Go With Me - Volume 1

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treasures:

MORE, LIVE LONGER

Poster and go with me Library card inside

The KAFKA’S PRAGUE EXPLoring the city with claws

JOurney into

Welsh

Middle Earth

MYTHS, LEGENDS and henwen the pig

CONTENTS

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Gifts For book lovers read & live longer charting new worlds: maps in tales a Commuters guide to reading exploring mythological prydain the journey of a blank page Bowie Book Club 52 Book Challenge sappho, women and letters KAFKA IN PRAGUE WALES’ LITERARY WONDERS iNTOXICATING bOOKS: novels and wine pOETRY Corner

Go With Me is the ultimate literary travel companion. Figuratively, a ‘Vade Mecum’ (meaning ‘Go With Me’) is a book that one keeps by one’s side or close to hand, so that it can be easily consulted for guidance or inspiration. We have taken this as our ethos and aim to unlock spaces for readers to escape into. Leave the daily grind behind and delve into fascinating worlds of fiction, be they contemporary or classic.

Hear from writers in the UK and beyond, discover the sources of literary inspiration from around the world and listen to our Go With Us podcast as we discuss the latest releases. If you want to discover exciting new fictional worlds, see beautiful new illustrations, and get through that pile you’ve been meaning to read (us too!) then come with us: the journey will make you forget your destination.

VADE MECUM noun a handbook or guide that is kept constantly at hand for consultation. “his book is an excellent vade mecum for writers” Modern Latin: literally ‘Go With Me’

@go_with_me_mag

@gowithme_mag Cover Illustration Diana Shtereva is an architecture student and freelance illustrator. She describes herself as a friendly neighbourhood artist living between Belgium, Austria and Bulgaria. You can follow her on Instagram @diaart or check out her website: www. dianashtereva.com

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Volume 1 - Mythology

Welcome

Every volume of Go With Me comes with our book reconmendations following a theme. This volume’s theme is: Mythology3

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Gifts

Book Lovers

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For a unique literary treat for a fellow book lover (or, let’s be honest, for you!) we’ve got you covered 1. Fully Booked Tent

John Steinbeck once wrote in Travels with Charley: “People don’t take trips— trips take people.”

If you’re ready to be taken away by a trip in the great outdoors, or know a book lover who is, you can do it in style with this nifty tent designed in the UK. The two-person tent’s book design is enough to make our hearts sing, and it will make sleeping under the stars with your companion extra dreamy.

Find this delightful tent at: fieldcandy.com.

2. E-reader cases by Klever Case

If an e-reader is your reading format of choice, then Klever e-reader cases are the perfect little gift idea to give any e-reader an old-fashioned book

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THE ODYSSEY

Emily Wilson Emily Wilson, the first woman to translate Homer’s epic poem, captures the beauty of the ancient work and brings us an enthralling version of The Odyssey.

cover makeover. Some Klever Cases are in the style of a vintage hardback and include the option to put your own personalised message on the inside cover to add some additional charm to your e-reading experience.

Find it at klevercase.com.

3.The Literary Gift Company

If you want to show off your love of a book or quote, the literary gift company is where it’s at. Scroll through their site and you’re sure to find just the right little piece for you. From enamel pins to quirky necklaces and earrings, to homeware and stationery, this site offers a whole array of charming gift ideas for any book lover out there.

Discover treasures at: theliterarygiftcompany.com.

4.Blind Date with a Book

We’ve all had a love affair with a favourite book, so why not have a blind date with one too? This enchanting idea takes the premise of ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ to new heights by sending you a hand wrapped book with only a few words on the front. The words act as clues to worlds you're about to explore, and you can tailor it to your own tastes.

Our hearts are all aflutter.

Go on a blind date over on their website blinddatewithabook.com.

5. The Willoughby Book Club

The Willoughby Book Club offers a wide range of monthly subscription book boxes. By answering a selection of questions, the experts will put together the perfect subscription box for you.

Go to to thewilloughbybookclub. co.uk to get your subscription.

Words: Heather Wald

Read & live longer George R.R. Martin said a reader lives a thousand lives. Here are five ways reading can boost your well-being and make your life longer

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he feeling of accomplishment after completing a book; the new perspectives you’ve learnt from characters which you’ve come to love; the ability to shut the world out for a while and wake up somewhere new. For these reasons and infinite more, reading fulfils us and can form an integral part of a well-being routine which benefits both body and mind.

Follow our top five tips for self-improvement and nourishment through reading and use your journey into fiction as a personal journey to better living: Keep calm & read You may have noticed, when you read it is like practicing mindfulness. It focusses your attention and helps you to be present. Reading is like exercise but for the brain. You know the feeling after a good workout and how doing a sport regularly can keep your body fit and healthy? Well, it is the same for the brain. Regular reading can benefit your brain function, make you smarter and keep your brain active. And, we all know exercise is key to a longer life.

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Read before bed Reading before bed can help you sleep. The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) advise that

doing a relaxing activity before bed, such as reading, “helps separate your sleep time from activities that can cause excitement, stress or anxiety which can make it more difficult to fall asleep.” Plus, it makes you swap your smartphone for a book and NSF claim “the light from their screens can alert the brain and make it harder to fall asleep”. What better

People who read books just for 30 minutes a day, live longer reason to snuggle up with a good book before bed?

Enhance your selfdevelopment with a book Gain a book and gain more confidence too. Mental health charity Mind state: “Continued learning through life enhances self-esteem and encourages social interaction.” They suggest reading a book could be one of the ways of doing this. Reading can provide you with a wealth of knowledge. And having more knowledge means you have more to talk about in social situations, giving you a confidence boost as well. Investing just a few minutes a day can be beneficial for your personal development. As your confidence grows you’ll read more.

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Take a break from fiction & pore over a self-help book There are literally shelves and shelves of self-help books available.

They all offer something unique to target and improve a specific aspect of your life. But with a never-ending list of books out there, how do you choose which one to read? The SelfCare Project by Jayne Hardy, founder of the mental health foundation; Blurt, the international bestseller Ikigai, which provides “the Japanese secret to a long and happy life”, and “your route map to inner joy” and Happiness by Andy Cope, are just a few we recommend.

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A chapter a day will keep the doctor away Finding time to read is difficult, especially given the hustle and bustle of modern society. So, take a little me time and set a specific period for reading each day. A recent study, published in the journal of Social Science and Medicine, revealed that people who read books just for 30 minutes a day live longer than those who do not read at all. And the best thing - by taking time to read this article, you are already on your way.

Words: Gemma Harris

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Charting New Worlds O

Or, the role of maps in storytelling

n my wall at home, I have two maps. One is a picture-perfect realisation of the world, up to date, and with countries happily delineated in warm, friendly colours. The other is a replica of the Mappa Mundi, one of the earliest maps of the world, adorned with bizarre creatures and mythical locations that the map-makers had put on because they didn’t know any better. It’s completely wrong and therefore infinitely more interesting; I have no doubt about which version I would rather go and visit.

This is, of course, the beauty of a good map. They can turn fabrications into reality, take us to fantastic places that don’t exist and even shape the narrative we’re about to read. If anything, the fact that they’re entirely fictional actually adds to their appeal. After all, our maps of the real world are to us no more real than those in adventure tales with “here there be dragons” adorned in the top corner, since the majority of us will never visit more than a tenth of the planet. When faced with the competition of pirate treasure, mountains guarded

by dragons and planets on the back of turtles, it’s a wonder that reality can compete at all.

Throughout fiction, maps have fulfilled a wide range of purposes. Some operate as a point of spatial reference for the reader, some are an important item in the story itself and some have been drawn just to make the reader laugh.

Here are five of the most iconic fictional maps ever produced.

1. Treasure Island We start with Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic map that spawned a thousand copies. It is arguably the most famous chart in literature. Stevenson only has to give us one island, complete with hills, forest and swampland and suddenly we’re there. While Treasure Island is itself fictional, many Caribbean locations have claimed to be its inspiration; the most likely is Isla de Pinos, a former pirate haven off the south coast of Cuba. The map itself is actually an integral part of the story, with its discovery setting in motion the hunt for Captain Flint’s treasure, famously marked on with a bold, red X. As is the case with all maps, reality is always messier than its simplification on the page, a fact which the surviving heroes and villains of the Hispaniola realise to their dismay near the end of the novel.

Interestingly enough, the drawing of the romantic deserted isle was what inspired Stevenson to write his tale in the first place. In an essay from 1881, the author writes that as he “pored upon the map of Treasure Island, the future characters of the book began to appear there visibly among imaginary woods; and their brown faces and bright weapons peered out at me from unexpected quarters.”

Image: Wikimedia Commons.

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2. The Hundred Acre Wood Maps don’t necessarily have to cover widespread islands or entire fictional continents to be memorable; sometimes just reimagining your local neighbourhood is enough. In this wonderful map from Winnie the Pooh, all the destinations could be spots in your local forest, given purpose from the stories within the book. All the main characters have a house, even if it’s just a burrow or a patch of bog (poor Eeyore even loses out in the world of real estate).

In a lovely touch, the top of the map simply says ‘to North Pole’, perfectly encapsulating the terrible perception of distance we all have at eight years old.

Famously, Hundred Acre Wood is based on Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, and many of the locations within it are reimaginings of real places; the very first game of ‘Pooh sticks’, for instance, was played on a tributary of the River Medway.

Image: Classic Winnie the Pooh

3. Middle-Earth No article on noteworthy fictional maps would be complete without mentioning JRR Tolkien’s colossal map of Middle-Earth from The Lord of the Rings. It’s a staggering creation that both gives the world an ageless quality and similarly provides a reference for tracking the Fellowship’s journey through the trilogy as they travel from one side of the page to the other.

An annotated edition of the original map was acquired by the Bodleian library in 2016, with Tolkien providing scale references for the benefit of the illustrator, Pauline Baynes (artist on C.S. Lewis’ Narnia series too).

One such note reads “Hobbiton is assumed to be approx. at latitude of Oxford”, while Minas Tirith is “about latitude of Ravenna”.

Pauline’s iconic final edition is a ridiculously detailed feat, with tiny triangular mountains all perfectly shaded. It’s a map that’s been often emulated, but never beaten.

Image: Middle-Earth Xenite

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Anne Carson This epic retelling of Hercules’ tenth labour in a modern setting constantly defies expectations.

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4. Discworld Terry Pratchett’s Discworld is noteworthy among fantasy series for never actually turning to a map to show readers around. And why should it? The stories are always about the characters, not the destinations, which are often wilfully absurd and given names that imply they should be treated as such (Ankh-Morpork, Bad Ass and Fourecks, for example). As Pratchett himself said, “you can’t map a sense of humor.” However, with 17 published novels to his name Pratchett finally decided that humour just needed a really big scale. In 1995 The Discworld Mapp was put to print, albeit framed as an attempt by the planet’s guild of cartographers to make better sense of their surroundings.

The same could very much be said of the readers, who could see the world laid out at last.

5. The Lands Beyond Norton Juster’s classic pun-filled novel The Phantom Tollbooth has a fantastic map that pokes fun at all the others. Destinations include the long, windy road of the Doldrums (a region only escaped by thinking); a forest glade with Reality at one end, Illusions at the other and no clear border between the two; and best of all, the island of Conclusions, which the main characters jump to during the tale. When the opening map is this inventive, you know the story that follows will be something special.

Words: Dan Gibson

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Image: Thinglink

Image: Maggotus

A Commuter’s guide

to new galaxies

Travelling to and from work can be a slog, but our guide will take you on 5 journeys in 5 days

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They’re Made out of Meat - Terry Bisson Time to read: 5 minutes A darkly humorous, spare and frustrated dialogue about humankind by two unknown entities blasts open into the vast spaces of the universe and throws into question our sense of self. This is one you won’t be able to help thinking about for a while. Available on Terry Bisson’s website.

The Erl King - Angela Carter Time to read: 15 minutes A surreal trip into a forest that feels and which thrums with danger and beauty and excess. You’re trapped in its tendrils and the Erl King has you in his thrall. The delicious language of Carter’s short story will leave you terrified yet wanting more. Sumptuous, scary and irresistible. Available in Carter’s short story collection The Bloody Chamber.

Fjord of Killary - Kevin Barry Time to read: 25 minutes A middle-aged poet buys a hotel on a sea-battered cliff in Ireland, hoping the setting and its hilarious inhabitants will reinvigorate his work. Despite trying to be philosophical, our poet finds that life doesn’t quite look that way from the ground. Available at www.newyorker.com

Yesterday - Haruki Murakami Time to read: 30 mins Kitaru is unusual. Despite being born in Tokyo, his mismatched accent is a performance and he sings his own translation of the Beatles’ Yesterday in the bath while his new friend talks to him through the shutters. This quiet song about everyday life shines light into the corners of what makes us human. Available in Haruki Murakami’s new collection Men Without Women

St. Lucy’s Home for Girls Raised by Wolves - Karen Russell Time to read: 40 mins Russell’s prose bristles with kinetic energy as she explores the messy adolescent angst of a group of feral girls trying to understand who they are. Raised by wolves, they must now learn to assimilate into society under the guidance of nuns. It asks: how do we reconcile who we were with who we are becoming?

Available to purchase on Amazon.

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he days often don’t feel long enough to do nearly as much as we’d like. All of our picks, however, are short enough to be read on the way to and from work and are sure to inject the day with a vibrancy only possible by deviating from the usual. Shake colour into your day and discover new worlds!

AMERICAN GODS Neil Gaiman On an American roadtrip travelling ever deeper into surreal terrain, the old gods and the new are fiercely up in arms.

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Unearthing the hidden mythology behind the Welsh Lord of the Rings

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ales has a long and bountiful mythological history. Most of it stems from the Mabinogion, a collection of myths and legends rooted in Celtic folklore which date back to the 12th century.

This long lineage of stories was the inspiration for Lloyd Alexander’s fantasy epic, The Chronicles of Prydain, which serves as a very loose adaption of several story strands from the Mabinogion. The quintet is set in the mystical land of Prydain - Prydain itself is an ancient Celtic word for Wales amidst a backdrop of an epic battle between good and evil.

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nlike fantasy works such as The Lord of the Rings, the series does not deal in one elongated quest narrative, rather the series is episodic, a part-bildungsroman, following the central hero Taran, an assistant pig-keeper who is embroiled in efforts to defend the land from its scourge, Arawn Death-Lord. If you haven’t already guessed, The Chronicles of Prydain are my favorite book series. They were the first books that I well and truly discovered myself in as both a reader and writer. Prydain opened my eyes to the wonder of creating new worlds and the adventures that those worlds could harbour.

As the series evolves, so does Taran. Growing from an impulsive, selfish young boy in the opening Book of Three, to a courageous and self-sacrificing war hero in the closing book of the sage, the Newberry Medal winning The High King. aran’s journey throughout the five books are peppered with both characters and places both derived from and inspired by Welsh mythology. Principal of those is Prydain itself, whose geography is modelled heavily on that of Wales. Central characters like the principal villain, Arawn, the ancient enchanter Dallben and the noble Prince Gwydion and the Sons of Don all take their names directly from figures of Welsh myth. Gwydion’s Celtic counterpart is a vagabond magician and trickster who serves as the Mabinogion’s default main hero and Arawn himself is the lord of the Welsh underworld, Annwn.

The series’ author, Lloyd Alexander, was American but it was the land of Wales and its mythology that sowed the seed for what would become his magnum opus when Alexander was stationed in the country as a young man in the RAF. “My brief stay during Wales in World War II influenced my writing,” Alexander told Scholastic. “It was an amazing country.

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“For, as much as the series is a story of good versus evil, it is also the story of one boy’s journey into manhood” 12

It has marvellous castles and scenery. It has its own language.

It was quite an experience for me. I’m sure that stayed in my mind for a good many years and became part of the material for the Prydain books.” rydain itself leaps off the page; it’s a younger world than Tolkein’s Middle Earth and has less quasi-religious undertones than Lewis’ Narnia. Prydain, much like Wales in the Mabinogion, is a world full of beauty and hope, a land with a deep history and links to the fantastical. Prydain’s roots in Welsh mythology only help strengthen Alexander’s vision of the land as a peaceful and beautiful kingdom beset by a great evil. It’s also populated by a cast of loveable, original characters separate from Welsh mythology, like the magical princess Eilonwy, the bard Fflewdar Fflam and even our cover star, the oracular pig Hen Wen. Written by Alexander over a period of five years in the 1960s, for this writer, the greatest achievement of The Chronicles of Prydain is the authenticity of Taran’s journey throughout the saga. For, as much as the series is a story of good versus evil, it is also the story of one boy’s journey into manhood. And Taran is by no means a perfect character - indeed, throughout the series he makes several infuriating choices - but throughout the five books, Taran is given the opportunity to learn from his mistakes and become a hero.

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owhere is this journey more potent than in the series’ penultimate entry, Taran Wanderer. Originally conceived as a stop-gap in the series to fulfil Alexander’s book contract and hold anticipation for the final book, Taran Wanderer is a book dedicated entirely to Taran’s travels throughout Prydain to explore his lineage.

The narrative arc of the series crescendos in its epic conclusion, The High King, which won the Newberry Medal, an award given to the author of “the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children.”

The book sees Taran rally the people of Prydain to defeat Arawn once and for all. Like most epic fantasy concluding chapters, it sees beloved characters die, narrative strands tied up and a potently bittersweet ending as Taran accepts his destiny to become the High King of Prydain in the aftermath of the final battle against Arawn. I don’t know why I was so drawn to The Chronicles of Prydain as a child, even though

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my memories of my childhood are entwined with the books themselves, and the scenes of it and my life mingled. can remember, vividly, visiting my local library for the first time with my Nan and plucking up the courage to order the first book of the series, The Book of Three. I had become aware of Prydain thanks, in large part, to my adolescent devotion and obsession with Disney’s The Black Cauldron, which is a loose approximation of the first two books of the series. I can remember pausing my VHS copy of the film (no mean feat) and scribbling down the name of the book that had been turned into this terrifying film. I had to read them - I had to find out more.

From beginning to end, the series is soaked in the rich history of Welsh mythology, and it had real resonance with me just how interconnected the lands of Prydain and Wales were. Even to this day, the series remains a testament to the wonder of myth and imagination.

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Photo Credit: Portland District Library Map Credit: Wikimedia Commons, Brendan Wnderer

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Wales Explore mythological

GELERT’S GRAVE

DEVIL’S BRIDGE

CADAIR IDRIS

Where: Beddgellert, North Wales

Where: Aberystwyth, West Wales

Where: Gwynedd, North Wales

Why: The Legend of Gelert the dog is one of Welsh folklore’s most potent and heartbreaking tales.

Why: Devil’s Bridge Falls has an ancient legend attatched to it. So the story goes:

Why: Cadair Idris is a mountain range that is featured and referenced in Welsh mythology.

Llewellyn, Prince of Wales, returns from a hunt. His dog, Gelert, greets him but is covered in blood. Llewellyn rushes to his infant son’s room and finds the cot empty. Thinking Gelert killed the child, Llewellyn kills the dog, only for Gelert’s howl to wake up the sleeping infant, Llewellyn notices the dead body of a wolf; Gelert had killed the wolf to protect the child. Llewellyn buries Gelert and never smiles again.

An old woman near Aberystwyth cannot cross the river. The Devil appears and offers to build her a bridge, on the condition that he own the first living soul that crosses it. The Old Woman agrees to the bargain and takes a crust of bread from her pocket and calls to her dog, who runs after the bread across the bridge. The Devil, infuriated at being tricked, leaves Wales and is never seen again. The bridge still stands today.

Cadair Idris is said to be the hunting ground for Gwyn ap Nudd and his pack of spiritual hounds known as the Cwn Annwn. The howling of the Cwn Annwn was, according to myth, supposed to herald the death of anyone who heard the hounds’ cry. Gwyn and his pack would then sweep up that person’s soul and herd it to the underworld (Annwn), where it would become the property of its lord, Arawn.

How to get there: Beddgelert is a small village within Snowdonia in Gwynedd, North Wales. The nearest train station is Bangor, and from Bangor it will take you on average an hour and a half with two buses.

How to get there: Devil’s Bridge is located 12 miles from Aberystwyth.

A train and coach station are located in the town, The Vale of Rheidol Steam Railway then arrives at Devil’s Bridge and is a four-minute walk away from the falls.

How to get there: Cadair Idris is located at the southern end of the Snowdonia National Park, near the village of Dolgellau. Trains run to either Machynlleth or Barmouth, where bus services run to take you to the National Park.

Words: George Griffiths

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A Literary Podcast Listen now on SoundCloud: soundcloud.com/gowithus or jomec.co.uk/gowithme

“

The more you want to go the other way, the path that you were destined for is the one you will have to follow.

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Kavita Kane, Karna’s Wife

The Journey of a Blank Page Even notebooks carry hidden stories. Carole King leaves her prints all over hers.

The saying never judge a book by its cover is rarely listened to and is nigh on impossible to follow. A beautiful cover is like an intriguing face, each with a different expression beckoning us to learn more. The same applies to notebooks. A beautifully bound and designed notebook is the perfect catalyst to journaling or writing.

Though notebook designers rarely fill their pages with their own words, the prints and designs reveal personalities of their own.

Carole King is a Welsh bookbinder who crafts colourful, silken notebooks. Her workshop is her blank page. A hidden door from her garden leads to her studio and reveals shelves crammed with creative clutter - scrapbooks, papers, inks and tools - all necessary for the process of printmaking.

She spends most of her time in the workshop, and the space is communal.

She often finds her partner helping, silkscreen printing alongside her. Each of Carole’s designs is unique, either tailored to an artist’s own tastes or an invention of her own. She is currently working on her biggest challenge: 300 notebooks, each covered in woven silk fabric. The bespoke books are for the Clothworkers Guild in London and are fronted with a ram, as plants sprawl on the back cover. When she was younger, Carole visited her first art workshop in

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Oxford and ever since she has always hoped to return and teach others the craft she loves.

Seeing her pages filled with art and ideas is one of the joys of her bookbinding work. “It is most rewarding seeing my sketchbooks being used,” she says. “I have one artist who comes back to me every couple of months for another sketchbook. They are all covered with the same paper but in different colours.”

A notebook binded in a butter pat

Each one of her books starts as just paper, card and a large pot of glue. The initial designs are covered with handdrawn repetitive patterns often inspired by organic and geometric shapes.

Her designs are developed into multilayered stencils and hand printed using silk screen techniques in a wide variety of colours.

Carole’s covers are the trace she leaves of her own story, but she hopes the space sandwiched between them will be filled with the stories of their owner. Or, perhaps, simply their shopping list!

A selection of books Carole has recently completed

Words: Filiz Mehmedova Images: Carole King

Book Club

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There can surely be no better way of honouring someone than by engaging with the art and literature held dear by them

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f all the cultural icons to have passed away in recent years, you would be hard pressed to find one honoured as widely and as fervently as David Bowie.

Ranging from the conventional - the usual stream of re-releases and documentaries - to the bizarre - the decision to replace his Twin Peaks character with a demonic teakettle in the show’s long-awaited third season tributes to the enigmatic musician have continued to pour in steadily in the two years since his death.

Amongst these tributes, there can be few more personal or intriguing than the recent establishment of The Bowie Book Club, founded in January of this year.

The club invites readers to take on a different novel each month and to then discuss the chosen book with friends and family, the only common theme being that the novel is one that was once especially revered by Bowie.

There are two things that make the endeavour especially potent. Firstly the project was the brainchild of Bowie’s son, acclaimed film director Duncan Jones.

And secondly there can surely be no better way of honouring someone than by engaging with the art and literature held dear by them.

In launching the club on Twitter, Jones’ described his father as “a beast of a reader” and claimed that, he’d “been feeling a building sense of duty to go on the same literary marathon” in tribute to his father. And by inviting fans to go along on that journey with him, the club should allow for a great deal of stimulating discussion.

The selections will be drawn from Bowie’s own list of his 100 favourite novels. The list is about as eclectic as you might expect from someone so famous for reinvention, featuring works by writers from Muriel Spark to Jack Kerouac, via Mikhail Bulgakov, Spike Milligan and DH Lawrence.

Although the fact that Jones’ name is attached gives the new Bowie Book Club a sense of officiality, it is in fact not the first time a club of this kind has been started. Seattle-based podcasters Kristianne Huntsburger and Greg Miller first started their own version in early

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It shows how inventive he was in drawing on such a wide range of influences in his art

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2016, shortly after Bowie’s death, and have since hosted a monthly podcast about the project.

The pair had had a book club for over ten years prior to Bowie’s passing, but the decision to work through the list of his favourites gave them a new focus, and they both claim to have gained a lot from the new approach.

“I like to think about the list as Bowie’s most influential books, not necessarily his favourite books,” claimed Kristianne. “Influential books are ones that impact us and our work in some way, rather than just the ones we most enjoyed. The books you call most influential point to a really clear impact on your own work,” she added.

“One of the things it’s reinforced for me is how wide ranging Bowie’s mind was - the list is so diverse!” added Greg, “and it shows how inventive he was in drawing on such a wide range of influences in his art.”

Greg and Kristianne were also keen to acknowledge the positive impact that Jones’ club has had on their own.

“It’s great to see more people reading through the list,” said Greg, “and it’s been a lot of fun to discuss the book that Duncan chose (Hawksmoor) with folks on Twitter.”

Hopefully this engagement online will continue, and the early signs are definitely good. Jones’ tweet announcing the first book attracted almost 6000 likes and over 1000 comments.

And if Greg and Kristianne’s responses are anything to go by, those joining the new club are bound to have some real treats in store. The podcasters both highlighted a few books on the list that they have especially enjoyed.

“We both really liked City of Night, which we read last summer - it was a discovery for both of us.” said Greg. “And Octobriana And The Russian Underground was fun, just because there was such a crazy backstory behind it - neither of us knew that it was a complete hoax!”

Kristianne added, “I’ve really liked how some of the books have filled in gaps in my own reading, like Passing

by Nella Larson which we also read last year and really liked.”

The first two novels to have been selected for Jones’ club were Hawksmoor

by Peter Ackroyd and The Fire Next Time

by James Baldwin, while the choice for March is Puckoon by Spike Milligan.

You can keep up to date with the choices by following Duncan Jones on Twitter (@ManMadeMoon). He posts his selections at the start of each month.

Words: Patrick Cremona

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THE MASTER AND MARGARITA MIKHAIL BULGAKOV A fantastical Russian satire, in which the devil himself descends on Moscow.

MARCH

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BOOK CHALLENGE

Week One

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer Week Two

Great Expectations Charles Dickens Week Three

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline Week Four

Cats Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut

April

Week Five

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki Week Six

Written on the Body by Jeanette Winterson Week Seven

We wouldn’t be a literary magazine without starting our very own book club - and what better way to do that than by setting a 52 book challenge! One book for every week of the year, with 13 new recommendations each issue. Join our Facebook group by searching for Go With Me 52 book challenge, and engage with fellow readers and our team as we embark on a literary journey that encompasses classics and cult novels, new books and old, fiction and non-fiction. Every book has been personally reccommended by at least one member of the Go With Me team , and we like to think the list reflects the broad tastes of our writers.

So what are you waiting for, start reading now!

Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari Week Eight

The Road by Cormac McCarthy Week Nine

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

MAY

Week Ten

Hell’s Angels by Hunter S. Thompson Week Eleven

It Started With a Kiss by Miranda Dickinson Week Twelve

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk Week Thirteen

The Shining by Stephen King WEEK FOURTEEN to TWENTY-SIX

Keep an eye out for Go With Me Vol. 2!

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Edith Wynne Matthison and Edna St. Vincent Millay

Virginia Woolf and Vita Sackville-West Elizabeth Bishop and Alice Methfessel

Gertrude Stein and Alice Walker Violet Trefusis and Vita Sackville-West

Alison Bechdel and Holly Rae Taylor

Jeanette Winterson and Susie Orbach

Descendents of Sappho

Journey back in time with us as we rummage through the letters of women writers addressed to their lady loves CORNER

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THE SONG OF ACHILLES

Madeline Miller A spellbinding re-telling of the Illiad through the eyes of Patroclus.

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From Violet Trefusis to Vita SackvilleWest, 8 Oct 1910 “ I love you, Vita, because I’ve fought so hard to win you...I love you,

You may forget but let me tell you this: someone in some future time will think of us.

-Sappho, The Art of Loving Women

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appho, the 7th century lyric poetess who was born in Greece on the island of Lesbos (yes! The word lesbian was coined after her place of birth) is known to be one of the first women writers. Because of her numerous love poems on women, she remains a powerful symbol of queer female sexuality and desire even to this day.

In a world where writing was not seen as a “womanly virtue”, women writing diaries, novels, letters, poems, etc were revolutionaries. Virginia Woolf in A Room of One’s Own writes, “I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.”

As such you might understand why love letters between women in the 20th century turned out to be a dual act of subversion, with it being a written expression of female desire, for women by women. They were hastily swept under the carpet until the literary world embraced them as works of art.

In this centenary of celebrating women’s right to vote here is a collection of quotes to take you back in time. Words from letters of women writers to their lady loves, conversations teeming with female desire, devoid of the male subject.

Vita, because you never gave me back my ring. I love you because you have never yielded in anything; I love you because you never capitulate...I love you, Vita, because I’ve seen your soul..”

Violet to Vita From Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf, date unknown: “I like the sense of one lighted room in the house while all the rest of the house, and the world outside is in darkness. Just one lamp falling on my paper; it gives a concentration, an intimacy. What bad mediums letters are; you will read this in daylight, and everything will look different. I think I feel night as poignantly as you feel the separateness of human beings..It seems to me that I only begin to live after the sun has gone down and the stars have come out.”

The Letters of Vita Sackville West From Edna St. Vincent Millay to Edith Wynne Matthison, date unknown: “You wrote me a beautiful letter, – I wonder if you meant it to be as beautiful as it was, – I think you did; for somehow I know that your feeling for me, however slight it is, is of the nature

of love..When you tell me to come, I will come, by the next train, just as I am.”

Letters of Edna St. Vincent Millay From Virginia Woolf to Vita SackvilleWest, date unknown: “Never do I leave you without thinking, its for the last time. And the truth is we gain as much as we lose by this...since all our intercourse is tinged with this melancholy on my part and desire to be white nosed and so keep you half an instant longer, perhaps as I say we gain in intensity what we lack in sober comfortable virtues of a prolonged and safe and respectable and chaste and cold blooded friendship.”

The Letters of Vita SackvilleWest and Virginia Woolf.

Words: Oindrila Gupta

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Kafka P rague IN

The Kafka museum explores the city he called a “Dear little mother with claws”

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he stock cheeriness of the reception desk, smiling receptionist and excess of Kafka merchandise are quickly replaced by a brooding eeriness. Walking up the steps, the natural light filtering in through the front doors is replaced by enveloping gloom. Black walls absorb most of the light so that the intense beams illuminating the exhibits guide your way. A chilling, almost imperceivable sound rumbles. You couldn’t call it music. It is like spiralling drones that lie on the edge of hearing, the sound of forever-falling.

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Is it really there, or an imagined manifestation of the pervasive chill of the ominous museum, shadow-filled and cold?

Kafka often left the minutiae of location out of his work, often foregoing the traditional tack of naming them explicitly.

Instead he’d construct spaces of the mind, the kind of abstract place that you return to in dreams over and over again without ever knowing quite where it is. They are simply moods that grow around us and in which we find ourselves inadvertently inhabiting.

Setting foot on the museum’s first floor, it is as though Kafka’s ethereal transcendence of place has been realised.

The glass cases are filled with letters covered in scratchy black scrawls to his parents and lovers. Video installations of ambiguous chugging machinery -a printing press perhaps- are embedded in the wall, recalling the horrifying killing machine of The Penal Colony. Black and white photos of the man, rarely smiling, join them. There are spectral projections of people he knew and black telephones mounted on walls where you can listen to excerpts from his works. The two sections of the exhibition are: Existential Space and Imaginary Topography.

How can we ever piece together a person through the fragments of their life? With historical figures who have written profusely, especially personal letter correspondence with loved ones, perhaps we have a chance. Imagine, in 100 years time, a museum was built commemorating you. On panelled walls, places you’ve been, places you’ve lived, letters and emails you have sent, people you have met.

How little of you would we see, in all that? People, Kafka seemed to say in his work, can only ever be ideas to any person other than themselves. Perhaps this is the only way to, paradoxically, see them. Once you’ve been to the Kafka Museum and you have familiarised yourself with his works, the movements of his life, his loves and schooling and work, venture out into Prague.

John Hayter, in Kafka’s Ghost, says he saw the writer’s ghost when exploring Prague. “In a makeshift yard at the entrance to a dark alleyway about fifteen paces away… Kafka’s face floated with no visible means of suspension about four feet above the ground.” The floating head turned out to be the famous last portrait of Kafka, taken by

Dr. Hoffman in a sanitorium, emblazoned on a vomiting tourist’s T-shirt. But he couldn’t escape the feeling that Kafka somehow haunts Prague. Kafka, Hayter writes, once said of Prague’s Old Town: “This narrow circle encompasses my whole life.” The writer’s relationship with the city was one of fear as well as love. As a jew in Prague, Kafka felt ostracised, writing to a lover in 1920: “I am spending my afternoons bathing in jew-hating… Is it not natural that one leaves the place where one is hated?” He did, and died of tuberculosis aged 40 in 1924. All three of his sisters were murdered in the holocaust. This feeling of isolation and persecution drips like ink into water throughout his oeuvre.

The museum boasts that there are anonymous places in Kafka’s work which are widely held to be specific locations in Prague. The unnamed cathedral in The Trial is St. Vitus Cathedral. The path K. walks to his final chapter is said to be across Charles Bridge. They also state that: “in The Judgement, from Georg Berdemann’s window, we recognise the wharf, the river, the opposite bank of the Vitava, just as they could be seen from Mikulášská ulice [Nicholas Street], where the Kafka family lived in 1912.”

Explore Kafka’s Prague

Kafka was born in 1893 in a house next to the Church of St. Nicholas, Náměstí Franze Kafky 3.

The house has been rebuilt since then, though the original door remains. A small exhibition can be visited at the site, and a plaque bearing his name can be seen outside.

Kafka’s time spent as a clerk in the city was formative for the young writer and inspired many of his works. What was once the Worker’s Accident Insurance Company is now the Hotel Century Old Town (Na Poříčí 7).

Words: Lauren Brown

Why not take a copy of one of Kafka’s works to the Cafe Louvre, on Národní street? This pre-war cafe is still going strong, the feel of the place mostly unchanged since 1902. Many famous people, including Kafka, have been known to frequent the cafe, including Albert Einstein during his professorship in the city.

A video instalation depicting the crunching teeth of a stamp frozen in time in the Kafka Museum.

Visit him in bronze. The Franz Kafka Monument is located where Dusni and Vezenska Streets meet in Old Town.

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Wales’ literary wonders Idyllic Wales is perfect for book lovers.

Delve into Go With Me’s top 10 suggestions for literary places to explore 1 Discover the ruins of Dinefwr Castle

This castle was once home to Lord Rhys ap Gruffud, ruler of the 12th century kingdom of Deheubarth, South Wales. Now known as Camarthenshire, you can visit where the first Welsh literature, poetry and music festival, the Eisteddfod started. Lord Rhys was very fond of poetry and hosted the festival at his court.

2 See where Dylan Thomas spent his last years

A picturesque house in Laugharne was where Welsh poet and author Dylan Thomas spent his final years.

He was inspired to write Under Milk Wood before his life was sadly cut short. You can visit the house along with an exhibition and take a break in the idyllic tearooms. The boathouse has been restored and is now a heritage centre.

3 Sleep overnight in Gladstone Library

Situated in Flintshire, this library is unique

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because it allows vistors to stay overnight and read until the moon sets and the sun rises again. Shelves filled with books beckon you in, and the rich interior with its wooden beams overlooking dark corridors will enchant you.

4 Visit the backdrop for Dobby’s cottage

This is one for Harry Potter fans. Freshwater West Beach was the backdrop for Dobby’s Shell Cottage in the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

Although the house is no longer there, tourists can still admire the beautiful scenery and take a stroll along the sandy beach.

5 The cafe inspired by Dickens

Dickens of Charles Street cafe is the perfect spot for book lovers in Cardiff. Located right in the centre, the tearoom offers Dickens inspired dishes such as ‘Mrs Havishams’ scramled eggs’, ‘Fagins’ Breakfast’ and ‘Bumbles’ Berries’.

6 Follow Alice in the Wonderland In Llandudno, go down the rabbit and explore the quaint Victorian seaside town that inspired Lewis Carroll’s classic story. Book lovers can follow the Alice in Wonderland trail and take in some curious sights. On your journey you will come across beautiful statues of our favourite characters, including a wooden rabbit.

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7 Go to the literary retreat island

Bardsey Island, Gwynedd has been used as a literary retreat and provided inspiration to Fflur Dafydd who was a novelist, singer and songwriter. Poets Christine Evans and Brenda Chamberlain also used the spot as inspiration for their work. Catch a boat to the island during the summer to witness its beautiful scenery and wildlife.

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8 See the church Roald Dahl attended

As a boy, the much loved Welsh author was baptised at this church down in Cardiff Bay, attended regularly as a child. This church is now used as a cultural hub, offering art exhibitions and Dahl memorabilia.

9 Author Kate Roberts’ childhood home

Cae’r Gors in Caernarfon was the childhood home of Welsh language writer, Kate Roberts, who was one of the foremost Welsh authors of the 20th century. The building has been restored to its original style, where you will be able to see the home that inspired Kate.

10. The hall that inspired Tolkein’s Ring trilogy

Author of The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkein is said to have taken much of his inspiration for his novels from Wales.

Aspects of the Welsh language are used in Elvish. Inspiration for the Colony of Hobbits came from Buckland Hall, near Llanginydr which has stunning grounds

Got some spare time in Cardiff?

Check out these great places to cosy up with a book in the capital of Wales

• Kick back with an unusual real ale or cider at the City Arms pub • Munch into a delicious cake at the Barker Tea rooms in the High Street arcade • Jump into a new book at the beautiful Waterstones Words: Sophie King Photos 3 & 4: Pen-y-Holt & Sawdays

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INTOXICATING BOOKS

Photo courtesy: abookandabottle.co.uk

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Indulging in your favorite reads can now be an sensual affair with Damian Barr’s #NovelPairings

airing wine with food is not everyone’s forte, and if you’ve never done that you’re unlikely to have paired a bottle with a book. But Damian Barr, author and drink critic is trying to change that.

By switching up the norm from good ol’ wine & cheese, you can now partake in an evening of thinking and drinking.

As it says on their website, the idea behind this concept comes from thoughts about literary characters and their respective choice of poison: would Bridget Jones choose Chardonnay now? How tipsy was Ulysses?

Damian started a unique service for lovers of books and wine, called A Bottle and A Book. He works alongside Corney and Barrow, one of the longest established independent wine merchants in the UK. The team also hosts events at unusual venues, an idea rooted in Damian’s literary salons but his is different. Instead, they include sipping on wine while having a casual chat with the author of the book it is paired with; like Ian Rankin, during a salon on his Rather be the Devil, paired with Salterio Mencía DO Bierzo Adegas Galegas 2015.

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DAVID ELLIOTT

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Observe the mythical Theseusand the much feared minotaur in a new light and reconsider two of Greek mythology’s infamous creatures.

To participate in this literary revelry, log onto their website for tickets; or simply be inspired and treat yourself to a night in with a good book and a glass of wine.

A Drinking Song

Wine comes in at the mouth And love comes in at the eye; That’s all we shall know for truth Before we grow old and die.

I lift the glass to my mouth, I look at you, and I sigh.

W. B. YEATS, 1865 - 1939 Words: Anjali Balasubramaniam

My Love of Books

Original Poem

I’ve always been a bookworm, from the age of two The joy it brings to me I want to share with you The benefits of reading I thought were plain to see Yet many folk don’t enjoy it quite as much as me!

My love of stories started listening with mother She could tell a tale or two, unlike any other The voices and the characters all came to life right there New worlds and adventures began in that armchair Once at school I learned to read and so my love began Of Secret Seven and Famous Five I was the biggest fan I read all day and through the night, when I should have been asleep With the torch beneath the covers, who needs that beauty sleep!

Oh how I loved the tales I read of Anne of Green Gables With “carrots” and the “freckles” - I related to those labels In Duncton Wood I met some moles that started an obsession Charlie and his Chocolate Factory also, a similar confession Time travel is my favourite, it began with Tom, a boy His travels at the midnight hour gave me so much joy Since then I’ve been in time machines too many for me to name Each adventure rivets me, never two the same I learned so much from all those books, of worlds I had not seen I hitchhiked across the galaxy, and to Middle Earth I’ve been I travelled through the ages, met All Creatures Great and Small Sometimes meeting evil, and learning love cures all In my teens I read romance, it was an education They taught me all I yearned to know, the art of flirtation I fell in love with Mr Darcy, Ralph from the Thorn Birds The boys I met were so unskilled with their choice of words Horror books I read that scared me half to death Monsters and the supernatural made me hold my breath “It” stayed with me for many years, the clown and his balloon And I swear I see the werewolves whenever its full moon Reading then has much to give, the benefits are countless Solutions to be found in them for the problems that confound us Language skills and grammar and learning how to spell Empathy with others and some tolerance as well Books have taught me many things, of that there is no doubt To this day I go to them when brain wants to clock out They save my sleepless nights and periods of unrest Immersion in another world can help when you are stressed!

Writer

Chris Jones is a NHS administrator from Colchester. Reading has always been her passion, she enjoys writing little poems such as this one for her own amusement, sometimes for friends and for occasions when she is asked.

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Go on a Blind Date with a Book

Step o u zone a t of your c omfort n judge d never a again! book by its cover

A Blind Date with a Book is a service that sends you a carefully hand-wrapped books with subtle clues as to the contents, ready for you to unwrap and discover.

For your first blind date, visit: blinddatewithabook.com

Meet the Writers Patrick Cremona - “A little nonsense now and then, is relished by the wisest men.” - Roald Dahl

Oindrila Gupta - “I love you while paying attention to external things. I love you with the window open.”

- Jean-Paul Sartre

Matthew Trask - “All that we see or seem/Is but a dream within a dream.”

- Edgar Allan Poe

Sophie King - “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.” - Paulo Coelho

Heather Wald - “Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it.”

- L.M. Montgomery

Daniel Gibson - “The ships hung in the sky in much the same way that bricks don’t.” - Douglas Adams

George Griffiths - “The play’s the thing, wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king.” - William Shakespeare

Anjali Balasubramaniam - “It’s still magic even if you know how it’s done.” - Terry Pratchett

Filiz Mehmedova - “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”

- Paulo Coelho

Lauren Brown - “There is always something left to love.”

- Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Gemma Harris - “The only limits for tomorrow are the doubts we have today.”

- Pittacus Lore

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