Pint of Purple: Ramsey Marwan

As he bids farewell to his position as Music Editor today, Ramsey Marwan takes a moment to, rather emotionally, answer our Pint of Purple questions. 

What book are you reading at the moment?

George Owell’s 1984. I’m not too hot when it comes to reading books over 300 pages and I got about two-thirds of the way through over the summer and gave up. Now I’m determined to finish it, especially because whenever I tell people I’m reading it, I get the response “Oh, I read that in Year 9”. I’ve got catching up to do!

Who is your favourite literary character?

This is a tough one – Catcher in the Rye’s Holden Caulfield and Lennie Small from Of Mice and Men are close second and third, but I’d have to say Long John Silver from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. I grew up reading that book, and Long John is such a badass – he’s cunning from the start, convincing everyone that he’s a ship’s cook, and despite tricking his crew countless times, he’s always able to talk himself out of a tricky situation. He even escapes at the end with some treasure – what a lad.

What is the first book you remember reading?

Probably Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (with a little help from my Mum). I was eight when the first of the series was released and terrified by the adventures of the orphans trying to escape the clutches of their weird uncle. By the time I reached the ninth book I noticed that every installment was just a slightly reworded version of the last and stopped shelling out my pocket money. I never did find out what happened to Count Olaf.

What is your all-time favourite book?

Jack Kerouac’s On the Road. I love to travel and as an American Studies student and a lover of all things Americana, this book pretty much gives me everything I could ask for. Befit with sex, drugs and jazz, it is a real student book – appealing to those who don’t have a clue where they’re going, or quite where they want to be. (Me!)

If you wrote an autobiography, what would be the title?

I’ve been reading a lot of Frank Sinatra biographies for my dissertation and they have some pretty cool titles. With some heavy borrowing, I wouldn’t mind ‘Ramsey Marwan: The Man, The Music, The Legend’.

Kindle vs. the book?

It’s got to be a book. I like having something I can hold and knowing how much I have left to read and having a bunch of books on my shelf makes me at least feel smart. Also, I like the idea of one day having a huge library of my own books which I can leave to my kids.

How much is a pint of purple?

It’s been two years since I circled, so I think I can be let off for not having a clue. I’d guess around £2?