Heather GreggLaunching the reading challenge for this September - on the subject of art! (My video explains how this can fit with the type of books you usually read, and your interests. For anyone who thinks they don't know enough about art, I have some surprising, encouraging comments.) Find lots of further ideas at my Art Playlist - 30 videos and counting. youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyc8HWm3IRhB8JjETIxq3KC0zghMeuPuR
Co-hosts are (their launch videos in cue cards during the video and also in attached videos) Elisabeth @bouquinsbooks Hannah @HannahsBooks Greg @anotherbibliophilereads Lindy @lindysmagpiereads
The prompts are: *read a book focused on art (fiction or nonfiction) *visit an art exhibition or go to a performance
And there's a bonus prompt near the end of my video....
This video is giving you a whole month to help you find something especially interesting for you in September.
Framed! in September [CC] | Announcement #artreadathon #FramedinSeptemberHeather Gregg2024-08-01 | Launching the reading challenge for this September - on the subject of art! (My video explains how this can fit with the type of books you usually read, and your interests. For anyone who thinks they don't know enough about art, I have some surprising, encouraging comments.) Find lots of further ideas at my Art Playlist - 30 videos and counting. youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyc8HWm3IRhB8JjETIxq3KC0zghMeuPuR
Co-hosts are (their launch videos in cue cards during the video and also in attached videos) Elisabeth @bouquinsbooks Hannah @HannahsBooks Greg @anotherbibliophilereads Lindy @lindysmagpiereads
The prompts are: *read a book focused on art (fiction or nonfiction) *visit an art exhibition or go to a performance
And there's a bonus prompt near the end of my video....
This video is giving you a whole month to help you find something especially interesting for you in September.Poetry Thursday: Lewis in Summer by Derick Thomson (Ruaraidh MacThòmais) #PoetryThursdayHeather Gregg2024-10-17 | A short poem on the experience of the Scottish island of Lewis in summer by Ruaraidh MacThòmais (1921-2004)
From the recently published 2nd edition of "Scottish Religious Poetry from the sixth century to the present".
The book also contains the poem in Gaelic, with translation into English by the poet. He co-founded the quarterly Gaelic magazine "Gairm" in 1952.How much do you know about film history? #filmquizHeather Gregg2024-10-16 | Film fans, here's an end title sequence I've made to test your film knowledge: how many names will you recognise of the production crew? 3? 5? 10? (and which one is a joke?)
It's for an imaginary film I'm calling "How Soon they Forget" - listing greats of film production.
Those whose names you don't recognise have sometimes been sidelined by the industry, or others have taken their credit or they have simply been forgotten over time. Their stories are interesting; you might enjoy looking up one or two (it fascinated me).
And as it's silent - which music would you put to it?!
(Some of the research is from an excellent book "Reel Women: Pioneers of the Cinema 1896 to the Present" by Ally Acker. (Published 1991)Some Art videos I made earlier. #framedinseptemberHeather Gregg2024-09-26 | A guide to over 30 videos I've made over the past few years on arts related subjects - on how to make art, vlogged exhibition videos, art book reviews....
all for the art-curious and those taking part in Framed! in September. Have you seen the one where I make soup and discuss inspiring poetry, books, podcasts I've encountered that week? Have you seen the one I made about the spy/Gallery Director where I overlaid multiple images to show his layered life? Have you seen the humorous one of me bookshopping in London where I voiceover like a nature documentary on a strange silver unicorn of Booktube (me)? Unusual for loving books on humour and art.
No? Find them on my playlist "Art" on this channel.Write your own poem! (first draft) #framedinseptemberHeather Gregg2024-09-19 | Would you like to try writing poetry but don't know how to start?
I show how I write the first draft of a poem, as an encouragement to do something similar for artreadathon Framed! in September - for the prompt to make some art.
As a first draft, it's just a gathering of ideas. It definitely needs work to edit and rewrite. But I hope it inspires you to have a go at writing poetry yourself.Evolution of a Booktuber Tag (The Ecstasy and Agonies)Heather Gregg2024-09-18 | Joining in with the great Tag invented by @spreadbookjoy inviting us to think about how being on Booktube - either as creator or involved viewer - changes us. Also, advice to new booktubers.
I tackle the prompts pretty much all at once, because all convos lead to notes for new booktubers, "I don't do this anymore on my channel, you may find..."
The prompts should be: Extinction - things you no longer do on your channel Adaptation - how the channel/booktube has led to you doing things you didn't think you would do/experience Evolution - how the channel has changed you and hopes for the future Bonus prompt - words to the newbie/wouldbe booktubersArtreadathon hunt: 1 book, 3 films and a little peace #framedinseptemberHeather Gregg2024-09-17 | Come with me to check the art books currently in a bricks and mortar bookstore and buy 3 film DVDs in a Fopp store.
I will show lots of books and DVDs which caught my eye and fit the art readathon this month but.... which will I buy? See if you can guess along.
Prepare to be dazzled by the choices.
All on a sunny day in Edinburgh (Scotland).
Small correction: the Matisse painting which is photographed in various reworkings is of course "The Pink Nude" and not "The blue nude".Discussion: Pride and Prejudice - why does it continue to fascinate?Heather Gregg2024-09-11 | Have you seen Steve Donoghue's readaloud chapter by chapter of "Pride and Prejudice"? If not, catch it immediately @saintdonoghue
I loved it, although I've enjoyed the book for (ahem) many years - and it made me think: WHY does it continue to fascinate? Published hundreds of years ago, the plot is well known yet still....
And why did the reading aloud of the book prove so enjoyable, even though I have my own copy of the book?
I come up with some basic ideas to start the ball rolling, but you will have something more interesting to contribute. Please do write a comment and let's see where the discussion goes.The Shakespeare Journey Tag #ShaketemberHeather Gregg2024-09-03 | Tagged! Verily by Gavin@GenreBooks23even whilst I am busy co-hosting Framed! in September.
This damsel is shaken by the surprise, but sallies forth.
The 12 (!) questions are: 1. What was your first experience reading Shakespeare and what was it like? 2. Has the reading of a Shakespeare play ever brought you to tears? What scene was it and where were you when it happened? 3. Are there any people that have played a significant role in your Shakespeare journey? 4. Do you have a favorite book or film about Shakespeare? 5. Which character in Shakespeare most resembles you and in what ways? 6. Which play would you most like to see performed in a theatre and why? 7. What actor, throughout history, would you most like to have seen play Hamlet while in his prime? 8. Deliver your favorite speech or soliloquy from a Shakespeare play. 9. Do any of Shakespeare's plays intimidate you? If yes, what play and why? 10. What tips would you give to intimidated readers coming to Shakespeare for the first time? 11. Which is your favourite Shakespeare play and why? 12. Tag other Booktubers.100th Video! Visiting 2 charity bookshops in EdinburghHeather Gregg2024-09-02 | In which I get 20 books out of the house.... and find a few new-to-me ones more interesting.
Come book looking with me in Morningside, Edinburgh. Will I find any good art books for this month's readathon: Framed! in September?
And what is my main theme for reading this month?Exhibition: The art and life of Sheila GirlingHeather Gregg2024-08-31 | A quick view through a large retrospective of UK painter Sheila Girling at Bowhouse, St Monans, Fife, to celebrate the centenary of her birth. (Exhibition dates 20 July-5 August, 17 August - 1 September 2024)
Girling's work varies from huge acrylic paintings on canvas, often with collaged painted canvas pieces on the top surface.
A beautifully curated exhibition by Sophie Camu and Alexander Lindsay, with comprehensive online exhibition catalogue, increases knowledge of this little-known painter. More details at curators' website: www.spacetobreatheexpo.com
Girling was married to sculptor Anthony Caro, they had adjacent studios and trusted each other's opinions. Some of his smaller works are scattered throughout the exhibition.Pile of Reading Recommendations for Framed! in SeptemberHeather Gregg2024-08-16 | A range of books for different types of readers to help with:
- some ideas of where to begin - starting from not knowing about artists - I do have an artist I like but how can I develop that? - a month-long painless intro to the broad sweep of art history - tips and ways to approach going to gallery to look at art - if you're wanting to develop your creativity - a small light book to take on holiday/weekend - introduction to cinema in tiny instalments of 30 seconds, or a deeper dive - some lighthearted mixes of picture and words
At the end, there are 5 minutes of roaming through art books on my shelves at home - on a wide range of arts interests - if you'd like to know more about one of them, pop a query into the comments for this video.
Finding books to show reduced my living-room into staggering, teetering piles of books.... which to be fair isn't a lot different from how it looks at least once a week anyhow.
Your local library and bricks and mortar bookshop have devoted a section or two to this area, so there should be lovely books to look at, borrow and perhaps buy for reading in September.
My co-hosts for Framed! in September will be posting up their ideas for what to read too - so keep an eye out for those with Elisabeth @bouquinsbooks Hannah @HannahsBooks Lindy @lindysmagpiereads Greg @anotherbibliophilereads
Main books discussed - many only available secondhand - get newer editions if possible "The World's Greatest Art", General Editor Robert Belton, Flame Tree Publishing, 2004 "Modern Art - A Crash Course" by Cory Bell, Silverdale Books, 2003 "Design - A Crash Course" by Paul Clark & Julian Freeman, Silverdale Books, 2003 "Photography - A Crash Course" by Dave Yorath, Watson-Guptill, 2000 "Anne Redpath 1893-1965" by Patrick Bourne, Atelier Books, 2004 "Matisse the Master: a life of Henri Matisse, Vol 2 'The Conquest of Colour 1909 - 1954'" by Hilary Spurling, Hamish Hamilton, 2005 "Matisse, Picasso: the story of their rivalry and friendship" by Jack Flam, Westview Press, 2003 "Art the whole story" Thames & Hudson, 2010 "The Story of Art" by E H Gombrich. Edition shown 15th, but later ones also good "Why a Painting is like a Pizza: a guide to understanding and enjoying modern art" by Nancy G. Heller, Princeton University Press, 2002 "The Shock of the New: Art and the Century of Change. Updated and Enlarged Edition" by Robert Hughes, Thames & Hudson, 1991 "Seeing Slowly, looking at Modern Art" by Michael Findlay, Prestel, 2017 "The Artist's Way: A course in discovering and recovering your creative self" by Julia Cameron. (Any edition). "How to be an Artist" by Jerry Saltz, Ilex, 2020 "The Accidental Masterpiece: on the Art of Life and Vice Versa" by Michael Kimmelman, Penguin Books, 2005 "30 second Cinema: the 50 most important ideas, genres and people in the history of movies, each explained in half a minute" Editor Pamela Hutchinson, Ivy Press, 2019 "Film Analysis - a Norton Reader." 2nd Edition. Edited by Jeffrey Geiger and R L Rutsky, W W Norton & Company, 2013 "The Essential Spike Milligan" compiled by Alexander Games. Fourth Estate, 2002 "The Pythons: Autobiography" by the Pythons with Bob McCabe, Orion Books, 2003Poetry Thursday: Norman MacCaig July EveningHeather Gregg2024-08-15 | Norman MacCaig was a Scottish poet of the 20th Century.
Hear his short poem describing a summer evening in Scotland.Poetry Thursday: To the Generation knocking at the Door by John Davidson #PoetryThursdayHeather Gregg2024-08-08 | I read a Scottish poem for Poetry Thursday.
It's from a new edition of "Scottish Religious Poetry from the 6th Century to the Present" edited by Linden Bicket, Emma Dymock and Alison Jack. Edinburgh: St Andrew Press, 2024.Intriguing Book titles #WinningTitlesTagHeather Gregg2024-07-29 | Do we buy books because of their titles? What if the book is very different from the title!?
This is my field research via the books on my shelves.
I'm following the guidelines by channel @Heathereads for research - "Winning Titles" book tag...
To go to your shelves and find books with titles which are: 1. Funny 2. Shocking 3. Sound like a line of poetry 4. asking a question of the reader 5. heartwarming or homely 6. an unusual combination of words 7. fantastical 8. a contradiction or describes the impossibleDear New Writer.....Heather Gregg2024-07-24 | **Am I a writer? *Which genre should I write in? *Should I write a novel or short stories to learn writing quicker? *When I try writing, I just sound like a bad copy of my favourite writer... *I'm struggling with my first draft... *Who do I write for? *Are there any useful habits to try? *Is there a space for my writing?
This letter was sparked by a real life acquaintance who was just beginning to wonder if perhaps they were going to develop into a writer. I gave some specific (positive) advice to their situation, then thought a video of general information would be useful for more than one person.
And who doesn't enjoy getting a letter which they don't HAVE to reply to?!
(But if you want to stretch your writing, do put a comment or question below the video.)2024 Edinburgh College of Art Graduation ShowHeather Gregg2024-06-07 | My personal favourites from the end of year show by BA and MA students: paintings, sculpture, graphic design, textile.
I include some thoughts on my new thinking that we can all be and become an art patron - encouraging creatives in practical ways.
Congratulations to the students and staff, the show was very strong this year. I compared notes with a curator friend who selected quite different pieces as his top hits. Then I read the review in the Scotsman newspaper - which had very different artists it favoured, again - and only one in common with me (Jillian Lee Adamson). It's THAT good of a show!Favourite People TagHeather Gregg2024-05-06 | A mini film festival of film recommendations here, as I drag the answers back again and again to Cinema.
(Apologies for a few quiet occasional beeps in background from demented technology - I edited scrupulously to get rid of most beeps. Interesting switcheroo there - not beeping to cover bad language, but editing to get rid of beeping!).
Enjoy. I hope you watch one of the films or it reminds you of having watched it.
Gareth @bookssongsandothermagicA Creative week with Prompts2Heather Gregg2024-05-02 | Are you making with these prompts, writers, painters, dancers, film-makers, diarists, letterwriters, sculptors, songwriters..... ?
I am! I show what I made from last week's prompts (reasonable and replacements): a collage game, an interesting visual idea which became a terrible painting, and a combination of photos and poetry (or, arguably, lyrical prose).
At the end, I draw the prompts for next week.... your challenge, should you choose to accept it.
Get creative encouragement at: www/facebook.com/'HeatherGreggCreativeIn Your Wildest Dreams Book Tag!Heather Gregg2024-04-27 | Thank you to @heathereads for creating this book tag, which was fun to do for anyone who loves reading...
Questions I answer: 1. Your fantasy time and place to read a book 2. Your fantasy personal library (or your personal library if you have attained your fantasy!) 3. Imagine you have decided to build a bookshop. What would you call it? Would it sell new or second-hand books? Would it sell anything else? What features would you want in that shop? 4. One person (not a Booktube creator) with whom you can have a good conversation about books? If you don’t know a person like this, who do you know that you wish would become a reader so that you could talk books with them? 5. If you won a million dollars (or pounds or yen or Euros, etc) and you could only spend it on books or book related items, how would you spend it?
The video ends with me listing 24 books I'd like to have one day - out of a longlist of around 600.Creative Prompts 2 for youHeather Gregg2024-04-22 | Occasional prompts for creativity - 2 words and some colour.
What do these mean to you, or remind you of? How could you express that in your making? Whether it's a journal entry, painting, poem, tune, sketch, ceramic pot, idea for a character in your novel..... have fun with this and may it be a spark for your brain and your week.
Heather Gregg creates visual and verbal works, often inspired by words.Responses to Creative prompts 1Heather Gregg2024-04-21 | A few days ago, I trialled the first in a series of Creative prompts - 2 words.
Here are my thoughts along with some tips, a warm recommendation for a book to get you started painting if you haven't before - some show and tell about textiles.
Find out what is inspiring me and helping me to make, you may find it sparks a new idea for yourself.
Check out my online creative writing workshops at: eventbrite.com/cc/heather-gregg-creative-writing-online-592469Launch of Creative PromptsHeather Gregg2024-04-17 | The first in a series of two prompt words plus a tiny piece from a colourful abstract painting... all to get your creative juices flowing.
These little prompts could be the spark to a new short story, or sketch, or pot, or animation or haiku or... whatever you tend to make.
As this is the first one, I give you a couple of my responses afterwards. So feel free to pause the video after the words are shown, if you'd prefer not to know.
Let me know in the comments how you find this.
Get creative encouragement at: www/facebook.com/'HeatherGreggCreativeVideo poem Talking Point (Original)Heather Gregg2024-03-01 | I made this video poem to accompany my installation "Talking Point" in an old telephone box in St Andrews, Scotland - which will be exhibited until 5 May 2024.
As you can hear, I am thinking about the development of communication and art, through history, and in our own lived life.
The TELOS Project is celebrating the 100 years since the design of the first Telephone box, by inviting artists to show work in a particular phone box, in response to it.
The particular telephone box featured is the more modern, classic K6 design, released in 1935 to celebrate King George V's Silver Jubilee. It is believed that around 60,000 were built in the following 30 years. It is Category B listed.
Its location is in St Andrews, between two University Buildings: Beethoven Lodge (65 North Street) and the Younger Hall.
There will be an opening launch on Friday, 8 March from 10.30am. I will be giving out (free) poems I've written of imagined phone conversations from the past, and typing or handwriting some detail from the Friday and that time and space on each, to personalise.
The Telos Project requested proposals to explore the intersection of space and practice and responds to the theme of Telos - a Greek word used by Aristotle to mean "final cause of a natural organ or entity or of human art.... the supreme end of human endeavour."
(I was amused to notice that Aristotle is an anagram of Arti Telos.)Behind the Booktube TagHeather Gregg2024-02-26 | At long last, the overdue video as request tagged by Jolene @BookwormAdventureGirl many months ago. (Thank you for being so patient, Jolene).
A meditation on what it's like to be a booktuber, recommendations for new booktubers, what's surprising on the other side of the screen.
Answers to the questions:
//TAG PROMPTS// 1. What has surprised you the most about Booktube both in a good way and in a bad way? 2. How do you balance reading and Booktube with the rest of your life? 3. Have you ever thought about starting a Patreon? 4. Have you made any mistakes on Booktube? 5. Do you have any advice for new Booktubers? 6. What are your thoughts on the Youtube algorithm? 7a. How do you decide what videos to make? 7b. Are you ever overwhelmed with video ideas? 8. Have you regretted posting a video? 9a. Are the number of views/subscribers meaningful to you? 9b. Are the number of views/subscribers a measurement of success? 10. Are you disappointed by the growth on your channel? 11. Have you ever thought about quitting Booktube? 12a. What are the most touching comments? 12b. What are the most negative comments? 13. In regards to Booktube, where do you see yourself in five years?Books and resources for writingHeather Gregg2024-02-09 | Recommendations for books, podcasts for beginning writers and those wanting to move into selling their work.
I write with huge variety of media: camera, pen and paper, self-published poetry pamphlet, comedy scripts, songs - so this resource list covers those.
This is a handout of resource list which I'm bringing to a Workshop at a Conference - so am bringing it to a wider audience here.Exit, pursued by SquirrelHeather Gregg2024-01-16 | (Answers to 300+ subs questions) Come outdoors with me as I answer questions on the future of fiction writing, favourite art, places, books and (drumroll) advice to someone considering starting their own Booktube channel.
Along the way I get stalked by wildlife, encounter a frozen pond and a hairy tree.
Thank you to everyone for their interesting questions. Enjoy!
Thank you for volunteering questions: @EveningReader @heathereads @MargaretPinard @anenthusiasticreader @PageTurnersWithKatja @LifeLessonsFromBooks @materiagrixSmorgasbord of Recommendations 1Heather Gregg2023-12-31 | A heap of recommendations for books, podcasts, films, comedies, art, poetry I've enjoyed in the past 12 months or so. Is there such a thing as TOO many recommendations? We can push that envelope if you would like to say 'yes' to seeing parts 2 and 3 of this.
Hope you find something to enjoy.
REFS: Still from “Napoleon” (Dir Abel Gance, 1927)
Podcast “Field Recordings” (sounds from across the world)
Barbara W. Tuchman “A distant mirror, the calamitous 14th Century”
I am Loud poets run training one-day workshops on spoken word poetry throughout Scotland and various classes online. Website: iamloud.co
George Eliot Bio Documentary on BBC: “Everything is connected - George Eliot’s Life”. Part of Arena Arts programmes, led by artist Gillian Wearing. A well researched, slightly experimental presentation. UK viewers with a TV licence can view it on BBC i-player: bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m000b8nj/arena-everything-is-connected-george-eliots-life
Film: “Cinema Verité - Defining the Moment” (Dir Peter Wintonick, 1999) An early example was “Primary” with a new lightweight camera recording at the shoulder of J F Kennedy as he went on the political campaign with Jackie.
“Postcards from Penguin Modern Classics” One hundred Writers in One Box.
Leakey’s Bookshop, Inverness Youtube Video: “Tyler Cowen on Reading 4/18/22” Channel: EconTalk Uploaded 18 April 2022 youtube.com/watch?v=rmR3GJHI0-Y&t=3474s A wide range of classic literature are discussed.
Insta post from fashion designer Erica Davies
BBC Sitcom: “W1A” (2014) Favourite line from Series 1 Episode 1. UK Television Licence holders can view at BBC i-player: bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/b05s9g2q/w1a
Book: Francesca Wade “Square Haunting: Five women, freedom and London between the Wars”Invitation to 300+ subs Q&AHeather Gregg2023-12-29 | Pleased to have just clocked over 350 subscribers - let's have a post-Christmas pudding, blow-away-the-cobwebs Q&A to celebrate!
Just leave your questions in the comments field below. Please give generously. When there's a group of them gathered, I'll spring into reply mode.
If you're thinking of beginning your own Youtube channel, there's a special message on this video for you!Encyclopedia becomes air (1 minute)Heather Gregg2023-12-15 | The video explanation for this short video is in a separate video: "Encyclopaedia becomes air: a book and art collaboration" youtu.be/58k2h5xJDDU
I'm taking part with artist Matthew Herring @matthewherring8834 on his Encyclopedia Project - making the pages of an old Encyclopedia into a round sculpture - working through the alphabet.
I was provided with a couple of pages in the "H" volume for inspiration - and became intrigued with the intermedial: where a variety of different arts crossover. So in this example, the letters are not static shapes on a page - that is just the foundation, the background - in this case, one of the encyclopedia pages. But the words become sounds so there is reading performance and embodiment, there is movement and with a dash of my trademark sense of absurd humour. Pronouncing different "h"s is a very physical things - if you try it yourself, you'll find tongue, palate, nose, throat, lungs and teeth are having a good workout.
Thankfully, I was able to work with an animator, Ben Gregg, who has a very good sense of stop-motion and so together we made the short film in about 6 hours.
Reading out loud moves us physically; reading silently can move our thinking.
Get creative encouragement at: www/facebook.com/'HeatherGreggCreativeEncyclopaedia Becomes Air - a book & art CollaborationHeather Gregg2023-12-15 | How I came to make an experimental film as part of a collaboration with artist Matthew Herring and a shelf of old books.
Check out my online creative writing workshops at: eventbrite.com/cc/heather-gregg-creative-writing-online-592469Christmas video Card 2023 | Invitation to creativityHeather Gregg2023-12-12 | I've made this video card to send you holiday greetings in December - and to invite you to take part in some creativity...
Most of the video is a low-fi video and photos of a recent journey through icy and snowy part of the Highlands of Scotland. But it's silent.
You are invited to take part by finding some music or words which you think would accompany it well - and naming them in the comments section! Just name the music track and performers or book extract or poem or.... whatever.
(As an intermedial artist and creative mentor, creating across the disciplines, I'm particularly fascinated with how different sounds applied to the same visuals creates a different message or viewing experience. So I think this should be an interesting experiment.)
Check out my online creative writing workshops at: eventbrite.com/cc/heather-gregg-creative-writing-online-592469Bookish A-Z Hot or Not Tag, Take 2 (with traffic suppression)Heather Gregg2023-12-02 | The same video as I released yesterday, with hideous background roar of traffic removed by my wonderful sound engineer (Reader, I married him). He used ClarityFX by Waves Audio
What is left is now apparently a forceful woman belligerently shouting for no apparent reason. (At the time of recording, I had to raise my voice to hear myself think). You may want to lower the volume.
As before, This Hot or Not Tag is series of 26 questions, created by Gregg @anotherbibliophilereads Original video: youtube.com/watch?v=yuhS0L6zXVU&t=0s
The Prompts: A - Audiobooks B - Bildungsroman. Dealing with a person's formative years or spiritual education. C - Children's Books D - Digital E - Experimental F - Fantasy G - Graphic Novel H - Horror I - Inspirational J - Journalism K - Kitsch. Has a popular or sentimental appeal. L - Library M - Mystery N - Non-Fiction O - Omnibus P - Poetry Q - Quests. When the protagonist goes on a quest physical or spiritual. R - Romance S - Science Fiction T - Translation. Books translated from one language into another. U - Übermensch. The superman or the extraordinary human. Characters who can everything. V - Victorian. Literature from 1837 to 1901. W - Western X - X Rated Y - Young Adult Z - Zeitgeist. Spirit or mood of the times
Check out my online creative writing workshops at: eventbrite.com/cc/heather-gregg-creative-writing-online-592469Bookish A to Z Hot or Not Tag (outdoors in Scottish snow)Heather Gregg2023-12-02 | I go outdoors in below freezing temperatures to answer a quickfire list of 26 types of books/reading - do I like them or not? (Hot or not). It seemed appropriate to show extremes of temperature.
There is a strong noise of traffic in the background, so I had to raise my voice - which makes me sound pushy and over-emphatic about the answers. But even the most mild-mannered would have had to do the same to be heard. And the words are clear. Enjoy the snow in Scotland! (there is a bonus bird-sighting).
The Prompts: A - Audiobooks B - Bildungsroman. Dealing with a person's formative years or spiritual education. C - Children's Books D - Digital E - Experimental F - Fantasy G - Graphic Novel H - Horror I - Inspirational J - Journalism K - Kitsch. Has a popular or sentimental appeal. L - Library M - Mystery N - Non-Fiction O - Omnibus P - Poetry Q - Quests. When the protagonist goes on a quest physical or spiritual. R - Romance S - Science Fiction T - Translation. Books translated from one language into another. U - Übermensch. The superman or the extraordinary human. Characters who can everything. V - Victorian. Literature from 1837 to 1901. W - Western X - X Rated Y - Young Adult Z - Zeitgeist. Spirit or mood of the timesAnthony Blunt: His lives by Miranda Carter (500 pages) - #DrNo-vemberHeather Gregg2023-11-21 | Your eyes do not deceive you - this is a review of a spy biography of Anthony Blunt, the "Fourth Man" in the Cambridge Spy Ring of the 1950s.
Filmed in surround vision, this experimental microfilm was smuggled out of the shoeshop in the heel of a size 5 suede ankle boot. The sequel was in the other boot, but it was mislaid.
While the international search for that boot continues, please listen to this and decide if it's a book you would like to read? Clues may be provided.
Book reviewed: Miranda Carter, "Anthony Blunt: his lives" (Macmillan, 2001)
Would be particularly good for anyone already reading about the Cambridge Ring of spies in the 1940s/50s.
I enjoyed the art history references, the colourful descriptions of the Courtauld Institute and references to Louis MacNeice (fellow schoolboy and poet).3 Mysteries: Chanel, Kaffe & a conversationHeather Gregg2023-11-15 | I harvest some new-to-me books: 4 Library books, 3 secondhand books.
I stumble across 3 mysteries: Chanel's hand, a strange inscription by Kaffe Fassett and a quirky overheard conversation.
Books shown: Hal Vaughan "Sleeping with the enemy: Coco Chanel, Nazi Agent" Helen MacInnes "The Double Image" Helen MacInnes "The Unconquerable" P G Wodehouse "Aunts aren't Gentlemen"
Kaffe Fassett "Glorious Needlecraft" Victoria Moore "The Wine Dine Dictionary" Evelyn Waugh "Put out more flags"
Inspired by the Booktube fiesta of spyreading, I get 5 library books, give a movie recommendation for a film without spies but with comedy, and little hmmming about library layout.
Check out my online creative writing workshops at: eventbrite.com/cc/heather-gregg-creative-writing-online-592469London: The Silver Unicorn of Booktube goes Secondhand book shoppingHeather Gregg2023-11-02 | Humorous. An unusual bookshop visit to a rather wonderful secondhand bookshop in Teddington, London - Fara Books.
Check out my online creative writing workshops at: eventbrite.com/cc/heather-gregg-creative-writing-online-592469Charleston Farmhouse Festival Appearance! #authortubeHeather Gregg2023-10-31 | Giving a reading at a Festival at Charleston Farmhouse - my first Festival appearance, at the aptly named "Small Wonder" Festival.
How did I get the gig without a publisher or agent or book to advertise? And what was the experience like?
Check out my online creative writing workshops at: eventbrite.com/cc/heather-gregg-creative-writing-online-592469Victorian Literature Journey Tag with bonus Bingo card!Heather Gregg2023-10-11 | My response to the current Tag on Victorian literature - very popular - my video contains a bonus bingo card to check off with any version of the tag - are certain key authors and books mentioned?
Thank you to @scallydandlingaboutthebook2711 and @tillysshelf who launched the Tag with their usual verve with this video: youtube.com/watch?v=tAk_vkiHq8I&t=149s You'll find the questions listed on their video. (Credit also to the hosts of Shaketember last month, who created the Shaketember Journey Tag on which this is based.)
Thank you, Hannah @HannahsBooks for tagging me, it's been a blast. I tag people to make this video who haven't made a Booktube video in forever - or ever.
Check out my online creative writing workshops at: eventbrite.com/cc/heather-gregg-creative-writing-online-592469Response Video: What a Corker!Heather Gregg2023-10-09 | An off-the-cuff, one take, unedited (except to boost audio) excited response to videos reading a favoured book. Started by Mark @BookTimewithElvis weaponised by @saintdonoghue and @MichaelRomeoTalksBooks
Mine will have a tiny reading audience - it's about where modern/contemporary art may have gone wrong and gone right in the past 100 years. I love the way the writer, Andrew Marr, describes and analyses it all - in just a couple of minutes.
Check out my online creative writing workshops at: eventbrite.com/cc/heather-gregg-creative-writing-online-592469Vlog: National Library Scotland, Edinburgh (Folktales exhibition)Heather Gregg2023-10-07 | A bookish visit to the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh - to an exhibition on gathering folks tales - includes a wee look ('keek') at the National Library of Scotland's cafe, bookshop and giftshop (a combined space on the ground floor.)
In the 1800s, John Francis Campbell of Islay had the foresight to realise that the old folk stories needed to be captured before they were lost. Accordingly, he set out to handwrite the stories from local storytellers.
The current exhibition displays his books and watercolour landscape paintings, tells a little of his life story and encourages visitors to read, hear and even make up new folk tales in both Gaelic and English.
For more details, check out the National Library's website: NTL.uk
Check out my online creative writing workshops at: eventbrite.com/cc/heather-gregg-creative-writing-online-592469Words & Pictures SoupHeather Gregg2023-09-21 | In which I attempt to make soup while discussing the Good Stuff I've discovered this week: an eccentric poet, a biography of a fashion designer, recommending a good BBC TV documentary, a guide to writing sitcoms and the audiobook and hardback which I really really want.
A key question is posed: "Do Jane Austen fans tend to like Anthony Trollope or not? Is there a correlation?"
I show a photograph of my "currently reading" book piles, all 3. Hopefully will soon make a video showing the books individually.
Should none of the books/scripts/writings in the video interest you - well at least you'll have a good soup recipe.
Bon Appetit.Secondhand Lives at Leakeys bookshop (Inverness)Heather Gregg2023-09-19 | Shelves of biographies and a few thoughts in the Entertainment section of Leakey's Secondhand Bookshop (Inverness) during a recent visit.
Books and lives - why read biography?
What if the books spoke to each other?
Leakeys is a first-rate secondhand bookshop - probably the largest in Scotland - and is mentioned with excited contented sighs by keen bookreaders who've been there. A home from home to the travelling reader. (This is an unsolicited vote of confidence; no sponsorship is involved)
leakeysbookshop.comMy book hauls smaller than yoursHeather Gregg2023-08-29 | Yes! Bucking the trend for gigantic book hauls, I have a teeny tiny wee book party with 2 packages in the post of secondhand books.
I angle the questions to fit an eclectic range of "classics" including nonfiction, art and illustrated books. Includes a free rant, my own idiosyncratic interpretations of "classic book" and much wiser thoughts - from other people - on what makes a classic: Ian Christie: “What makes a film classic?” youtube.com/watch?v=ABn7DTJjxf8&t=43s Carolyn Rose Marie: “How do you define a classic book?” youtube.com/watch?v=J04dHb0p2fs&t=3s
Answers to the Tag start at 6 mins 30 in.
Tag Questions: 1) The one with a gripping plot and universal themes 2) The subversive one 3) The one which defines a time and a place 4) The complex, ground-breaking one 5) The ones with the archetypal characters 6) The one that’s a complete one off 7) The one we quote from all the time 8) The rediscovered classic or The book you believe should be "a classic" in the future.
At the end, I give a bonus question: which famous, well-loved and universally praised classic book do I loathe?Textiles, humour and makingHeather Gregg2023-08-11 | One cartoonist's frustration with embroidery going wrong brought a sympathetic expression on social media from a range of sewists and knitters.
I chat about some textile makes and makers that inspire me for quilting, knitting, sewing clothes and tapestry. There are books and youtube channels recommended.Tag: Judging Books by their CoversHeather Gregg2023-06-30 | 38 glorious examples of book design and 4 shockers. One of my favourite books manages to qualify for both categories. 12 Questions. Length: 35 minutes and a furlong.
(Tag ancestor: the Aesthetics of book covers tag but NOT to be confused with the different questions on “Judging a book by its cover” Tag)
This tag wants great examples of book design in these categories:
1. colour combinations 2. font 3. simple cover 4. endpapers 5. maps 6. naked hard cover 7. back cover 8. chapter headings 9. spine 10. drawing on the cover 11. best covers 12. worst covers
At 8 minutes and a farthing, I casually lob in a highly divisive current question. Only listen to it if you’ve taken your blood pressure tablets today.
At the end of the video, I recommend a previous video featuring details on my Worst Book Cover - it can be found on: youtube.com/watch?v=g92j43HSUE8&t=2s at 4 mins 30
For anyone interested in book design, this Tag is a must. Go on, show us your book collection!
I tag thee, @StDonoghue, on thy Fainting Couch. I find it very hard to believe that you have not tackled this already in your gazillion Tag adventures - but repeated questioning of the Youtube database says not.
For those who stick through to the end, there is a special recommendation.Edinburgh College of Art Graduate Show 2023Heather Gregg2023-06-10 | My highlights tour (10 mins) of 2023 show of graduate and postgraduate art at Edinburgh College of Art.
Each summer, art colleges everywhere run an end of year show for free, and I encourage you to attend. If you would like to start making an art collection, this is an affordable place to start.
Hundreds of artworks very well displayed, in well-lit rooms (huge windows) and high ceilings. The building is quite beautiful in its own right. I show just a few of my favourite artworks - but this was just on one visit - I would really need to visit multiple times to see everything. (Perhaps next year). You may of course spy adjacent artworks which spark your enthusiasm.
Video helps to show the layout and display of the show (very good) and moves around some three-dimensional artpieces, or shows them with doors or people which helps give a sense of scale.
The College currently has a very good website displaying photos of the artwork and more information about the art and artists at: graduateshow.eca.ed.ac.uk
If you see any work you'd like to buy, obviously early career prices reward the purchaser. Young artists now routinely have websites and you should be able to find these via the Edinburgh College website for this exhibition.