Here's another set of five cultural delights that have been pleasing me of late:



1. THE ROBINSON INSTITUTE

I really enjoyed this immersive and thought-provoking exhibition from Patrick Keiller at Tate Britain. The Robinson Institute documents a walk through Berkshire, Buckingham and Oxfordshire undertaken by the mysterious Robinson, a fictional academic and 'scholar of landscape' who has featured in various films previously made by Keiller. Here, the Duveen Gallery is filled with clues to Robinson's journey and which point to his strange disappearance - potent photographs of cloudscapes and pylons, offbeat maps, unusual artefacts, landscape paintings and quirky black and white film clips, creating an intriguing web of ideas and references.




2. MARIA KALMAN

I love Maria Kalman's beautiful illustrations for Why We Broke Up, a new young adult novel from Daniel Handler (who is perhaps better known as Lemony Snicket). Kalman is the illustrator of numerous books for both adults and children, and has also created many covers for the New Yorker: I love the way she combines brightly-coloured illustrations with handwritten texts in her artworks. Pictured above is one of her images from The Pursuit of Happiness, a fascinating 'visual column' she wrote and illustrated for the New York Times in 2011: read it here.




3. A MONSTER CALLS

If you haven't read A Monster Calls yet, you must. Based on an original idea by Siobhan Dowd, this is an extraordinary and deeply moving children's book, in which a beautifully-written text by Patrick Ness mingles and merges with incredibly powerful illustrations by Jim Kay. It's no surprise that the book has just become the first ever to win both the Carnegie and the Kate Greenaway Medals. (I interviewed Patrick and Jim about winning these prestigious prizes here).





4. PINTEREST

Addicted. Follow me here.

5. WRITING BRITAIN

I'm never entirely convinced by the British Library's exhibitions: displays of beautiful old books are all very well but it might be more fun if you could actually read them. However, their latest exhibition, Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands, certainly has some real treasures in it for bibliophiles to enjoy. My highlights were a 1940s first edition Famous Five, the notebook in which Daphne Du Maurier planned Rebecca, the manuscript of Jane Eyre, a first edition of Mystery at Witchend by Malcolm Saville and the original manuscript of Cold Comfort Farm.

Following on from my previous Five Things post, I thought I'd share another selection of things that have been pleasing me of late...

1.  I WANT MY HAT BACK - JON KLASSEN

Published by Walker Books, I Want My Hat Back is my new favourite picture book: a quirky and charming tale of a bear who has lost his hat. But whilst the story is sweet, it's the stylish, witty illustrations by Jon Klassen that really make this irresistible. The bear's face (above) makes me smile every single time I see it.

2. TACITA DEAN FOR THE TURBINE HALL AT TATE MODERN
 
The twelfth commission in Tate Modern's Turbine Hall as part of The Unilever Series comes from celebrated artist and filmmaker Tacita Dean  FILM is an 11-minute 35 mm film projection, standing 13 metres tall at one end of the darkened Turbine Hall. A montage of black and white, rainbow colours and hand-tinted film, this playful, intriguing and surreal installation is a thought-provoking tribute to the power of analogue in a digital age.

3. DARK NAILS

Maybe it's a hangover from Halloween, maybe it's because I've spent too much time browsing French fashion blog The Cherry Blossom Girl (pictured) but I am all about the dark nails at the moment. I had my nails painted black at the lovely vintage-style beauty salon Lost in Beauty in Primrose Hill a couple of weeks ago, and am completely converted.

 4. CHRIS HAUGHTON: DIGITAL HANDMADE

I went along to the private view of Booktrust Best New Illustrator 2011 Chris Haugton's exhibition at So far the future gallery earlier this week. As well as artwork from his picture books A Bit Lost and Oh No George the show includes all kinds of lovely objects designed by Chris and then handmade by traditional Fair Trade craft-makers in Nepal - beautiful bags, plush toys, lampshades and incredible rugs. The exhibition continues until 7 December: find out more about it here.




5. DIANA WYNNE JONES

I can't believe I managed to get through 28 years without discovering Diana Wynne Jones's brilliant books. I've been reading my way through her delightful Chrestomanci series, beginning with Charmed Life (pictured), as well as the wonderful Howl's Moving Castle and its sequels. Witch Week is my favourite so far but every one is fantastic.

So what's taken your fancy recently? Let me know in the comments if you've got favourite new finds to share...

1. ROOKIE MAGAZINE

I can't stop reading this new online magazine for teenage girls, the brainchild of teen blogger extraordinaire Tavi. The majority of the content is created by young people themselves, with additional contributions from some 'favourite grown ups' such as Miranda July, Joss Whedon and Zooey Deschanel. Yet far from having any of the slightly patronising worthiness of some youth-led  projects, this is simply a smart, well-written and well-designed website, full of intriguing content whether you're a teenage girl or not, and beautifully illustrated with photographs and illustrations by the likes of Minna Gilligan (see above). A complete breath of fresh air - I only wish it had been around when I was fourteen.

2. MARGARET ATWOOD

One of the best things about holidays is the time to indulge in reading, particularly when you're staying in a cosy house where there are plenty of comfy armchairs to draw up in front of the fire on a rainy afternoon.  I've been enjoying re-reading some old favourites, including Margaret Atwood's Lady Oracle, Cat's Eye and Alias Grace. Next on my list is Bluebeard's Egg but I've  also got a real urge to re-read The Robber Bride - I wonder if I can find a copy in the book-filled attic?

3. FLORIAN MEISENBERG

I've just discovered the appealingly playful, rainbow-bright paintings of Florian Meisenberg, a young New York-based artist. I love Meisenberg's lively sense of colour, but also the way he blends lightness and thoughtfulness in his works. I wish I'd caught his solo exhibition at Kate MacGarry Studio earlier this year. The show was entitled http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90RM07vHQiw and if you click the hyperlink you'll find a video of a flying cat, which to be honest is exactly the sort of thing I look for in contemporary art.

4. THE TROLLHUNTER

Monster movies aren't usually my cup of tea, but I really enjoyed this quirky and surprisingly funny Norwegian film about, um, trolls. Go see!

5. THE SMITTEN KITCHEN

I've recently discovered this brilliant recipe blog, with beautifully photographed step-by-step instructions to making all manner of tasty treats. So far I've tried the cocoa brownies and the chewy oatmeal and raisin cookies (pictured above) both highly recommended, and now I'm hooked. My only problem is that as this is a US blog, most of the measurements are in cups and have to be translated into kgs/lbs, which can make some quantities a bit hit and miss - or at least it can when I'm doing the maths!