Monocolumn

A daily bulletin of news & opinion

22 December 2011

Our selection of catch-up reading titles for the holidays includes a comics collection by London-based publisher Nobrow, useful economic insights by Emanuel Derman and the latest novel by JM Ledgard.

1 COMICS

—Nobrow 6

Nobrow is a niche, independent publisher that has long been a favourite of ours and we’re very pleased to see this superb collection of illustrations and comics hot off the press. Over the years, what started as a collection of illustrators work has evolved into one of the foremost anthologies of comic art out there. Grumpy anthropomorphic cats and dolly-mixture beings together with more sublime illustration work are printed on a reassuringly sturdy paper stock.

2 ECONOMICS

—Models. Behaving. Badly by Emanuel Derman

Often seen as gurus in Wall Street, “quants” – physicists working as quantitative analysts – have learnt that financial models don’t always predict the future, especially if they don’t take the human factor on account. Once a quant himself at Goldman Sachs, Emanuel Derman goes beyond economics and analyses market and life models that have proved not to be infallible – with sometimes disastrous consequences.

3 FICTION

—Submergence by JM Ledgard

Submergence is a meticulously crafted rendition of the oceanic and far reaching tide of devotion, love, pain or belief that can drown the human condition. The novel is intriguingly global without itself submerged by banal topicality. From Somali Islamists in the desert to an oceanologist at sea off Greenland, the author grasps the demons and pleasures that come with an overriding and all-consuming political or amorous attachment.

4 HISTORY

—Vanished Kingdoms by Norman Davies

Davies’ “history of half-forgotten Europe” gives us a meandering journey through Tsernagora, Borussia, Litvia and many other European vanished realms. At a time when the unity and disunity of Europe is put to the test like never before, Davies accomplishment is totally pertinent as it takes the reader to an unparalleled historical voyage that unwraps this magnificently diverse continent.

5 ART

—A Bigger Message: Conversations with David Hockney by Martin Gayford

For any lover of Hockney’s work, the publication of this record of a decade of conversations will be a seminal moment. The conversations are as vivid, varied and vivacious as the artist and his work. If the conversations are not riveting enough, the edition is peppered with utterly charming illustration plates featuring classics as well as more obscure pieces. All in all a perfect art read.

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