Latest news with #Bookish
The Guardian
16-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives by Lucy Mangan review – never lost for words
During lockdown, the writer and journalist Lucy Mangan decided to build a shed in her garden that would work both as her office and as a shrine to her book collection, the belated realisation of a long-held dream. Mangan suffers from tsundoku, a Japanese term that may well have been coined simply to torment Marie Kondo: buying books at a rate that outstrips the speed at which you can read them, and keeping them all. Mangan has 10,000. Filling the very many shelves, as she recounts in this memoir, took her ages. She enjoyed every rapturous moment. 'I am never happier than when I am in a bookshop,' she writes, and so of course she creates one for herself. Only reluctantly does she leave its four walls. When not reviewing television shows for the Guardian – even bibliophiles need day jobs – she's in her customised womb, reading. 'If we stop reading, we stop putting ourselves in other people's shoes,' she writes. 'We cut ourselves off from avenues of growth, exploration and adventure.' Despite a pronounced introversion, Mangan does crave adventure, even if it's of the armchair variety. She is voracious in her tastes, and consumes everything from Victorian classics to airport thrillers to the genre that used to be called chick-lit. Each in their own way has taught her how to live. An example: when adolescence arrives, she bones up on Jilly Cooper to ready herself for the love stuff. 'I did get a boyfriend,' she writes. 'He was nice. When he broke up with me, I was upset but pleased to have the insight.' Frankly, she's relieved to be rid of him. 'You have all the time back for reading that used to be spent lying on his bed trying to avoid his penis.' After university, Mangan thinks she might want to become a librarian because, well, because books. But she wants to write, too, and ends up doing just that at the Guardian, where she is prone to cower in corners. When one day a colleague catches her nose-deep in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code, he is visibly appalled. 'Book snobbery,' she primly notes, 'is among the most dismal of all the snobberies.' Bookish is the sequel to 2018's Bookworm, and treads pretty much the same path. If that first volume recounted how literature had helped her navigate the mysteries of childhood, then its sequel tackles the myriad complexities of adulthood. She reads to bring herself closer to her book-loving father, and when she is distressed by world events. She makes for a wonderfully incisive critic and can pick apart a George Orwell with the same perspicacity with which she can, say, a Jack Reacher, or the lesser-known Brontë sister, Anne, whose 1848 novel The Tenant of Wildfell Hall she adores. But her memoir can also be read as a comic novel, drenched as it is in Sue Townsend snark. Like Townsend, she skewers everyday events for their comedic potential. When, Jane Austenishly, she eventually does bag herself a husband, a 'lovely' historian, she resents the time it takes up. 'A big fuss,' she says of the enveloping wedding plans. 'I wouldn't do anything like it again.' You might think that her husband – bookish himself – would have known what he was getting into here, but no. Shortly after their wedding, he foolishly suggests they merge their libraries. His new bride is horrified. Does he really know so little about her? Mangan explains that it wouldn't be a merging of their collections, 'it would be a breaking up of mine, an unnecessary intrusion, an act of violence'. And now to the punchline: 'I agreed to have a baby instead.' There's a BBC Four sitcom here, surely: David Mitchell and Victoria Coren Mitchell, all elbow patches and cracked paperbacks, and love among the margins. Bookish: How Reading Shapes Our Lives by Lucy Mangan is published by Square Peg (£18.99). To support the Guardian and Observer order your copy at Delivery charges may apply
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
PBS Teams With Australian Public Broadcaster For Wildlife Series ‘Ages Of Ice'
PBS is heading into the ice. The public broadcaster has teamed with Australian public broadcaster ABC on natural history series Ages of Ice. More from Deadline 'America's Lost Band': Michael Stich-Directed Music Doc Unearthed At PBS Deals Closed On Mark Gatiss' UKTV & PBS Series 'Bookish'; Beta Film Seals Presales & Unveils London TV Screenings Lineup 'We Want The Funk,' 'And So It Begins' And More Coming To Public Television's 'Independent Lens' This Spring The three-part series follows the brave scientists pushing the boundaries of exploration and human endeavour in Earth's coldest corners to understand the changes of ice and what this means for our planet's future. The series will follow these explorers as they try to understand how the fate of every place and every creature on our planet is tied to these frozen extremes. It will be produced by Northern Pictures, the company behind Netflix's Love On The Spectrum U.S. Screen Australia in association with Screen NSW provided production investment, it will distributed by ITV Studios. Karina Holden will serve as series director and will exec produce. Judith Curran and Nicola Sullivan are producers. The series will launched in 2026. Diana El Osta, Executive in Charge, PBS said, 'We are so proud of the collaboration between PBS, ABC and Screen Australia to bring Ages of Ice to our audiences. These awe-inspiring and critical stories of exploration showcase the remarkable work being done by scientists to unlock the mysteries of our planet's coldest regions.' ABC Head of Documentary & Specialist Susie Jones added, 'We're excited to partner with Northern Pictures and PBS on this landmark new series. The ABC is committed to commissioning innovative natural history content, and we can't wait to share Ages of Ice with Australian audiences.' Best of Deadline 'The White Lotus' Season 3 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Arrive On Max? 'The White Lotus' Season 3: Everything We Know About The Cast, Premiere Date & More 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery
USA Today
16-02-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
No longer guilty: How romance books have changed readers attitudes toward sex in real life
No longer guilty: How romance books have changed readers attitudes toward sex in real life Show Caption Hide Caption Decoding Bookish Slang: Essential Terms Explained The rise of BookTok has created new slang. Become an expert with our guide to all the terms you might come across on the internet. Love is in the air – and on the page. Look on any 'As Seen on BookTok' table at your local bookstore, and you're likely to find them: Romance books that seem demure with cursive fonts and illustrated couples on the cover, but contain pretty explicit sex scenes inside the pages. Because of that, there can be an air of pretentiousness when readers talk about romance novels, saying 'I like something with a little bit more substance,' or feeling the need to qualify them as guilty pleasures. 'What is so guilty about reading stories about love and connection and happy endings?' says Ana Huang, the bestselling author of the 'Twisted' and 'Kings of Sin' series. 'Why is it only that the 'substantive' books are the ones that are sad and challenging?' No guilt, just pleasure in spicy romance books As one of romance's hottest authors (both in steamy scenes and popularity), Huang says she gets frustrated when she hears how romance is cast aside as fluff. 'A lot of genres enjoyed by women tend to be dismissed, when to me, sexuality is one of the most natural things in the world,' she tells USA TODAY. 'Obviously a lot of it is rooted in misogyny.' And that misogyny can be internalized – many readers discover romance after years of turning their nose up at the genre. Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur, the founders of romance entertainment company 831 Stories, said they began reading romance again during the pandemic and quickly became 'compulsive' consumers. They take issue with the thought lauded books have to be 'challenging and/or traumatic.' 'When people discover romance … they tend to have that realization that, 'Oh wait, reading is fun.' I really like reading and why was I ascribing this homework kind of quality to it?' Cerulo says. 'It helps them fall back into the habit of reading for pleasure, reading for entertainment.' Readers push beyond double standards to ask for what they want Two of the most popular romantasy series – 'A Court of Thorns and Roses' by Sarah J. Maas and 'The Empyrean' series by Rebecca Yarros – have been referred to as 'faerie smut' or 'dragon smut.' You don't see those terms connected fantasy books with sex that are written by male authors, like 'Game of Thrones' by George R.R. Martin. Not to mention that of the 50-odd chapters in 'Onyx Storm,' only five or so contain 'spicy' – or sexual – scenes. Huang said her romance books typically only have three to four. '(The Empyrean series) is about politics, this is about leadership, this is about divided kingdoms, this is about self-journey, addiction, propaganda,' says Lexi Ayala, co-host of the Fantasy Fangirls book podcast. 'You do not walk away from it being like 'Oh my gosh, I just read a real spicy book.' No, I just read a really exciting book that had so much plot and fantasy and character growth and development and relationships on the page here and, yes, it's wonderful that sex is part of that because that is part of many of our lives.' And despite naysayers, the genre – and all its subgenres, from contemporary cowboy romance to dark romance with morally grey leads to STEMinist rom-coms – is only growing. Sales of romance books rose almost 9% in 2024, according to Circana BookScan data, contributing to the first year of growth in print book sales in the last three years, says Publisher's Weekly. Readers are asking for what they want and authors are getting a bigger platform to write about it being dismissed. Kimberly Lemming, who writes fantasy romance novels like 'That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon,' is one such author. Lemming started as an independent, self-published author but after her cozy fantasy books (that include a fair amount of spice) took off on BookTok, publishers started calling. Her next novel, 'I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a Rom-Com,' publishes Feb. 18 from Penguin Random House. 'If you're not sure about a job opportunity, you should just make a ridiculous offer. So I sat down and went, 'Now, what does trad (traditional) romance not buy? Alien romance, poly romance,'' she told USA TODAY. The finished product involves an alien-human throuple, a romantic relationship between three people. 'I wrote this crazy synopsis being like, here you go, call my bluff. And they didn't.' The boundaries of spicy romance continue getting pushed, and they keep ending up on bestseller lists – including books that heavily discuss kinks and other taboo sexual topics. 'This is what people want to read and it proves the power of the female readership and of women,' says Huang. 'Regardless of what people say, obviously these books are touching people in some way. It's bringing joy. And for me, that's what matters most.' When sex in books is about just more than the act The power of spicy romance books lies beyond the sexual acts on the pages – many readers and authors say these scenes offer important lessons about communication and trust. 'My husband and I have had more conversations about sex since I've picked up these books, he has also since picked up these books,' says Nicole Holleman, the other half of the Fantasy Fangirl podcast. 'That has massively impacted our lives, not only behind closed doors but also just as communicators over how to load the dishwasher.' Mazur, of 831 Stories, calls spicy romance a 'mainstream form of sex content' that's a direct 'counterpoint to porn culture.' According to a 2022 study from the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, while pornography can have 'some positive effects on romantic relationships,' it can also 'contribute to a culture that supports both physical … and sexual … intimate partner violence (IPV) toward women.' Women receive 97% of the physically aggressive acts in pornography, one study found. The sex in romance books, readers say, instead prioritizes female pleasure outside of the male gaze. Female characters are in control of their pleasure, emboldened to explore or let go. And male characters are complex, more of a reflection of contemporary masculinity. For some queer readers, it is the first time they see themselves represented in a sexual context that is designed for them. 'What if these books get more and more popular? What if they become even more mainstream? What if men started reading these books? How could that start to shift our ideas of what sex and relationships and beauty could look like?' Mazur asks. Huang echoes the sentiment. "It provides a very safe space for women to explore their different fantasies and maybe even see new things that they might not have thought they were interested in. Society tends to tell you there's a specific way that you have to approach desire, there's just one great way of having sex.' Seeing healthy relationships and sexual chemistry on the page can be formative for newly adult readers, but it's not all for the young and hungry. Kennedy Ryan, the bestselling author of 'Before I Let Go,' often features protagonists who are divorced, who are parents and who are in their 30s and 40s. She told USA TODAY she wants to write sex that is sometimes messy and is always real – she crafts women with scars or changed bodies from childbirth who have someone that loves and desires every part of them. Spicy romance is 'an act of resistance' Spicy romance bucks the trad wife trends, which promote traditional gender roles and more demure discussion of sexuality. It's also increasingly popular during a time when female bodily autonomy and reproductive rights are targeted. Similarly are queer and trans love stories that don't shy away from on-page sex as attacks on LGBTQ+ marriage and trans rights increase. Ryan says she writes romance, especially featuring Black and interracial couples, as an act of resistance. Female authors driving the bestsellers and centering female pleasure 'defies the patriarchy,' she says. 'I further see Black romance even as more of an act of resistance, because of ... how we have been portrayed and how often even our beauty was not the standard,' Ryan says. 'When Black and brown women see themselves centered and celebrated, it is an act of joy. It is an act of resistance." Cowboy romances having a moment: Why readers want to saddle up with the genre Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY's Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, check out her recent articles or tell her what you're reading at cmulroy@
