Literary Previews: The Paris Review – Fall 2023
Category Archives: Reviews
Culinary: Japanese Chef Prepares Kampachi Dishes
Previews: Country Life Magazine – Sept 13, 2023
Country Life Magazine – September 13, 2023: The new issue features the more outlandish and risqué techniques plants have developed to spread their seed, a magical garden restoration at Aldourie Castle in Inverness-shire, the origins of Spetchley Park, Worcestershire, and more…
Fifty shades of green
John Wright investigates some of the more outlandish and risqué techniques plants have developed to spread their seed
A Scottish fairy tale
George Plumptre is spellbound by a magical garden restoration at Aldourie Castle in Inverness-shire
An architectural accident
In the first of two articles, John Goodall explores the origins of Spetchley Park, Worcestershire
Opinion: The Middle East’s Future, Managing Wealth, London Bus Driver Health
‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (September 18, 2023) – Three essential articles read aloud from the The Economist. This week, the future of the Middle East, Wall Street’s race to wealth management (10:00), and how London’s bus drivers revolutionised health (17:40).
Views: Artisans Of Bavaria
Travel In Turkey: What To See, Do And Eat In Istanbul
What to do
● What was founded as the Byzantine emperor Justinian’s 6th-century church has ballooned over aeons into the Hagia Sophia. Now a mosque, it’s a gargantuan spectacle. Enter and in the spiritual gloom a magnificence develops, daylight angling through windows in the galactic dome light years above. Remarkably there is even runic graffiti, carved by a mercenary from the Viking age (free; muze.gen.tr).
● Allocate a day to explore Topkapi Palace, home of the Ottoman sultans built in 1459 by Mehmet the Conqueror, who grabbed Constantinople from the fading Byzantines. Chamber after chamber reveals military regalia and priceless gifts from dynasties as far away as China. The Bosphorus views are magnificent and the emerald lawns are made for lounging on (£20, includes harem access; muze.gen.tr).
● The Ecumenical Patriarch, spiritual leader of Eastern Orthodox Christians worldwide, resides at the Patriarchate of Constantinople, a serene neoclassical complex in Fener district, above the waters of the Golden Horn creek. Join global pilgrims in the glittery cathedral aisles and witness, perhaps, the divine liturgy or, later, vespers — black-clad, scented and seductively mystic (free; ec-patr.org).
● We associate art nouveau with Paris and Budapest, but in the twilight years of the Ottomans it flourished in Istanbul. Casa Botter (originally Botter Apartmani), built on Istiklal Caddesi at the turn of the 20th century for a tailor to Sultan Abdul Hamid, was the city’s first example. After decades of neglect it’s now a must-visit art gallery and, façade-wise, a real kooky looker, chiselled and Viennese-ornate (free; Instagram @casabotter).
Previews: The New Yorker Magazine – Sept 18, 2023
Ross Douthat’s Theories of Persuasion
At a time of distrust and polarization, the conservative Times columnist seeks to bridge the worlds of the Christian right and the secular left.
This summer, Ross Douthat, liberal America’s favorite conservative commentator, wrote a piece about liberal America’s least favorite Democrat, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Douthat argued in his New York Times column that an unwillingness to debate Kennedy—who has claimed that childhood vaccines cause autism, that 5G networks are part of a mass-surveillance system, and that covid was designed to spare Jewish and Chinese people—was an insufficient response to voters who are increasingly distrustful of the establishment.
What Kate DiCamillo Understands About Children
Her books for young readers have sold more than forty-four million copies. They are full of yearning, loneliness, ambivalence, and worry.
By Casey Cep
Three winters in a row, Kate DiCamillo went into the hospital, never sure if she would come home and always a little scared to do so. One of those winters, when she was four years old and the air outside was even colder than the metal frames of the oxygen tents she’d grown accustomed to having above her bed, her father came to see her. He was wearing a long black overcoat, which made him look like a magician. “I brought you a gift,” he said, pulling something from his pocket as if from a top hat.
Climate Change: Can Cities Be Sustainable Solutions?
“Urban living must save the planet!” says Xuemei Bai, an Australian professor for sustainability research. But is it really possible to live more sustainably in the city than in the countryside? What about the suburbs? “The suburbs are a climate killer,” says climate economist Gernot Wagner. In the classic suburb – large plots of land with detached or semi-detached properties – CO2 emissions are two to three times as high as in city centers or rural areas. So, why are cities so crucial for the climate?
The answer is simple: Because they are growing exponentially. The UN says that by the year 2050, more than two thirds of the world’s population will be living in cities. Density is one reason cities have so much potential. In a city, measures such as home redevelopments or electric bus routes impact far more people than they would in rural areas.
So, should we all live in megacities to save the Earth? In Europe, many people are turning their backs on urban life in favor of a home in the suburbs or the countryside. So what should the cities of the future look like, if they are to sustainably accommodate as many people as possible while still offering a good quality of life? After all, skyscrapers aren’t necessarily a good choice. Urban planner Dita Leyh compares a city of high-rise buildings with an asparagus field: “They’re like asparagus tips everywhere.
The spaces in between aren’t really useable. That’s not an interesting public space,” she says. So, what should a city look like then? There’s no single blueprint, because every city has its own challenges, as well as different climactic and social conditions. Can cities really save us? #documentary #dwdocumentary
Finance Preview: Barron’s Magazine – Sept 11, 2023
BARRON’S MAGAZINE – SEPTEMBER 11, 2023:
More Americans Are Working Into Their 80s. The Future of Labor.
As the baby boomers age, it’s becoming more common for people to remain employed into their 70s and 80s. These octogenarians tell us why they still aren’t ready to retire.
Food Stocks Have Gotten Hit Hard. 6 to Buy Now.
Kraft Heinz, Kellogg, General Mills, and other leading snack makers could serve up gains of 20% or more. Their healthy dividends are a plus.
Almost All Workers Should Contribute to Roth Accounts. Here’s Why.
No matter what your current income, saving part of your retirement money in a Roth after-tax account will give you more flexibility down the road.
The New York Times Book Review – Sept 10, 2023
THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW (September 10, 2023): The new issue features Zadie Smith’s very Dickensian new novel, “The Fraud,” In nonfiction, the extremely different romantic lives of George Orwell and George Eliot are reviewed, and a biography of the con man who paved the way for all those “Nigerian prince” email scams.
Zadie Smith Makes 1860s London Feel Alive, and Recognizable
Her new novel, “The Fraud,” is based on a celebrated 19th-century criminal trial, but it keeps one eye focused clearly on today’s political populism.
By Karan Mahajan
All over the dorm in California glinted pale-orange and tabasco-red and steel-blue copies of Zadie Smith’s “White Teeth,” with their hard white bright lettering. The year was 2001, and “White Teeth” had been assigned as incoming reading for my freshman dorm. I remember loving the sprawling, rude, funny, slapdash narration, the magical way in which Smith brought it all together in the figure of a genetically engineered mouse.
Lauren Groff’s Latest Is a Lonely Novel of Hunger and Survival
“The Vaster Wilds” follows a girl’s escape from a nameless colonial settlement into the unforgiving terrain of America.
By Fiona Mozley
Jamestown, Va., the first permanent English settlement in the Americas, very nearly didn’t survive. A few years into its existence, in the early 1600s, the majority of the population had succumbed to famine and disease. The period known as the Starving Time has taken on allegorical status. Jamestown is the colony that tried too much too soon; that underestimated the harsh climate, the foreign land, its existing, Indigenous population. Pilgrims went in search of heaven and found hell.
Boomers Daily 