The World In A Selfie By Marco D'eramo - An Enquiry into the Tourist Age - Book Review

 The World In A Selfie

An Inquiry into the Tourist Age

By Marco D'ramo Published in English in 2021

Press Release

We were all tourists at some point in our lives. So, why did we look down on people taking selfies in front of the Tower of Pisa? What licensed our condescension? Was there really much to distinguish the package holiday from hipster city-breaks to Berlin or Brooklyn? Why did we invest so much in an activity we professed to despise? 

The World in a Selfie offers a spirited critique of the cultural politics of a tourist age that, at least for a while, has come to an end with the pandemic. Marco d’Eramo investigates what might happen if that virus-inspired pause proves permanent. Tourism is not just the most important industry of our century, generating huge waves of people and capital, calling forth a dedicated infrastructure, and upsetting and repurposing the architecture and topography of our cities. It also encapsulates the problem of modernity: the search for authenticity in a world of ersatz pleasures. 

D’Eramo retraces the grand tours of the first globetrotters – from Francis Bacon and Samuel Johnson to Arthur de Gobineau and Mark Twain – before assessing the cultural meaning of the beach holiday, the ‘UNESCO-cide’ of major heritage sites, and the impossibility of tourism during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Will the industry recover from the coronavirus lockdowns or has self-isolation taken away our wanderlust – not to mention the earnings to pay for it? The impact of an end to tourism will be immense but, as d’Eramo suggests, may also be liberating.

About the Author

Marco D’Eramo is an Italian journalist and social theorist. He worked at the newspaper il manifesto for over thirty years. He writes for New Left Review, MicroMega and the Berlin daily Die Tageszeitung. His books include The Pig and the Skyscraper, which has been translated into several languages.

My Review:

I really didn't know what to expect when I received this book to review. It's definitely opened my eyes to just what damage tourism can do. I had no idea how the ski slopes, which are for fun and obviously professional sport, are causing untold problems to the ground beneath. I don't think people realise that everywhere now is becoming a tourist attraction and somewhere to escape to.

I suggest everybody reads this book especially now after all of the lockdowns we've had due to the Covid Pandemic, and that they take stock and appreciate what they've got at home, and not to go flying round the world to sit on a beach as a way of escape. I hope they think of the damage to the environment that's caused, decide not to add to it, enjoy what they have nearer home and at the same time treat all destinations as the precious places they are. 

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If Cats Could Talk...Would They Cry? By Anatoli Scholz - Book Review

If Cats Could Talk…  
Would They Cry? 

By Anatoli Scholz Published 28^th May 2020 

A modern ‘Metamorphosis’ that speaks to the themes of our time – isolation, identity and desperation for connection 

• An entertaining novella with a philosophical outlook, If Cats Could Talk… Would They Cry introduces Julie Galles. An introvert in an extrovert’s world, Julie is stuck in a rut - until the day she wakes up as a cat. Can a feline perspective help her to reconnect with humanity? 

• Core issues of companionship, authenticity and purpose are explored with a lightness of touch and an off-beat charm. A book that readers can really connect to. 

• The son of Soviet scientists, Anatoli Scholz has lived in the US, France, Ireland and many other countries. He has never lived in one place for more than two years. Anatoli is currently locked-down in Spain and is available for interview. 

• Beautifully illustrated with playful vignettes by Spanish artist Félix Diaz de Escauriaza. 

‘It took her turning into a cat to focus on being human again.’ 

Julie suddenly and unexpectedly transforms into a cat, taking her on a journey that provides a fresh perspective on her life. 

An update on Kafka’s METAMORPHOSIS, this entertaining and playful novella explores notions of authenticity, connection and societal expectation. 

About the Author

ANATOLI SCHOLZ was born in Moscow and raised in the US, Germany and Ireland. He has never lived in one place for more than two years and he speaks seven languages. He currently lives in Spain; before that he lived in Paris, in the very road where this book is set. This is his third book. 

If Cats Could Talk… Would They Cry? will be available in paperback and ebook editions 

My review

As a cat lover you can imagine how the title of this little book intrigued me and I looked forward to reading it. First, I flicked through the pages keen to see the illustrations and was not disappointed, they are charming.

In truth I struggled with the first few pages but decided to stick with it and I'm so glad I did. This is a good book. I enjoyed reading it. Julie Galles is an interesting and likeable, protagonist in both human and cat form. All of the characters are interesting and well put together, plus the story flows well.

The author, Anatoli Scholz, has given us a novella that is both entertaining and thought provoking. It may well resonate with many readers on a personal level and turn into a page turner for them as it did for me.

Ellen Dean Recommends

Stained Fortune by Joe Calderwood - Book Review

                                                                      

For Four Million Bucks, This Ex-Con Is Willing To Take The Biggest Risk Of His Life

Asheville, NC, March 22, 2018 ― Career criminal Clint Kennedy, a bisexual man with a background in finance and shady deals, moved to Mexico for a fresh start. While it's not in his plan to land in a Mexican jail, this adrenaline junkie would do just about anything for the right price – and since the right price for this job is four million, he's willing to risk it!

From his nighttime prowls through Mexico's seedy backstreets, to the thunderous roar of the bull ring, to the gleaming towers of Miami's most prestigious banks — Clint lived for each new adrenaline rush, even if jail was almost inevitable.

In Stained Fortune, the new suspense thriller from Joe Calderwood, we meet Clint Kennedy, a career criminal who grew up poor alongside friends with money. And now it was his turn to enjoy the good life. He will do anything to make money, and sometimes he'll pay. But that's a risk he's more than willing to take.

Following his first prison sentence for running an escort business in Miami, Clint moves to Mexico for a fresh start. A chance meeting with a Mexican bullfighter who also happens to be a drug kingpin sends Clint down a path toward his biggest payday ever. 

And all he has to do is move millions of dollars, undetected, from Mexico to a United States bank account. All without raising suspicion. All free and clear. And he would keep four million of it. But the tiniest mistake could cost him everything.

About the Author:

Author Joe Calderwood was born and raised in Homestead, Florida, and graduated from college in 1971 with a BBA. For many years, he was a practicing CPA in Florida before beginning his career as a serial entrepreneur. He's owned, so far, seven different businesses, and currently owns a 55-lot development in Western North Carolina. Stained Fortune is his debut book and the first in a planned three-part Clint Kennedy series. He lives in Western North Carolina with his partner of 36 years and spouse of three years, Gil.

My Review

Well, I've always wondered how people laundered money, and after reading Stained Fortune, I know. A little something to tickle your fancy...I once laundered money (by mistake) when I put my trousers in the washing machine and there was a £10 note still in the pocket. 

About the book: I felt I really got to know the characters very well and so wanted Clint Kennedy, the main character, to succeed in his pursuits even though it was wrong of him to do what he was doing. Clint is a kind of Marmite character, you either love him or hate him, I loved him. For a first book it was engaging, not too much description (but at the same time such attention to detail) and it flowed easily. My kind of book. It's what I call a page turner. All of the characters were easy to follow and I could picture them as though I was watching them on a film. This book has more twists than a Pasta Twirl.

Ellen Dean Recommends