Eight great literary love affairs
The Daily Beast documents the literary couples that had the most over-the-top, passionate relationships in history.
"Whether we want to admit it or not, the lives of celebrities fascinate us. Some are merely a welcome distraction with their ridiculous dramas and eccentricities — other notable people, especially artists we admire, provoke us to learn more about ourselves through reading about their lives. Artists live life on the edge, and they live it with great ego — a faith in themselves and in their work that gets them out of bed every morning. And we all know great ego, but most especially two great egos, makes for the most entertaining stories of narcissism and passion best played out behind closed doors, often in the bedroom."
More here.
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Can women write intellectually challenging novels?
The Fine Books Blog reports on the highly-respected English novelist A.S. Byatt's speech at the Edinburgh Festival that "women who write industrial-strength fiction are treated by critics as oddities, 'like a dog standing on its hind legs'. Byatt said this while firmly standing on the only two legs she has, as she accepted the James Tait Black memorial prize for her novel, 'The Children's Book'." More here.
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Liz Hurley infuriates dieticians by skipping breakfast
The London Daily Mail reports that she keeps herself looking slim by skipping breakfast entirely. "Her morning routine consists of mugs of hot water, an occasional espresso followed by a mid-morning snack of oat cakes.
Earlier she had tweeted: ‘Another workout in the gym with the Australian (presumably a personal trainer rather than the newspaper, although she may be left leaning!) and an awful lot of hot water.’
"Leading nutritionist Carina Norris said porridge with fruit and nuts cut on top and a glass of juice would be a far more healthy alternative for those wanting to maintain a healthy figure or lose weight. She said: ‘If you think that some hot water and a coffee is all you need to look like Liz Hurley, then I’m afraid you are wrong.‘This is not the breakfast that I would recommend."
More here.
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Comma by Hilary Mantel
The London Guardian Summer Short Fiction Special includes last year's Booker prizewinner Hilary Mantel with a story, 'Comma'. Other stories from David Mitchell, Barbara Trapido, Roddy Doyle. Find the stories http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/aug/14/hilary-mantel-summer-short-story>here.
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Eat, pray, dumped by Danielle Friedman
The Daily Beast features Elizabeth Gilbert's ex-husband. "So your wife leaves you and turns the story of your marriage into a national pastime. The higher Elizabeth Gilbert climbs up the fame-o-meter, the more gut-wrenching the question becomes: What’s it like to be the guy whose heartbreak launched a multi-million-dollar feel-good franchise? This was an especially standout week for Gilbert. The film adaptation of her mega-bestselling Eat, Pray, Love opened to massive hype and box office sales. Women across the country shed happy tears over the true story — her true story — of divorce, followed by self-discovery and empowerment."
More here.
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Five Books on everything
The fascinating Five Books website asks various people across a range of disciplines to choose five books on their specialist subject. For example, the historian and author, Allison Weir "plunges us deep into the world of walled-up skeletons, Vikings, poisoning, intrigue, witchcraft and rebellion. Her book choices reflect the best of British historical fiction – novels that never compromise on painstaking research." List here.
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The top ten cook books
From the London Observer's Original Fifty. The expert judges were: Raymond Blanc, Bill Buford, Rachel Cooke, Monty Don, Fuchsia Dunlop, Fergus Henderson, Mark Hix, Simon Hopkinson, Atul Kochar, Prue Leith, Thomasina Miers, Tom Parker-Bowles, Jay Rayner, David Thompson and the OFM team. List here.
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Oh, the unbearable nostalgia of those fading holiday snaps
In the age of digital photo files (and who is going to preserve those for fifty years, and in what medium), contrast with a nostalgic piece in the London Daily Mail on holiday snaps and families in 1960s Britain. What never changes, seemingly, is the weather, with August being damp and cold. No wonder the British head off to Provence, Tuscany and Crete.
"Grandad playing ball with you on the beach. Mum looking so young at that picnic. Why do our old family photographs tug so very hard at the heartstrings?
Those were the days when men wore ties. Even at the beach. Today it's inconceivable that I was part of that black-and-white world, and yet, there I am, knock-kneed and toddler-bellied, not reaching up to my grandad's waist. Note the photograph's authentic period detail: how Grandad's rolled-up shirtsleeves rhyme with his rolled-up trousers, those winningly minimal sartorial concessions to the seaside outing. During my childhood, such snaps proliferated less than they do now, and so maybe they are more poignant than those my daughter will upload to her iPad (I hope not).
My family rarely write captions on the back of our holiday snaps (what's wrong with us?), so when my mother and I found these two pictures in a box recently, we weren't quite sure where or when they were taken. But most likely it was on one of those North Wales beaches to which we landlocked West Midlanders descended in terrifying numbers each summer. Our journey, through Snowdonia's winding roads, seemed endless. In those days, we didn't have iPods, CD or portable DVD players or, as I remember, a car radio. How could we have made it from Dudley to the beach and back in a day in one car without killing each other?" More here.
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Digital dumping grounds
Some grim photos from the New York Times on the "unintended consequences of people trying to help with the digital divide. The piece shows a dump in Ghana where computers are torn apart and burned to get out precious metals. There are rules in place to keep dumping of e-waste out of 3rd world countries. The problem in this case is that the computers got into the country as a donation to try to reduce the digital divide. Trying to solve problems can be a very difficult thing because there are often unintended consequences." Photos here.
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Odd book title
Albert J. Nock. Snoring as a Fine Art. Freeport. Books for Libraries Press. 1958. Debbie Campbell from the National Library reports that their TROVE service has this covered here.
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