-Verdean infl uenced music. I stumbled across her by accident and knew nothing about the style, but it’s enchanting. Her 2006 album ‘Navega’ and the song of the same name are still my favourites – it starts almost like a lullaby and gradually layers rhythms and instruments until it’s a dynamic, energetic bundle of life and dancing.
ART – Roby Ryan and Dana Tanamachi
I do web and graphic design in my spare time, so I follow graphic design more than ï¬ne art. Rob Ryan does incredible paper cut designs and screen prints which have this wonderfully whimsical feel. He’s now had his work featured on products for John Lewis, but his original papercutting work is still my favourite. Another graphic designer working in an unusual medium is Dana Tanamachi,
who works in chalk, doing hand-lettering and typography.
FILM – Public Speaking by Michael Scorsese
I recently watched this slightly mad feature-length Scorsese documentary on Fran Lebowitz. She’s got a wickedly dark sense of humour at times, but also a cutting clarity in observing the odd customs of society. It’s predominantly
conversation-based, mixed with footage of Lebowitz talking over the years. It will leave you wishing everything that tumbled out of your mouth came across that sharp-witted.
