MISCELLANY UNCOMMON KNOWLEDGE by Tom Standage (Economist £8.99, 272 pp) This is what Tom Standage, deputy editor of The Economist, calls ‘a compendium of explanations’. It’s uncommon knowledge in two senses of the word: in the normal sense of ‘rare or infrequently encountered’, and also as in the meaning ‘exceptional and extraordinary’. In short, it’s … Read more
North Korea may be a nightmarishly oppressive state, but for architects there’s a sliver of dreamland within – the capital, Pyongyang. As architects Cristiano Bianchi and Kristina Drapic explain in their new book, Model City Pyongyang. They say: ‘We realised that the city does have its own strange kind of beauty. Pyongyang embodies the dream … Read more
BREAKING NEWS: Woody Allen’s publisher cancels his book after staff walk out amid criticism for publishing the memoir despite allegations he sexually abused his daughter Dylan Farrow Hachette Book Group announced Friday it would not publish the memoir It followed days of criticism focused on allegations that Allen sexually abused his daughter Dylan Farrow On Thursday staff … Read more
This is Kelly’s Landing, a lobster ‘pound’ (or shack) on a wooden deck jutting into Maine’s Moosehead Lake. The woman next to me starts chatting. She’s a resident of Greenville, and delights in telling me that Moosehead Lake is the holiday destination New Yorkers prefer to keep to themselves. ‘This is a quiet, rustic, relaxed … Read more
WHAT BOOK would novelist Sebastian Barry take to a desert island? Sebastian Barry would take Collected Poems of Jack Gilbert on a desert island The Costa-winning novelist said Sir Philip Sidney’s The Old Arcadia left him cold He said he has no memory of being able to read until he was around eight By Daily … Read more
She has revealed she doesn’t want to wait too long to have another child. And Alesha Dixon has plenty of bedtime stories for any new arrival after celebrating the launch of her new book Star Switch in London on Thursday. The Britain’s Got Talent star, 41, went for a futuristic look as she posed with fresh … Read more
Millions of children across the world will be celebrating World Book Day today, with many arriving at schools all over the UK in costumes resembling their favourite characters from Roald Dahl’s the Duke of Hampshire to Disney classic Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. World Book Day is usually held on the first Thursday in … Read more
‘It’s a Tinker Bell kinda day!’ Amanda Holden gets into character as Peter Pan’s fairy sidekick while Rochelle Humes’ daughters dress as their favourite fictional figures for World Book Day By Jason Chester for MailOnline Published: 09:00 GMT, 5 March 2020 | Updated: 09:39 GMT, 5 March 2020 Advertisement Amanda Holden led the way on … Read more
Online hotel booking websites are good at making you think you’re getting a bargain. And they want you to move fast because, as they put it, ‘there are only two rooms left’ and the hotel is experiencing ‘high demand’. But last week, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it will take ‘enforcement action … Read more
From ruin to redemption: Incredible before-and-after images show how abandoned buildings have been given stunning new leases of life The images are included in a brand new book called Ruin and Redemption in Architecture by Dan Barasch It charts ruined spaces from around the world and the extraordinary designs that have transformed them They include a former … Read more