This Friday I point you to some engaging reading around the blogosphere:
1. Before I moved to the UK three years ago, I’d never read The London Review of Books. Like its cousin on the other side of the Atlantic – The New York Review of Books – it just seemed too daunting a task to squish into my overly-crowded week. But then a friend gave me a gift subscription and I started to read it. Sure, it has its share of slightly-too-long reviews of books you’ve never heard of. But it also has some real gems that are well worth the effort. In last week’s issue, I was especially taken with Andrew O’Hagan’s analysis of car culture in America, as well as Jonathan Raban’s expat take on the expenses scandal roiling British parliament.
2. I am a HUGE fan of writer/performance artist/radio commentator Sandra Tsing Loh. (Never read Mother On Fire? Get thee to a bookstore!) So I was saddened to read her account of her divorce in this month’s Atlantic, which is at times funny, moving and just plain sad. Read Salon’s Amy Benfer’s thoughtful piece on why Loh’s fans will really take this split to heart.
3. Lest Loh’s article inclines you to give up entirely on marriage or long-term partnership, have a look at Emily Yoffe’s brutally honest but uplifting essay about her husband’s first wife in Double X.
4. Finally, I was delighted to happen upon this blog – The Frugal Chariot – which highlights the author’s favorite books, music, films and plays. Just eyeballing the selections, I know he’ll have some good pix for me.