Hip, hip, hurray for funny feminism. These satirical reviews of Bic’s new pink pen ‘for Her’ are the laughingest thing I’ve read so far this year. I think I’m too earnest, a lot of the time. Not to say self-righteous… Funny is better than scoldy, right? I care about things, though. When I was thirteen […]
It’s hard to be a lawyer or used-car dealer, but harder to be a mother-in-law. All three are reviled in pop culture, but at least the first two choose their roles and get paid for them. There are endless shelves of books on parenting and marriage, but precious few on how to build a good […]
I’m pretty torn about my obsession with Pinterest. The virtual scrapboard for online images – initially aimed at collating images, so most used for fashion, photography, design, etc – has expanded to a visual diary for everything you love online but can’t keep in your brain. You can follow any interest (tech, tattoos, tagines), as […]
The Nutmeg of Consolation. Is that not the best title ever? All by itself it’s enough reason to read Patrick O’Brian‘s magnificent – yes, MAGNIFICENT – Master and Commander books. If his books had no covers at all, they’d still be the very best evocation of male friendship I’ve ever read. Patrick Ness does a […]
I was a feminist before I knew the word. The eldest of three daughters, a child of the Girls Can Do Anything! eighties, brought up by strong, thoughtful, culture-critical parents, I was never going to be keen on the patriarchy. When I was a kid and asked my Mum why she was at home and […]