Want to know what books Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler recommends on their reading list? We've researched interviews, social media posts, podcasts, and articles to build a comprehensive list of Basil Jones and Adrian Kohler's favorite book recommendations of all time.
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Joe, Beth and Frannie take their cousin Rick on an adventure he'll never forget. Find out how they escape from the Land of Dreams, what goes wrong in the Land of Topsy-Turvy, and who drives a runaway train in the Land of Do-As-You-Please. more Joe, Beth and Frannie take their cousin Rick on an adventure he'll never forget. Find out how they escape from the Land of Dreams, what goes wrong in the Land of Topsy-Turvy, and who drives a runaway train in the Land of Do-As-You-Please. less 
Neal LaytonThree children move to the countryside where they discover this tree—in a magic forest. (Source)
Basil Jones and Adrian KohlerIt’s the idea that one could climb up a tree and go into another land, a fantasy. Well into our time as puppeteers, going from city to city, I [Basil] realised that I was living the life of these books that had been so important to me as a child. I realised that we would stay in one place for three days and then move onto another place, and in each place we would create a world. The Magic Faraway... (Source)
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Hansjürgen Fettig | 4.65
Basil Jones and Adrian KohlerEnid Blyton’s The Magic Faraway Tree is about the fantasy worlds we construct. Our work has always been about constructing worlds, and I have realised time and time again that this began for me [Basil] with this childhood story of escape and enchantment. We have often tried to buy it from an antiquarian children’s bookstore in one of those side streets near the British Museum, and when I asked... (Source)
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A Publishers Weekly Best Book
One of the New York Public Library's "25 Books to Remember" for 1999
Homosexuality in its myriad forms has been scientifically documented in more than 450 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and other animals worldwide. Biological Exuberance is the first comprehensive account of the subject, bringing together accurate, accessible, and nonsensationalized information. Drawing upon a rich body of zoological research spanning more than two centuries, Bruce Bagemihl shows that animals engage in all types of... more A Publishers Weekly Best Book
One of the New York Public Library's "25 Books to Remember" for 1999
Homosexuality in its myriad forms has been scientifically documented in more than 450 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, insects, and other animals worldwide. Biological Exuberance is the first comprehensive account of the subject, bringing together accurate, accessible, and nonsensationalized information. Drawing upon a rich body of zoological research spanning more than two centuries, Bruce Bagemihl shows that animals engage in all types of nonreproductive sexual behavior. Sexual and gender expression in the animal world displays exuberant variety, including same-sex courtship, pair-bonding, sex, and co-parenting--even instances of lifelong homosexual bonding in species that do not have lifelong heterosexual bonding.
Part 1, "A Polysexual, Polygendered World," begins with a survey of homosexuality, transgender, and nonreproductive heterosexuality in animals and then delves into the broader implications of these findings, including a valuable perspective on human diversity. Bagemihl also examines the hidden assumptions behind the way biologists look at natural systems and suggests a fresh perspective based on the synthesis of contemporary scientific insights with traditional knowledge from indigenous cultures.
Part 2, "A Wondrous Bestiary," profiles more than 190 species in which scientific observers have noted homosexual or transgender behavior. Each profile is a verbal and visual "snapshot" of one or more closely related bird or mammal species, containing all the documentation required to support the author's often controversial conclusions.
Lavishly illustrated and meticulously researched, filled with fascinating facts and astonishing descriptions of animal behavior, Biological Exuberance is a landmark book that will change forever how we look at nature. less Basil Jones and Adrian KohlerIt’s called Biological Exuberance. It’s an enormous study of homosexual behaviour amongst every kind of insect and animal. The evidence in this book is overwhelming that there is a huge amount of same-sex behaviour in the natural world. Most of the sexual behaviour amongst giraffes is same-sex, but also amongst dolphins and whales, and especially penguins. The book was introduced to us by... (Source)
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Shortlisted for the 2007 Costa Novel Award
“I read Skin Lane with one eye closed out of sheer animal terror. Then, unimaginably, it brought me to tears; what a work of art—so unexpected and heartbreaking and lovely.”—Armistead Maupin
“A powerful and complex story of sexual obsession. . . . A profoundly original meditation on thwarted desire.”—Patrick McGrath
“Skin Lane welds itself to your hands from first to last. Textured, teeming with menace and deeply moving, it is an extremely fine piece of writing.”—The Times (London)
“A... more Shortlisted for the 2007 Costa Novel Award
“I read Skin Lane with one eye closed out of sheer animal terror. Then, unimaginably, it brought me to tears; what a work of art—so unexpected and heartbreaking and lovely.”—Armistead Maupin
“A powerful and complex story of sexual obsession. . . . A profoundly original meditation on thwarted desire.”—Patrick McGrath
“Skin Lane welds itself to your hands from first to last. Textured, teeming with menace and deeply moving, it is an extremely fine piece of writing.”—The Times (London)
“A fiendishly taut little psycho-shocker.”—Will Self
At forty-seven, Mr. F’s working life on London’s Skin Lane is one governed by calm, precision, and routine. So when he starts to have recurring nightmares, he does his best to ignore them. The images that appear in his dreams are disturbing—Mr. F can’t think of where they have come from. After all, he’s an ordinary middle-aged man.
As London’s backstreets begin to swelter in the long, hot summer of 1967, Mr. F’s nightmares become an obsession. A chance encounter adds a face to the body that nightly haunts him, and the torments of his restless nights lead him—and the reader—deeper into a terrifying labyrinth of rage, desire, and shame.
Part fairy-tale, part compelling evocation of a now-lost London, this is Neil Bartlett’s fiercest piece of writing yet: cruel, erotic, and tender.
Neil Bartlett is an award-winning English novelist and theater director. He has directed on numerous occasions for the Royal Shakespeare Company. less Basil Jones and Adrian KohlerThe books that we have chosen are not necessarily about theatre per se, but they have had a profound influence on our practice in theatre, either because of the way that they have handled themes that we have wanted to explore but did not know how, or because they helped with practical elements of our work. (Source)
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