Which King would Holly Jackson take to a desert island?
... are you reading now?
Blake Crouch's Recursion. I haven't read a huge amount this year as I've been so busy writing season two of the TV series of A Good Girl's Guide To Murder.
When reading for 'fun', I like to have a break from crime thrillers as they feel too close to work, so sci-fi is what I reach for. I'm enjoying Recursion and its very unique take on time travel.
... would you take to a desert island?
For nostalgia reasons, but also for practical reasons as it's very, very long, I'm going to say The Stand by Stephen King – the uncut version so that we can get all that extra material in and keep me entertained in my solitude (or if I need any extra pages to light a campfire).
I first read it when I was around 14 years old, which was vastly inappropriate but I loved it.
I re-read it again recently – it's the apocalyptic book that keeps on giving. He's truly the King for a reason.
... first gave you the reading bug?
I think the first time I truly fell in love with reading was with a series of books called The Edge Chronicles, written by Paul Stewart and illustrated by Chris Riddell.
And it wasn't just one series: it's a vast universe of connected trilogies, full of fantasy and adventure. It kept me very busy and entertained as a kid.
And just to cheat slightly, something else which gave me the reading bug, but wasn't a book at all, was a 1994 movie called The Pagemaster – in which a boy becomes trapped in a library and is thrown into the different worlds of classic literature.
I would rewatch it over and over again, and it truly pushed me towards books and the adventures they can take you on.
... left you cold?
I'm going to take this question very literally and answer with Thin Air by Michelle Paver.
It takes place up a mountain in the Himalayas, so it is a very, very cold book due to its setting.
And in addition to the environmental kind, you might also shiver with fear, as it's a creepy ghost story.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, so the colder the better I say.
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Daily Mail
14 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Historic Maine home hits the market for $1M
A beautiful home in Maine three doors down from Stephen King's iconic mansion has hit the market for just under $1 million. The five-bedroom, four-bathroom home in the small city of Bangor has 5,400-square-feet of living space and sits on almost an acre and a half of land. And although it was built in 1896, extensive renovations have been done in the last five years to modernize the property while also preserving its unique historical charm. 'It's a stunning home in a prestigious area where these houses don't come on the market very long. Here's the opportunity,' said Grace Nash of Realty of Maine, the listing agent for the property. The house went on sale last weekend for $940,000, which Nash said was typical of a home its size in the area. The property was first owned by local newspaper titan Millard E. Mudgett. He was a partner in J.P. Bass and Co., which published the now defunct Bangor Daily Commercial and the Bangor Weekly Commercial. He lived in the house until his death in October 1900 from complications related to a botched appendicitis operation, according to The New York Times . He was 45 years old. Nearly 125 years later, Mudgett's former home stands among a portion of West Broadway typically reserved for Bangor's most prominent residents. The most well-known homeowner on the street is King, who grew up in Maine and has written countless classics, including The Shining and The Shawshank Redemption. King no longer lives at the home; instead its the site for his foundation, which focuses on giving back to community-building projects in the state. Homes in this quiet (with the exception of the occasional King fan driving by) section of Bangor rarely go up for sale, Nash said. No homes on this stretch of West Broadway sold last year. Only two properties — one of which was the Mudgett house — sold in 2023, she added. The home was designed by Wilfred E. Mansur, one of Bangor's most prominent architects in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. And typical of his creations, the home has his signature wraparound porch and distinctive turret on the left-hand side. The exterior of the home got a fresh coat of white paint last summer, an eye-catching red door and much-needed maintenance to its slate roof, a design choice that fell out of favor in the early 20th century. Starting in 2020, the previous owners updated nearly every corner of the home's interior. The most notable renovations were the kitchen and the master bedroom. 'My favorite part of the interior of the house is definitely the kitchen,' Nash said. 'High end counter tops, gorgeous hardwood floors, an eight burner stove. It's just a great space for entertaining.' The master bedroom on the second floor has a double-sided fireplace that shares the same chimney. One side faces the bed and the other side is inside the giant walk-in closet. In total, the home has six fireplaces. Also included is a gorgeous en suite bathroom that features double sinks and a walk-in shower with updated, high-end fixtures. There are three additional bedrooms on the second floor, with another bedroom on the third floor near the unfinished attic. Down below, the basement has a full bathroom and a complete wine cellar. 'What sets this apart is that it is on a double lot, so you have a very large backyard, for privacy, or for any sort of outdoor entertaining and recreation. You don't see that often in the city,' Nash said. Nash, who was born and raised in Bangor, said the best part about living in the city is its proximity to many attractions in the state, including the scenic ocean town of Bar Harbor or Acadia National Park. 'Within an hour's drive, you can access mountain ranges, you can access the ocean or larger cities. So, it's a really convenient and diverse area to live in for accessibility,' she said. Bangor also has plenty of great restaurants and breweries to try, Nash said. One of her favorite things is the outdoor amphitheater that hosts concerts right on the banks of the Penobscot River. Nash described Bangor as a 'family-oriented city' that has a reputation of being safe, with low crime rates and a good public school system. The house itself, she said, 'lends itself to being a great space for families because of all of the room.' She said she could also see medical professionals choosing to snap up the home because of how close it is to Bangor's community hospitals. 'There's been a little bit of interest so far,' she said. 'I think it's a unique property. It's going to take an individual that respects, understands and wants an older home and all that goes into taking care of an older home.' 'I suspect it may be a few months before we find that you know the right buyer for it,' she added.
-Lina-Sakovia-4.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D1200%26auto%3Dwebp%26quality%3D75%26trim%3D1388%2C0%2C1390%2C0%26crop%3D&w=3840&q=100)
Scotsman
19 hours ago
- Scotsman
Kate Copstick: "The church of the clown has never been broader."
Cabbage the Clown: Cinemadrome | Lina Sakoviča Our comedy critic Kate Copstick meets a wide-ranging cavalcade of clowns performing at the Fringe this year. Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... From court jesters and village mummers, via Pierrot and Pagliacci , through Grimaldi's circus rings strewn with the doors of exploded cars, it seems the clown in all its complexities has always, somewhere, been with us. Now though, the church of the clown has never been broader, and Edinburgh is offering communion with them all this year. Dan Lees created both the Malcolm Hardee Award winners The Establishment and The Flop and if modern clowning has a Grand Master, he would be it. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I think clowning, maybe in its purest form, is an ability to take the simplest idea and make an audience laugh," he says. "Basically this is because we are not laughing at the idea but at the idiot who thinks it is genius. Someone clever said, 'a comedian tells a joke, a clown is the joke'. We laugh at the clown, and they are happy to be laughed at.' There is, nowadays, so much 'me' in 'comedy' that there is less room for those laughs. Look at the comedy programme and so many shows are about me and my diagnosis of something or other, me and my issues, me and my problems. For clowns, the audience is the thing, the laughter is the thing. Having spent some comedy time doing spots at The Stand, Mr Twonkey was persuaded, 'as an experiment', to do the 2009 Fringe. His venue thought he was a children's show and put him on at noon, with his underwater circus and 'far too many props'. It did resemble 'a children's show gone horribly wrong', says the man himself. Twonkey never saw himself as a clown like 'all the ones who have been to the clown schools and have all the formats and techniques.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Dan Lees doesn't see that as necessary, but most definitely useful. 'I think the baseline is the likability of the performer.' he says. 'Do we like them? Then the next step is to create a world they can play in. But ultimately charm is the baseline.' Twonkey has charm in ladlefuls and plays in marvellous self-made multiverses that are not always appreciated by everyone. He was banned by The Stand in 2009 for covering the entire stage in treacle in a puppet related comic debacle. He also created the legendary single official performance of Twonkey's Custard Club which submerged the performance space, audience and performer in shaving foam, and destroyed his laptop. 'I hadn't thought it through,' he says. 'If people start enjoying it and laughing I have a tendancy to keep going until it all ends in tragedy." And that is my kind of clown. Elf Lyons: The Bird Trilogy | Elf Lyons Lady clowns are rarer. Or perhaps they just come in different forms. Elf Lyons cites Marilyn Monroe as having 'phenomenal' clown comic timing in many of her early roles, 'She used physical comedy because she wasn't given as many lines as her male co-stars,' says Lyons. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Fringe is showcasing increasing numbers of female funnies. Could the award-winningly hilarious 'Legs' of the Duncan Brothers have stood astride the Fringe in 2019 without the trophy-laden comedy talents of Julia Masli ? I suspect not. Julia is, of course, back in Edinburgh this year with Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. As the title subtly indicates, it is very funny. Elf herself has been entrancing Fringe-goers since Swan in 2017, but it was not an easy debut. 'The constant critique from - often male - reviewers was that it was 'silliness for silliness' sake'. Now, in 2025, those same comments are directed at male clowns by the same publications but as praise, not criticism. Because for men, that kind of performance is allowed and we are so much more used to men being silly.' She is Gaulier trained, although, incredibly, not in clowning, and 'I would never say 'I am a clown' because I wouldn't have the audacity to, but I do say I use clowning. If someone says they're a clown, they should be able to make me laugh immediately just from being.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad This is a high bar to set. 'I still think it's political for women to be silly," says Lyons. "It's still subversive when we do it, and that pressure can push us to have to reveal trauma or tragedy at the cliched 40 minute mark in order to show we have earned the right to be there. Which is ludicrous. If I want to be an octopus, let me be an octopus, I shouldn't have to have some tragic subtext to get there.' This is, she says, why women make stronger bouffons (dark clowns). 'They have more anger and more to say and more things to blaspheme against." Talking of which, Narin Oz – well known part-clown part-bouffon, who describes herself as 'an overexcited clueless child alien trapped in a sexy Turkish Cypriot adult body' is back in Edinburgh trying to reconcile her inner and outer selves in Inner Child(ish). And, in the tradition of suffering for one's art, in these days of rocketing accommodation costs, is planning to camp for the month. As is Fulbright scholar and queer clown Edu Diaz. Although not in a 'freezing in a tent' sort of way. Clowning and magical realism are his things and A Drag Is Born is his show. The story of a man of advanced age, abundant body hair, and limited talents, who becomes Carnival Queen. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Typically, we wait ages for one truly queer clown show and then two come along. Self proclaimed 'tragic fool' Cabbage the Clown's drag-clown debut hour, Cinemadrome, comes on digital wings of eight million adoring online fans. 'A buffet of genres,' apparently. Look out for the popcorn. Dan Lees: The Vinyl Countdown, Greatest Bits!, PBH's Free Fringe @ Banshee Labyrinth, 10.10pm, until 24 August Twonkey's Zip Wire to Zanzibar, Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly, 8.15pm, until 24 August Elf Lyons: The Bird Trilogy, Pleasance Dome, 8pm, 12-25 August, Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, Pleasance Dome, 11.15pm, 11-24 August, Narin Oz: Inner Child(ish), Just the Tonic at the Mash House, 4pm, until 24 August A Drag is Born, Zoo Playground, 6.05pm, until 24 August
The Sun
6 days ago
- The Sun
80s movie bombshell, now 58, looks chic in white on walk with dogs in very rare sighting – who is she?
AN 80s movie bombshell looks extremely chic while on a dog walk. The movie star, now 58, was seen wearing a laidback look whole walking her two dogs. 10 10 10 The starlet was almost unrecognizable as she strolled through her neighborhood dressed head-to-toe in white. Looking chic, she wore a wide-brimmed white hat that shielded her face from the Californian sun. She looked relaxed and content, and kept a low profile as she walked her two dogs, but can you guess who she is? Known for starring in cult classic flick Legend as Princess Lili, and in Ferris Bueller's Day Off as Sloane Peterson, Mia Sara looks totally different in 2025. Mia, whose surname is Sarapochiello, is the actress in question, and she was born on June 19, 1967. She is known professionally as Mia Sara. 10 10 10 Her casual outing and dog walk comes just months after she made headlines for her stunning return to the red carpet in June 2025. She attended the premiere for her new movie, The Life of Chuck, at the Hollywood Legion theatre. RED CARPET COMEBACK When she attended the star-studded event just weeks ago, Sara turned heads in a chic black sleeveless dress with peplum detail. In the movie, she stars alongside the likes of Tom Hiddleston, Mark Hamill, and Karen Gillan for the Stephen King adaptation. T The American actress made her film debut as Princess Lili in the 1985 fantasy film Legend before having a huge breakthrough role in a beloved comedy flick. Eighties Icon Annette O'Toole Unrecognizable in LA - Life, Virgin River, and Family Struggles Mia's breakthrough role came when she starred as Sloane Peterson in the comedy film Ferris Bueller's Day Off a year after her previous role in 1986. In Legend, Mia's character was fresh-faced and innocent-looking with curly brunette locks. Meanwhile, in Ferris Bueller's Day Off, her character was a little older and more of a sex symbol. The actress, who hails from New York, also portrayed Melissa Walker in the science fiction film Timecop back in 1994, with the role even winning her the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. 10 10 MIA'S LOVE LIFE - EXPLORED After her breakthrough success, Mia went on to get married to a famous A-Lister's son. In March 1996, Sara married Jason Connery, son of actor Sean Connery after they met on the set of Bullet to Beijing the year prior. In June 1997, the couple welcomed a son, with them welcoming Dashiell Connery on June 3. Dashinell followed in his father's footsteps, and the now 27-year-old is an actor known for starring in Outcry, Pandemic and Tommy's Honour. But Mia and Jason were not to last. They got divorced in 2002. During a previous interview with The Times, Jason spoke out about how the divorce was a shock and how he found it hard. "I suddenly saw all the parallels between my dad, my mum, and me, because they were both actors — like my ex and I," he said at the time. Sara then moved on with Brian Henson, with the couple welcoming a daughter in 2005 and tying the knot five years later in 2010. SHOCKING CAREER CONFESSION After welcoming her daughter and getting married again, Mia made a confession about her career. "I was a very unhappy actress," she revealed to The Cossack Review in 2016. "It was something I felt I could do, and I needed to work, and I got lucky at the get go. "However I was never going to be the kind of actress I admire, because I just didn't have the drive for the process." 10
