When I met up with my lovely friend Carianne last August, it was inevitable that we would swap some books – although we’re book-and-running-and-running-book friends now, we started off as BookCrossing friends wayyyyyy back. So she very kindly brought me over some books and I gave her some and may have caused her to buy some I recommended from the charity shops of Stratford Upon Avon. She’s an inveterate New Yorker, and has actually participated in this guy’s walks, so it was a great one to have and I’ll keep it for when I eventually do go there. Lovely incomings for Shiny below!

Cy A. Adler – “Walking the Hudson: From the Battery to Bear Mountain”

(23 August 2018 – BookCrossing)

An interesting guidebook covering the first reaches of a proposed longer walk up the Hudson River through a series of “greenways” which will run alongside it to it source, from New York (or vice versa, of course). As well as the usual guidebook stuff of maps, explanations, points of interest and a thorough coverage of toilet stop opportunities, it includes background information on how it was formalised so far, Adler’s letters to the papers, etc. I got much more of an impression of New York around the river than I formerly had.

Lovely Thames and Hudson generously allowed me to pick some books from their autumn catalogue to review for Shiny New Books. Even though I do have piles of books at hand sometimes, I love my privileged spot as one of Shiny’s non-fiction reviewers, and these are great.

“The Pursuit of Art” by Martin Gayford (and isn’t that a gorgeous cover, and yes, those amazing pumpkins are featured) is essays about his travels to and encounters with both works of art and artists. I’ve read this already and it’s a great, unpretentious read, intelligent but without the pomposity and jargon that can accompany writing on art.

Simon Armstrong’s “Street Art” is in their fab “Art Essentials” series and looks marvellous, a good study of the topic with plenty of pictures and an expert to link themes together.

“How to Read a Photograph” is a lovely hefty tome which takes a long journey through all those photographers you’ve heard of, from the very earliest to the ones operating now, and shows you how their photographs are good and why. I’ll be wrestling Matthew for possession of this one!

What lovely incomings this week, and fun reading once I’ve finished my Murdoch. Now to write 800-1000 words on the first one …