A smile and a sympathetic ear go a long way in politics – sadly, not far enough A research experiment revealed that listening to people makes you more likeable but no more persuasive The Guardian - UK · Sep 14, 2024
Virginie Despentes: ‘I wasn’t writing Baise-Moi from a very good place’ The French author of the rape-revenge story on drug addiction, her debt to Charles Bukowski and her new #MeToo book set in publishing The Guardian - UK · Sep 14, 2024
The week in audio: Sara & Cariad’s Weirdos Book Club; The Coming Storm; Proms 2024 A winning double act provide revealing literary insights; Gabriel Gatehouse dives back into American conspiracy culture; and Florence + the Machine are top of the Proms The Guardian - UK · Sep 14, 2024
Crisis at Jewish Chronicle as stories based on ‘wild fabrications’ are withdrawn Newspaper’s due diligence is under scrutiny amid growing misgivings over its ownership and the role of its editor The Guardian - UK · Sep 14, 2024
Is the fizz up to Edith Wharton’s standards? The joys of launching a book A party supported by pals who made it through rush hour rain was appropriate for an anthology celebrating female friendship The Guardian - UK · Sep 14, 2024
From a new Murakami to a memoir by Cher: the best books of the autumn Cosy crime, eco-thrillers, political memoirs, YA fantasy: there’s something for everyone in our pick of the books to look out for in the months ahead The Guardian - UK · Sep 14, 2024
Sally Rooney says success of Normal People felt like ‘too much’ Irish author says she felt overwhelmed by the frenzy sparked by her book and the BBC’s 2020 adaptation starring Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones The Independent UK · Sep 14, 2024
Sally Rooney is her own harshest critic – but that could be a good thing The release of the Irish author’s latest novel, ‘Intermezzo’, is one of the biggest literary events of 2024, but Rooney is a writer who seems increasingly ill at ease with her ‘voice of a generation’ status, says Katie Rosseinsky The Independent UK · Sep 14, 2024
Chris Brookmyre named as winner of major crime writing festival prize Chris Brookmyre has been declared this year’s winner of the McIlvanney Prize for his latest crime thriller, The Cracked Mirror ... The National (Scotland) · Sep 13, 2024
Markus Zusak: ‘Yes, I swear at home and call my dog a bastard – that’s how we all live’ The global bestselling writer on the wildness, love and sorrow that defines life with dogs The Guardian - AU · Sep 13, 2024
Netflix Just Quietly Released the Most Outdated Sci-Fi Thriller of 2024 This YA dystopian adaptation has been in production for three years, but it feels more like 13. Inverse · Sep 13, 2024
My Friends by Hisham Matar audiobook review – life in exile Three Libyan friends navigate life in London, separated from their families, in a meditative book steeped in the author’s own experience The Guardian - UK · Sep 13, 2024
The best recent science fiction, fantasy and horror – reviews roundup The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera; Withered Hill by David Barnett; Crypt of the Moon Spider by Nathan Ballingrud; The Stardust Grail by Yume Kitasei; The Specimens by Hana Gammon The Guardian - UK · Sep 13, 2024
Bernardine Evaristo: ‘I’ve gone from being a raging ranter in my 20s to a radical reasoner in my 60s’ The Booker-winning author on the impact of Audre Lorde’s essays, being entranced by Dylan Thomas, and finding her poetic voice with Derek Walcott The Guardian - UK · Sep 13, 2024
The Guardian - UK · Sep 13, 2024 Yavuz Ekinci terrorist propaganda charges in Turkey are ‘bogus’, says PEN International The writer could face up to seven-and-a-half years in prison for charges relating to his 2014 book about a Kurdish man who flees Turkey, which was banned there last year
The Independent UK · Sep 13, 2024 The name’s Bond... ‘Biffy’ Bond? The real-life sailor, spy and friend of Ian Fleming who ‘inspired 007’ The Bond-like adventures of Biffy began in 1916 in Russia and appear straight from the pages of 007 thrillers
The Guardian - UK · Sep 13, 2024 Annihilation by Michel Houellebecq review – the failure of politics The chaos element of the populist right disrupts France’s weary liberal regime, in a novel of sadness and eerie serenity that marks a new direction
The Independent UK · Sep 12, 2024 Florida school district must restore books with LGBTQ+ content under settlement A school district in northeast Florida must put back in libraries three dozen books as part of a settlement with students and parents
Salon · Sep 12, 2024 NYPD ignores 100s of misconduct cases The department has killed more than 400 substantiated cases of alleged misconduct this year
Evening Standard · Sep 12, 2024 OPINION - Men don't read any more — what happened? Why don’t men read? Oh, I know dear male Standard readers do, those urbane, literary, poised and secretly perverted doyens of good taste. But those other men, they are not reading fiction. Oh sure, they read Sir Alex Ferguson’s book, Lewis Hamilton’s book, books about cage fighters and career criminals,…
Total Film · Sep 12, 2024 First trailer for new Stephen King adaptation Salem's Lot is a mix between Midnight Mass and 30 Days of Night He has risen...
Wallpaper · Sep 12, 2024 Fashion’s favourite bookstore, Climax, opens a ‘sexy, angry’ New York outpost Wallpaper* catches up with Isabella Burley, founder of Climax, as she inaugurates a New York outpost of the cult bookstore and showcases a playful new collaboration with fashion label Chopova Lowena
The Guardian - AU · Sep 12, 2024 Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty review – interesting premise, disappointing result The Big Little Lies author imagines what would happen if a mysterious woman on a flight began predicting the deaths of her fellow passengers
The Guardian - UK · Sep 12, 2024 Early version of Lord of the Flies with different beginning to go on display Manuscript that begins with boys evacuated amid nuclear war is part of exhibition marking 70 years since novel’s publication
The Conversation · Sep 12, 2024 Johannesburg’s underbelly is explored in Niq Mhlongo’s fresh new novel about a messy break-up Niq Mhlongo was born in Soweto, Johannesburg in 1973 and grew up under apartheid, South Africa’s institutionalised racial segregation under white minority rule. He graduated in political studies and African literature in 1996 and then studied law, but dropped out in his final year to become a writer instead.