A Book Review, The Earthsea Quartet – The Tombs of Atuan

Alone she lords over nothing, her existence a lie

As an avid reader of most of Urzula Le Guin’s books such as the infamous A Wizard of Earthsea, I decided to read the Earthsea Quartet, which is a complete saga of the four books in one volume. It comprises of A Wizard of Earthsea, The Tombs of Atuan, The Farthest Shore and Tehanu. Following the first saga the second tells the tale of Arha (Tenar) who – according to the priestesses of the tombs – is the reincarnation of the former Priestess of Atuan. Chosen by fate and misfortune, and taken from her real parents, Arha who was born on the day of the Priestess’s death, became the successor of the former Priestess to be presented to the Godking of Awabath. And to give her name back to the Nameless Ones, and thus the Priestess ever reborn.

As Arha grew older, her memories of her real parents started to fade as if she had always belonged amongst the ruins of Atuan, its eunuchs and the priestesses who live to continue the existence of a long forgotten era and its traditions. The Eaten One (Arha later on Tenar) had two high priestesses Kossil and Thar as her guardians who groomed her to becoming the next Priestess of the Tombs. Clouded by her surroundings and the people around her, she occasionally questioned what lies outside the tombs of Atuan. But this was often left unanswered due to her youth and the naivety of other young girls surrounding her. In most days, Arha would spend the day learning the sacred songs and dances, the histories of the Kargad land and the mysteries of gods they were dedicated to – the Godking of Awabath, or the Twin Brothers, Atwah and Wuluah. In this case, Arha would spend an hour in the company of Thar – the High Priestess of the Twin Gods – learning the rites of the Nameless Ones.

And as Arha remained in the company of the priestesses, the eunuchs and the dark entities that reside underneath the temples, the time had come for her to explore the labyrinth where the Nameless Ones dwell. Together with Kossil, they ventured into the residence of the Nameless Ones, which seemed like oblivion itself. At age fifteen she was granted the power of the One Priestess of Atuan – the highest Priestess of all high priestesses -, her subjects knelt and bowed before her during the ritual of her ascent to becoming the Priestess of the Tombs, which meant even the Godking himself had no power over her. But despite the powers bestowed upon Arha, it remained as though she was powerless within the realms of the Nameless Ones. Together with Kossil, they made their first attempt to explore the dark realms but it seemed the High Priestess was afraid of what they might see.

The events that followed tell the tale of the Priestess discovering the hidden truth behind the Nameless Ones, her collision with Kossil, meeting the Archmage of Earthsea and reuniting the shattered pieces of the Ring Of Erreth-Akbe, and the destruction of the tombs, but most importantly reclaiming her true name. The tale of The Tombs of Atuan, truly follows the excitement that I got from reading the first saga and is a good re-introduction of Sparrowhawk and his upcoming role in the following stories. It is indeed a must read for those fascinated by the mysteries of antiquity and lives of fallen priestesses.

A Book Review of Fitzpatrick and Valskov’s Internal Communications – A Manual For Practitioners

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Communications, Fitzpatric, Internal Communications, Marketing, PR, Valskov

As I have no practical experience of being an internal communicator, I decided to give Internal Communications by Fitzpatrick and Valskov a trial. It was great to learn how internal communications (IC) can affect staff turn-over, employee engagement and overall productivity of businesses. There are various types of internal communications depending on the organisation’s needs. One is the internal communicator in conjunction with HR would focus – amongst many – to reducing absenteeism and staff turn-over, whilst IC in combination with Marketing could mean aligning both the internal and external tone of voice of the business.

Moreover, Fitzpatrick and Valskov highlighted the importance of understanding the audience for a successful internal communications campaign, which I completely agree with. Most professionals within marketing, PR and various others, would say knowledge of the audience plays a critical role in choosing and executing the appropriate strategy.

Furthermore, as someone who is new to IC I’ve learned the basic functions of town halls, push and pull channels, and intranets for IC – these are content platforms and tools, which I have not used in my previous role. However, what I’ve discovered from reading the literature is compared to PR, a Public Relations personnel could control the amount of information they share with the media, whilst an Internal Communication professional would practise honesty and compassion – thus making IC a more complex and challenging role use to gain the trust of the audience.

Overall, I found the book very educating and helpful specially for my first role within IC, and would surely follow most of the advice given in the book. In addition, if there is one lesson I could not forget from it is the quote “The communicator who is not aware of the need to continually learn and develop is probably on an accelerating track to extinction“, which reminded me of one Marketing Director who I met – not by choice – and said ” I have no interest in social media” – implying it is somehow irrelevant.

A Book Review of Ursula Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea

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A Wizard OF Earthsea, fiction, Sorcery, Sparrowhawk, Tales from Earthsea, Ursula Le Guin

A Tale of wizards, dragons and terrifying shadows – Ursula Le Guin

Prior to reading the book I have watched the animated version (Tales From Earthsea) of the story, which was created by Goro Miyazaki and produced by Studio Ghibli – a Japanese film studio known for its animated feature films -, and I would say I enjoyed watching the film tremendously. However, the book gave me a better understanding of how the protagonist (Ged a.ka. Sparrowhawk) obtained his facial scar, and how his journey to becoming an apprentice for the School on Roke to becoming the Archmage of all Earthsea started.

It also mentions characters not included in the film such as the Wizard Ogion – a wizard known for his ability to tame earthquakes – who came from the village of Re Albi after hearing of Ged’s – or Duny as the villagers called him – heroic deeds to protecting the villagers from invaders using witchcraft. Furthermore, Ogion is the first wizard to give the protagonist his name ‘Ged’ and to recognise his potential for sorcery.

After this event, the two characters set foot on a journey where Ged’s prospect of sorcery is shown as naive through his depiction of what makes a wizard, and his belief to using magic for one’s daily desires. Moreover, during his time with Ogion, he has his first encounter with an enchantress – who is also the daughter of the old Lord of Re Albi – who mesmerises Ged into opening ancient lore books to summon beings from worlds unknown.

Many exciting events follow which will give readers a better understanding of the story, and the main message Ursula Le Guin (the author) wants readers to recognise. I would highly recommend reading this book before watching the film to have prior knowledge about the setting, and the characters of the story. Overall, a good book that I enjoyed reading and would encourage readers of such fiction to try.

A Book Review on Crisis, Issues and Reputation Management by Andrew Griffin

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Andrew Griffin, Communications, Corporate Branding, Corporate Communications, Crisis, Issues, Marketing, PR, Reputation

Crisis, Issues and Reputation Management by Andrew Griffin, was a very enjoyable book to read. It contains examples of incidents that escalated into or had the potential of becoming crises. This includes O2’s connectivity outage and other major incidents (Nestle, Unilever, General Electric, McDonald’s, Coca-cola, Tesco et al), and how some triumphed, whilst others failed to protect their reputation during a crisis. Moreover, the book discusses the importance of reputation and how it is crucial  to know when to act, or to wait during crises and/or issues.

Furthermore, it discusses how social media, plays a vital role beyond its usual functions during a crisis, and how it integrates well with any crisis communication strategy a crisis management team (CMT) may have. This, I would say was one of the most enjoyable part of the book – it does not only talk about social media as a useful communication tool, but also clarifies and describes its role as tactical rather than strategic. In addition, I believe this is the current message that many practitioners within marketing, but particularly PR are trying to communicate to others within communication.

Overall, an excellent literature and one which I would highly recommend for those who want to understand the difference between crises and issues, and how corporate citizenship, or corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be successfully handled and managed by a communication team.

Studyguide for PR: Strategies and Tactics by Wilcox

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Communications, PR, Public Relations, Wilcox

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After seeing this book on Waterstone’s website I thought it would be interesting to read a book with a focus on PR strategies. However, it was slightly disappointing to learn that it is a notebook rather than an actual book. It has generous blank pages for you to write on and various terminologies with their definitions. I still read the material and learned new terms which was an interesting learning experience. However, I would only recommend this book if you want to widen your vocabulary and perhaps know very little about PR.

Furthermore, what caught my eye to purchase this book were the words – strategies and tactics – included in its title. However, again it was different to what I anticipated it to be. Overall, it’s an interesting book and it would definitely be useful to others.

Effective Public Relations; Another Book Review

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Communications, Marketing, Public Relations

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Effective Public Relations by Scott Cutlip, Allen Center and Glen Broom is one of the first books that I’ve read on PR that does not mention digital comms. However, I still enjoyed the book and would still recommend it for communications professionals who prefer to read books on traditional PR. The book also discusses PR on different perspectives; from a psychological point of view to a sociological approach, which I unfortunately least enjoyed.

On the other hand, it still touches on some interesting topics such as the dynamic tension in the relationship between PR practitioners and journalists, which – to some extent -may still be true. Overall, an interesting book, but I prefer the current PR/marketing literatures that also discuss digital communications along with traditional PR/marketing methods.

The Passion of New Eve; A Strange, Gender-Bending but Great Piece of Literature

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Carter, Eve, Evelyn, fiction, short-stories, The Bloody Chamber

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Having read Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber and being aware that she was a feminist, I had assumptions of what The Passion of New Eve may be about. And I was not disappointed as the book is full of vivid images and Carter’s ability to distort reality with fantasy blends well with the story’s themes. The male protagonist, who objectifies women is transformed into a woman against his will after being abducted by a female tribe.

Carter leaves the process of transformation to the reader’s minds, however in my opinion it seems as though the character is transformed through a ritual, or a surgical method too modern for the setting. Again, distorting the semi-realistic setting of the story with the fantasy like events and unusual characters. The protagonist then suffers from the hands of a half-man like creature who rapes her. A series of strange and cruel events follow, but In the end she decides to remain a woman and develops a completely different view of men, women and herself.

The book by far, is the strangest amongst Carter’s collection. The extreme bending of gender roles and reality shows how open-minded the author perhaps was, as the values in society during that time were perhaps more conservative. Overall, an interesting and fantastic book best suited for an open-minded reader.

A Must Read; Fool’s Gold by Gillian Tett

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Banking, Derivatives, Financial, Investment Banking

Visit my professional profile at: uk.linkedin.com/in/kylajanematriano “How unrestrained greed corrupted a dream, shattered global markets and unleashed a catastrophe”- Gillian Tett.

Prior to reading Fool’s Gold, I did not have any idea of what derivative contracts or bonds were. However, after discussing the financial crisis of 2008 with a colleague, and as a result received the book as a birthday present. I now have an understanding of what derivative contracts are in the investment banking world.

Gillian Tett’s hypothesis on the possible causes to the financial crisis in 2008, and the collapsed of the Lehman Brothers was based on case studies of other major banking firms. One of many is AIG’s – a giant insurance firm – abrupt cut in their credit and derivative contracts in the autumn of 2008, where a possible collapse of the firm threatened to trigger a string of other banks collapsing.

Tett narrates the media’s lack of interests in derivatives during the year of 2005, and how often reluctant bankers were to discuss derivative contracts. Jargons and complex mathematical formulas were used to keep outsiders from understanding the derivatives world. But little did the media nor other bankers predict the birth of derivatives would become the behemoth that will shatter the financial sector in the coming years.

The case study of J.P. Morgan, and its merged with Manhattan Chase to now, JP Morgan Chase & Co, played an important role in Tett’s case study. She talks about how the birth of the derivative contracts influenced the creation of several new bonds, and the mutation of others: BISTRO, AAA, CDO’s, ABCP et al.

Furthermore, she mentions J.P. Morgan’s young derivatives team who helped nurture the development of the contracts. And how Bill Winters, Peter Hancock and Bill Demchak, a few well-known bankers during that time influenced the tides of the investment banking world, which eventually led to the financial crisis.

The book is fascinating and very educating for curious minds that desire to know more about the financial industry. Currently, I am often reminded of Tett’s narrative when I glimpse on newstories about  derivatives. However, compared to my prior encounter with the topic, I am no longer unarmed.

The Marketing Agency Blueprint; A Book Review.

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Digital Marketing, Marketing

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The Marketing Agency Blueprint by Paul Roetzer is a fantastic and inspiring, read for professionals and entrepreneurs in the Digital Marketing industry. It narrates the humble beginnings of PR 20/20, and how it surpassed challenging times. It also mentions the importance of using SaaS – software as a business – for any digital or hybrid marketing agencies to move forward.

The literature is filled with ambitions, stories of great teamwork and fantastic leadership skills. Paul Roetzer also highlights the importance of providing great atmosphere for team members, whilst nurturing their enthusiasm. A rare and integral trait that any team leader must have to succeed.

Furthermore, It contains some of the author’s personal analogies on renowned traditional marketing agencies, whose glory had long gone due to reluctance to change. A crucial action that many traditional agencies have to take to compete, and succeed in the creative, yet carnivorous marketing/PR industry to date.

To conclude, an inspirational piece of literature that will ignite the passion of digital marketing entrepreneurs or practitioners. A simple, informative and useful book that you will surely enjoy and remember.

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Gail Martin’s 30 days to Online PR and Marketing Success; A Book Review.

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Marketing, PR and Social Media, SEO

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30 Days To Online PR and Marketing Success is a short but informative book that readers will surely enjoy. Unlike other books, it contains mini-exercises for the readers to complete and put what they have learned into practice. The book discusses the advantage of social media, online PR and marketing compare to traditional methods.

Furthermore, it also gives advice on free newswires for companies who cannot always pay for PRNewswire or Business Newswire. However, I found that some of the websites are non-existent or not completely free.

On the other hand, the book discusses the integration of e-newsletters for increasing social media following. Interestingly, I tried this method before although, it is a great tool to use I do not think it is effective on its own.

Overall, a decent book that you will surely enjoy, and will surely help you understand the current changes in PR, Marketing and Social Media industries.

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