Dave Broom: My Life in Books

A Pinterview with esteemed whiskey and spirits writer Dave Broom. Follow Dave at @davebroomwhisky.
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Dave Broom, author of Whisky: The Manual. Online Education Courses, Spirit Awards, Financial Times, Tasting Room, Fun Cocktails, Cool Bars, Award Winner, Mixology, Fall 2014
Dave Broom, author of Whisky: The Manual.
The Harry Potter Series ~ J.K. Rowling. "I still read a story every night to my daughter, who is now 13. She is dyslexic and had trouble negotiating longer texts, so we began - and finished - the Harry Potter series. I loved them all.  For me, the nightly routine helped create a bond between us, while for her, the story sparked her imagination, triggered a love of books. It has done the same for her as Treasure Island did for me." Objet Harry Potter, Harry Potter Order, Phoenix Harry Potter, Art Harry Potter, Harry Potter Deathly Hallows, Wizarding World Of Harry Potter, Harry Potter Universal, Harry Potter Fandom, Lord Voldemort
Harry Potter minimalist posters (pictures)
The Harry Potter Series ~ J.K. Rowling. "I still read a story every night to my daughter, who is now 13. She is dyslexic and had trouble negotiating longer texts, so we began - and finished - the Harry Potter series. I loved them all. For me, the nightly routine helped create a bond between us, while for her, the story sparked her imagination, triggered a love of books. It has done the same for her as Treasure Island did for me."
The Wild Places ~ Robert Macfarlane. "I stopped reading fiction on a regular basis a decade or so ago. Why make up stories about people when reality is so much richer? The idea of ‘place’had long interested me (and still does). It started with Snyder, but this book for me is the cornerstone of the new nature writing in Britain. Thanks to it I then discovered Nan Shepard." Reading Lists, Book Worth Reading, Student Work, Essay Writing, Higher Education, Book Club, Favorite Books, Books To Read, Robert
BlinkBoxBook
The Wild Places ~ Robert Macfarlane. "I stopped reading fiction on a regular basis a decade or so ago. Why make up stories about people when reality is so much richer? The idea of ‘place’had long interested me (and still does). It started with Snyder, but this book for me is the cornerstone of the new nature writing in Britain. Thanks to it I then discovered Nan Shepard."
The Three Pillars of Zen ~ Philip Kapleau Roshi. "I sit, I try, I sit, I fail, I stop sitting, I try again. This book travels with me." Book Club Books, Good Books, The Book, Book Nerd, Dalai Lama, Zen Buddhism, Teaching Practices, Daily Meditation, Student
BlinkBoxBook
The Three Pillars of Zen ~ Philip Kapleau Roshi. "I sit, I try, I sit, I fail, I stop sitting, I try again. This book travels with me."
The Secret of Scent ~ Luca Turin. "My work as a spirits writer means I taste (or nose) liquids on a daily basis. Over time I’ve been asked to teach ‘sensory evaluation’ (the posh term for nosing and tasting). That in turn meant going deeply into the weird word of scent molecules. Lacking any science background, I was soon lost. Then this book came out, positing a radical - and still controversial - theory about how humans analyse scent. It opened up a new way of thinking." Turin, Grafik Design, Book Cover Design, Book Design, Sign Design, Typography Design, Lettering, The Secret (book), Best Mysteries
The Secret of Scent
The Secret of Scent ~ Luca Turin. "My work as a spirits writer means I taste (or nose) liquids on a daily basis. Over time I’ve been asked to teach ‘sensory evaluation’ (the posh term for nosing and tasting). That in turn meant going deeply into the weird word of scent molecules. Lacking any science background, I was soon lost. Then this book came out, positing a radical - and still controversial - theory about how humans analyse scent. It opened up a new way of thinking."
From Wood to Ridge ~ Sorley MacLean. "I don’t speak Gaelic. I wish I did. Until I do learn I’ll have to make do with these translations. Sorley MacLean was not only the greatest Gaelic poet of the 20th century, but one of the great European poets as well. He was political, he was bardic, he wrote war poetry, but also love poems. His language and themes were rooted in his landscape, but he was internationalist in outlook. This has long been another bag book, especially on trips to the islands." Gaelic, Custom I, Ancient Wisdom, Love Poems, Great Books, Broom, Outlook, Ridge, Dave
Sorley MacLean Official Website
From Wood to Ridge ~ Sorley MacLean. "I don’t speak Gaelic. I wish I did. Until I do learn I’ll have to make do with these translations. Sorley MacLean was not only the greatest Gaelic poet of the 20th century, but one of the great European poets as well. He was political, he was bardic, he wrote war poetry, but also love poems. His language and themes were rooted in his landscape, but he was internationalist in outlook. This has long been another bag book, especially on trips to the islands."
The Bird Path ~ Kenneth White. "I had heard rumours of this semi-mythical Scottish poet who was revered in France but unknown and unpublished in his own country. At some point in a poetry magazine I read his ‘Walking the Coast’. Then I lost it. Finally, in the ‘90s Mainstream published his collected works including this volume of his long poems. White is a questing poet, with huge, open-minded, ideas. Another constant reference point." Poetry Magazine, Unpublished, Open Minded, Revere, Losing Me, Mythical, Kenneth
The Bird Path ~ Kenneth White. "I had heard rumours of this semi-mythical Scottish poet who was revered in France but unknown and unpublished in his own country. At some point in a poetry magazine I read his ‘Walking the Coast’. Then I lost it. Finally, in the ‘90s Mainstream published his collected works including this volume of his long poems. White is a questing poet, with huge, open-minded, ideas. Another constant reference point."
Practise of the Wild ~ Gary Snyder. "A long love of the Beats led me to Gary Snyder’s poetry (start with Rip-Rap), but is this collection of essays which has had the greatest resonance with me. It encompasses Buddhism, culture, writing, creativity, wilderness, and environmentalism. It’s a manual of possibilities, a holistic and sometimes stern guidebook. I refer to it regularly still." Beat Poet, Buddhist Beliefs, Beatitudes, Book Annotation, Writing Poetry, Coffee And Books, Snyder, Teachings
Practise of the Wild ~ Gary Snyder. "A long love of the Beats led me to Gary Snyder’s poetry (start with Rip-Rap), but is this collection of essays which has had the greatest resonance with me. It encompasses Buddhism, culture, writing, creativity, wilderness, and environmentalism. It’s a manual of possibilities, a holistic and sometimes stern guidebook. I refer to it regularly still."
Not Not While the Giro ~ James Kelman. "The 80s saw the start of the Glasgow renaissance - Alasdair Gray! Agnes Owen! And James Kelman. All of them showed that writing could be rooted at home. Kelman wrote in my vernacular, his stories of life on the dole, of eking out an existence in Thatcher’s Scotland was my life too. It showed me that it wasn’t just the Yanks or the London literati who has the right to write. We could do it too." Every Day Book, Snooker, Best Selling Books, Book Summaries, Book Search, Anthology, Book Recommendations, Glasgow
Not Not While the Giro ~ James Kelman. "The 80s saw the start of the Glasgow renaissance - Alasdair Gray! Agnes Owen! And James Kelman. All of them showed that writing could be rooted at home. Kelman wrote in my vernacular, his stories of life on the dole, of eking out an existence in Thatcher’s Scotland was my life too. It showed me that it wasn’t just the Yanks or the London literati who has the right to write. We could do it too."
Moby-Dick ~ Herman Melville. "When travelling, I figured that carrying one big book made more sense than humping around many small ones, and though reading about whales while in the Arizona desert might seem strange, it remains for me the book into which all others are folded. All life is here. Ulysses does the same, but to be honest Moby-Dick is easier to read …especially on a bus. Or a boat." White Whale, Fishing Charters, Moby Dick, Dystopian, Conte, Fiction Novels, Action Adventure, Melville, Book Lists
BlinkBoxBook
Moby-Dick ~ Herman Melville. "When travelling, I figured that carrying one big book made more sense than humping around many small ones, and though reading about whales while in the Arizona desert might seem strange, it remains for me the book into which all others are folded. All life is here. Ulysses does the same, but to be honest Moby-Dick is easier to read …especially on a bus. Or a boat."
Motel Chronicles & Hawk Moon ~ Sam Shepard. "In my 20s I began travelling in America and on those long bus journeys I needed books. This is partially autobiographical, partly brief notes for stories and plays. The prose is spare, lean. Its fragmentary nature showed me the beauty of brevity - and why you should always carry a notebook." Sam Shepard, North Country, Cozy Nook, Chronicle Books, Shepards, Prose, World History, Motel
Motel Chronicles & Hawk Moon
Motel Chronicles & Hawk Moon ~ Sam Shepard. "In my 20s I began travelling in America and on those long bus journeys I needed books. This is partially autobiographical, partly brief notes for stories and plays. The prose is spare, lean. Its fragmentary nature showed me the beauty of brevity - and why you should always carry a notebook."
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner ~ James Hogg. "I think I read this first at Uni. I certainly re-read it when I lived in Edinburgh. It is one of the strangest books in English and a key to the split personality [that Caledonian antisyzgy] which defines we Scots. Written in 1824, it’s about religion, bigotry, psychology, ghosts, and possession. An experimental novel as folk tale." The Stranger Book, James Hogg, Justified, Folk Tales, Sinner, Confessions, Memoirs, Kobo, Audiobooks
BlinkBoxBook
The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner ~ James Hogg. "I think I read this first at Uni. I certainly re-read it when I lived in Edinburgh. It is one of the strangest books in English and a key to the split personality [that Caledonian antisyzgy] which defines we Scots. Written in 1824, it’s about religion, bigotry, psychology, ghosts, and possession. An experimental novel as folk tale."
100 Years of Solitude ~ Gabriel Garcia Marquez. "A standby from my early 20s. I pressed this on every friend I could - some strangers as well. For me, like the Peake, it recalibrated fiction, blurring the lines between reality and myth. The language was heady, the humour sly, it balanced the grotesque and the political, the mundane and the magical." Joseph Heller, Hundred Years Of Solitude, One Hundred Years, 1000 Years, Harper Lee, Scott Fitzgerald, George Orwell, Catch 22, Latin American Literature
BlinkBoxBook
100 Years of Solitude ~ Gabriel Garcia Marquez. "A standby from my early 20s. I pressed this on every friend I could - some strangers as well. For me, like the Peake, it recalibrated fiction, blurring the lines between reality and myth. The language was heady, the humour sly, it balanced the grotesque and the political, the mundane and the magical."
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test ~ Tom Wolfe. "A go-to during my University years. I read it first because Neal Cassady was a main protagonist, after for the drugs, but then it triggered a realisation that non-fiction could be exciting, that people’s stories can be compelling. I knew I wanted to write, but also knew I didn’t have a novel in me. Here then was another option. It also gave me an addiction to the Grateful Dead." I Love Books, Moustache Ride, Merry Pranksters, Genre Of Books, Ken Kesey, Tom Wolfe, Best Short Stories, Kool Aid
Retro Reverbs
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test ~ Tom Wolfe. "A go-to during my University years. I read it first because Neal Cassady was a main protagonist, after for the drugs, but then it triggered a realisation that non-fiction could be exciting, that people’s stories can be compelling. I knew I wanted to write, but also knew I didn’t have a novel in me. Here then was another option. It also gave me an addiction to the Grateful Dead."
The Gormenghast Trilogy ~ Mervyn Peake. "I was introduced to this by my dear friend, the poet Douglas Lipton. I re-read it every year throughout my teenage years. I loved Peake’s richness of language, his creation of a complete, Gothic world of ritual, myth, and terror. Every reading revealed another layer. It was fantastical, but not fantasy. It was poetic, allegorical…and infinitely better than Tolkien." Gothic, Castle Wall, Beautiful Book Covers, Favorite Words, Teenage Years, Macabre, Trilogy
BlinkBoxBook
The Gormenghast Trilogy ~ Mervyn Peake. "I was introduced to this by my dear friend, the poet Douglas Lipton. I re-read it every year throughout my teenage years. I loved Peake’s richness of language, his creation of a complete, Gothic world of ritual, myth, and terror. Every reading revealed another layer. It was fantastical, but not fantasy. It was poetic, allegorical…and infinitely better than Tolkien."
Treasure Island ~ Robert Louis Stevenson. "This is the first book I remember obsessively re-reading. Leaning out at a weird angle in my bed so the pages were illuminated by the street lights. It’s one of the great adventure stories. A boy, pirates, treasure, an anti-hero - what’s not to like? It gave me a new world and lives with me still." Adventure Story, Greatest Adventure, Treasure Island Robert Louis Stevenson, Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins, Vintage Classics, Treasure Maps, Penguin Books, Book Images
BlinkBoxBook
Treasure Island ~ Robert Louis Stevenson. "This is the first book I remember obsessively re-reading. Leaning out at a weird angle in my bed so the pages were illuminated by the street lights. It’s one of the great adventure stories. A boy, pirates, treasure, an anti-hero - what’s not to like? It gave me a new world and lives with me still."