At the invitation of Prof Sam Jacob, next month I'll be presiding over three sessions of the Architectural Association's Book Club. The three texts are joined by the theme "Malign Interiors" - rooms that derange, abduct and kill. So plenty of interest for architects, but the sessions are open to all. Here are the details:
18 February: The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Confined to bed by illness, a woman is tormented by the hideous wallpaper in her sickroom.
25 February: The Dreams in the Witch House by HP Lovecraft
A student of advanced maths and quantum theory is haunted by the irregular geometry of his room in an ancient house in New England.
4 March: Care of Wooden Floors by me.
Looking after a friend's flat in a foreign city, a man expects its beautiful minimalist interior to make him a better person - but it leads to chaos and humiliation.
Starts 7pm each time in the AA's Bookshop. The first two stories are out of copyright and free online (here and here, for instance), but I recommend buying them in anthology so you can explore more by their authors. The third is reasonably priced in all good bookstores. A man's got to eat.
