Husband and wife writing duo Matthew Seal and Julie Bruton-Seal will launch their new book, Make Your Own Aphrodisiacs, just in time for Valentine’s Day. The couple, who live in Britain, (and who are by no means spring chickens), are encouraging people to look at natural ways of boosting their libido and to remove some of the myths and taboos surrounding aphrodisiacs.
Make Your Own Aphrodisiacs
Royal Books Returned
A container filled with some 1,200 books–Royal books of the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910)–was returned to Korea from Japan, today, marking the completion of a mission that kicked off in 2006 to retrieve cultural heritages looted during colonial rule.
Here to Stay
Over at Flavorwire, Jonathon Sturgeon responds to Jeff Guo’s recent article on the end of the period. As he puts it, “Any long piece without periods — is like a car without brakes. You can drive it, but you’d rather not.”
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Manuscript Shopping
A new Dr. Seuss manuscript has been discovered “stuffed in a 1962 issue of TV Guide.” Ruben Bolling (of Tom the Dancing Bug) has What Pie Should I Buy?, a story based on the author’s shopping list, at Boing Boing.
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For the Birds
It’s not easy being a seagull. Over at the London Review of Books, Mary Wellesley takes a sympathetic look at how the much-maligned bird has been treated throughout the history of literature. Afterwards, let this essay from The Millions by Kristen Scharold on the joys of birdwatching lift your spirits a bit.
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Raise a Glass to Kingsley Amis
New Yorkers! Come out tonight and celebrate Kingsley Amis alongside the Volume 1 Brooklyn crew, the New York Review of Books Classics publishers, and also such guests as Parul Sehgal, Rosie Schaap, and Maud Newton. There will be free gin! However if you can’t make it, you can treat yourself to the Kingsley Amis Desert Island Discs from the comfort of your own home. The discs, recorded around the time The Old Devils was published, reveal the author’s views on “novel mechanics,” the “Welsh temperament,” and his affinity for jazz.
Fame and Adoration
No less a duo than George R.R. Martin and John Hodgman think their fans are wonderful “ninety percent of the time.” As if to bolster their case, the Tin House blog asked T.C. Boyle and company to recount their best experiences as fans.
A Song of Ice and Input
Tired of waiting for George R. R. Martin to finish his next Game of Thrones novel, a software engineer has developed a neural network to write the book instead (via The Digital Reader). Pair with this consideration of how the HBO series is going off-book and breaking all the rules.
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