A Feeling for Rock

“This fresh, eclectic mix of utility and art illustrates why we climb – alongside the how, where and what.”

Lynn Robinson, BMC President

UNITED KINGDOM:

Book (£12.99) + UK postage (£1.00)

£13.99

EUROPE, NORTH AMERICA, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND*:

Book (£12.99) + postage to Europe, North America etc* (£7)

£19.99

Follow Instagram / Facebook – @afeelingforrock

EXCITEMENT: really fun interview with @natalie.a.berry even though I struggle, throughout, at sitting on my chair. Was so great to meet Natalie after years of emails. EXCLUSION: keep the cold out with these @scruffy_dogs leg-warmers!! I am a massive leg-warmer fan, they are so great at the crag (or indeed indoors as modelled here), why does everyone not have them? Ruth also does hats. And knitted pumpkins. Ruth knits and cycles now, but she used to climb like a Queen, and pops up throughout A Feeling for Rock like a golden thread/iron bar. GEEKERY: happiness is a well-fitting nut. APPRECIATION: my prize!!!! A fantastic original glass artwork by Canadian sisters Melanie Rowe and @leslie.rowe.israelson. Thank you Banff!Something I will treasure forever. SURPRISE!!!!! Look what came through the post today! BELONGING: speaking at @kendalmountainlitfest! Some chat and poems over soundscapes backed by double-feeling screens. This was online for 10 days but I helped erect a barbed wire fence in Scotland and missed the window to share it. SKILLZ!!!!! JOY: a bird in the rock is worth two in the hand… PAIN: entertaining review in lrish Mountain Log: “…a book which probably has something of interest for every potential reader, as well as other material of lesser or even of no interest whatsoever.” NO INTEREST WHATSOEVER. Emphatic! APPRECIATION: at the outright fabulousness of BMC ex-President @bmc_lynn. She features as a devotee in Days and Days (see photo!), and picked DEVOTION playing Cut to the Heart/the Feeling Game. Very appropriate. Though no free book, as the chosen chapter that night was BELONGING.

Through a mix of poetry, cartoons, essays, interviews, weavings, photographs and technical tips, A Feeling for Rock explores being bamboozled by a route, connecting with the landscape or flicking through a guidebook. The book ventures into ethical regions of bias and privilege and questions our relations with each other and the rock. Each chapter is headed by a different feeling – Love, Curiosity, Astonishment, Pain, Lust, Fear, Wonder and so on – conveying the emotional vividness of a climbing life.

“Rock climbing has shaped my body, my bookshelves, my home, my holidays, the clothes I wear, the vehicle I drive, how I spend my money and what happens when I die. I am a product of the rock. The dynamic is visceral, spiritual, intellectual and emotional – no area untouched by this curious hobby.”

Reviews:

Natalie Berry, UKClimbing Editor in Chief: “Sarah-Jane deftly explores the smorgasbord of emotions that rock, climbing and rock climbing culture have roused in her…As ever, SJ rocks the boat and tackles gender issues head-on; subverting the dominant discourse of men and mountains and instead putting sex, sensuality and emotion on the menu, through this highly immersive collection of prose, poetry and essays.“

Ian Parnell, Review in UKClimbing: “As the months [of lockdown] have dragged on, I’ve wondered is this just an enforced hibernation of the climbing spirit or is 2020 the year climbing’s soul finally died? It was a relief therefore to be asked to review A Feeling for Rock, Sarah-Jane Dobner’s first book, and recognise all the little unquantifiable wonders that make up the climbing life…” https://www.ukclimbing.com/gear/publications/other_publications/a_feeling_for_rock_by_sarah-jane_dobner-13463

*If you live outside these zones and you would like a book, please contact us via https://dobdobdob.co.uk/contact/ and we’ll make a plan.

Thank you for supporting A Feeling for Rock. Happy climbing.