For you literature lovers – Galley Cat has a daily book review (of books of any genre) and a monthly digest of the best review content. It also includes links, Twitter directories and recommendations. Explore the reviews via Scribd.
The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World by Iain McGilchrist relates how the two very different parts of the human brain – the detail-oriented, self-centered left side and the flexible, generous right side – have shaped Western culture and thought. Read a review in The Guardian
Flavorwire suggests the new wave of chick lit might be a little less glossy and aspirational in a response to the difficult financial climate, perhaps providing titles such as: The Devil Wears Vera Wang for Kohl’s Banana Republic Brunettes The Madoff Diaries If you can’t identify the original titles, you obviously having been paying attention [...]
Vanity publishing got a little vainer with the advent of vanity publishing awards. The National Best Book Awards has 150 categories; every entrant is a finalist and some categories have only one entrant. Those lucky winners can then buy a gold star with which to adorn the dust jacket (for a reasonable fee of $69). [...]
Flavorwire has revealed the five rockstar “consort” memoirs you must read. They are: Backstage Passes: Life on the Wild Side with David Bowie by Angela Bowie with Patrick Carr Life with My Sister Madonna by Christopher Ciccone with Wendy Leigh Faithfull: An Autobiography by Marianne Faithfull with David Dalton A Freewheelin’ Time: A Memoir of [...]
Reality Matters: 19 Writers Come Clean About the Shows We Can’t Stop Watching by Anna David is a collection of essays by authors, such as James Frey, in which they reflect how they got hooked by reality TV – Big Brother, Survivor, The Real Housewives et al – and how it has shaped their lives [...]
If you are looking for a good book to take to the beach, but can’t decide which, take a look at the books most frequently sold by NYC’s street vendors (which may or may not be a good recommendation – are these just the books that people get rid of?). The top four are Ian [...]
The Great Oom: The Improbable Birth of Yoga in America by Robert Love is the story of how yoga was popularized in America by Pierre Bernard. It’s a rollicking tale of sex, money, midgets and elephants. Read a review in the Wall Street Journal.
Where Good Ideas Come From: A Natural History of Innovation by Steven Johnson (pub: Oct 2010) asks – and answers – a series of qustions such as, ” Why have cities historically been such hubs of innovation? What do the printing press and Apple have in common? And what does this have to do with [...]
Sudden Genius: Creativity explored through ten extraordinary lives by Andrew Robinson looks at the nature of good ideas – why some people have loads and some seem to have few, if any. And how does a ‘sudden flash of genius’ happen? He explores these questions by examining the lives of five artists and five scientists [...]