Single Black Female

Karyn Langhorne Folan, author of Don’t Bring Home a White Boy: And Other Notions that Keep Black Women From Dating Out, suggests that single African American women need to start dating outside their race if they are to find a partner. Part of the problem is that ‘good’ black men i.e. those with college degrees [...]

Books to Inspire You

Barnes & Noble Review has published a list of recently published and forthcoming 20 books they’re excited about. In amongst them are a number that might (obviously or with a bit of creative thinking) make a good factual programme, such as:

36 Arguments for the Existence of God by Rebecca Goldstein -  a novel about faith [...]

Chicken Soup Gone Wrong

The Independent has a story about Oran Canfield, son of Chicken Soup for the Soul author and millionaire motivational speaker Jack Canfield. Oran has just written a memoir, Freefall, that tells how his father walked out on the family when Oran was a baby.  Since then Oran has drifted through a series of jobs – [...]

The Paris Review

The Paris Review has an extensive archive of Q&A interviews with authors dating back to 1953. Interviewees include Lawrence Durrell (1959),  Ernest Hemingway (1958) and James Baldwin (1984).
Explore more in The Paris Review Archive.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot (pub. 2 Feb 2010) is the fascinating and disturbing account of a poor black woman, who died of cervical cancer aged 31 yrs-old. During her treatment, cells were taken (unbenknownst to her) from her cervix, and extraordinarily, those cells are still alive decades after Henrietta’s death [...]

Author Interviews

Treat yourself to some vintage black and white TV and listen to some author interviews from the archives: Boldtype has put together their favourite five sites featuring charming or combative author interviews. Clips include Paul Auster, Toni Morrisson, Isabel Allende and Ayn Rand. See them here.

My Grill by Pete Evans

Aussie TV chef Pete Evans has written a new book, My Grill, which giveshe BBQ with a sophisticated spin with dishes such as Spiced Lamb Skewers with Pomegranate Molasses, Baby Octopus with Smoked Spanish Paprika and Sweet & Sour Capsicum and French Toast with Figs.

Hat tip: PSFK

Who’s Stealing Books?

The recession has led to a rash of shoplifters stealing books (at the rate of one per hour in one shop). The book that goes MIA most often in Austin, Texas? The Bible. However, in Manhattan, thieves have more literary tastes: Raymond Carver and Jack Kerourac are the most likely to walk off the shelves, [...]

If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be OK

Cory Doctorow over at Boing Boing posted a review of a book that should be required reading for paranoid parents everywhere: If Your Kid Eats This Book, Everything Will Still Be Okay: How to Know if Your Child’s Injury or Illness Is Really an Emergency by ER doctor Lara Zibners, who explains what ingested substances [...]

Familiar Characters, New Writers

The Washington Post reports that publishers of familiar books have commissioned new writers to continue the series after their original authors died. Coming up is And Another Thing (sixth in the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), Dracula: The Undead and a new Winnie the Pooh book. This trend signifies a change in attitude among estate [...]