Shakespeare has given us some of the most beautiful romances in history. Hemingway has given us some of the most controversial. Anaïs Nin, some of the most erotic. What inspired these writers, and others, to create such intense, arduous affairs in literature?
Click here for nonfiction on the real life romances of writers.
Advanced Style started as, and continues to be, a blog. Ari Seth Cohen wanted to chronicle the elegance, eccentricity, and charm of male and female fashion fanatics over the age of 60. Cohen roams the streets of New York City, searching for posh, panache, and those with a general flair for ensemble assembly. With permission given, Cohen photographs the most in vogue and posts them to his blog. Advanced Style is a hardcover coffee table book that collects the best of the best of Cohen’s chic fashion photography, pairing portraits with interviews and advice from his most refined and glamorous subjects
“The fate of millions of people – indeed the future of the black community itself – may depend on the willingness of those who care about racial justice to re-examine their basic assumptions about the role of the criminal justice system in our society.”
To begin that examination, check out Michelle Alexander’s nonfiction bestseller, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness.
A picture may be worth a thousand words, but in the case of Elizabeth Eckford and Hazel Bryan, a single photo set a course for the rest of their lives. In September 1957, 15-year-old Elizabeth was one of the first African-American students scheduled to attend an integrated school. She was prevented from entering the building by an abusive mob of adults and fellow students, including Hazel who was captured on film with her face contorted with hatred. Elizabeth and Hazel by David Margolick is the story of the events that led each woman to that day and how their lives have been irrevocably intertwined ever since. You may think you already know about this volatile time of American history, but these unwitting poster girls for the Civil Rights Movement are examples of how much we still have to learn.
Phiona Mutesi lives in poverty with her mother and three siblings in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda. It was while searching for food that Phiona stumbled upon Robert Katendo teaching chess. Katendo hoped to empower poor children and strengthen their minds through the complex game. By 11, Phiona was Uganda’s junior chess champion. At 15, she was the national chess champion. Tim Crothers, a former senior writing for Sports Illustrated, chronicles Phiona’s goal of becoming a grandmaster in chess. If you liked Behind the Beautiful Forevers, The Dressmaker of Khair Khana, or Half the Sky, you’ll probably like The Queen of Katwe.
“Poetry is nearer to vital truth than history,” said Plato. Perhaps what he meant was that poetry can make people recognize, comprehend, and connect personally to hard and beautiful truths easier than when facts are stated plainly. The Twentieth Century in Poetry, edited by Michael Hulse and Simon Rae, hopes to put the history of 1900 – 2000 in context through English-language poetry. Over 400 poems are ordered chronologically, each era is given a brief introduction, and the poems have concise notes to help give them historical context. You can rediscover old favorites – like Joyce, Eliot, Ginsberg, Frost, and Plath – while you unearth a plethora of poets that time has unfairly forgotten.
The Orchard by Theresa Weir tells the story of a street-wise girl who marries into an old and well-respected farm family. Insight is given on farm traditions, the standard use of pesticides, its effect on the land, and dealing with the iron will of a family matriarch.
In How Music Works, David Byrne examines the joy, physics, and business of music, often through the lens of his own diverse career. Most people know David Byrne as the shy, awkward lead singer of the Talking Heads. He is also an author, painter, photographer, producer, and uber-talented eccentric.
Here’s Byrne giving a TED Talk about how architecture helped music evolve, a topic he writes about in How Music Works.
It’s a new year, so how about thinking of the world around you in a new way? The Earth is the only planet that can sustain life in humanity’s foreseeable future. Take some time to learn more about it, the way we currently use it, and some of the ways that we could use it better.
Click here to see for documentaries focusing on crucial environmental issues.
Werner Herzog has a reputation of making heady, inaccessible films, but – wait – don’t give up! His documentaries are more easily digestible (re: Grizzly Man and Into the Abyss). Most recently, Herzog directed Cave of Forgotten Dreams, which explores the Chauvet Cave in the South of France. The Chauvet Cave was found in 1994 by three archeologists. It was sealed off by the French government shortly after because it holds the world’s most ancient drawings and handprints, dated over 30,000 years. With only a 4-person crew, 4 lights, and 4 hours of filming allowed each day, Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams has brought this find to the public, who are not permitted in the Chauvet Cave for preservation’s sake.
