Online Lifestyle Editor, Emily Pirie, takes a look at how J.D. Slainger’s ‘The Catcher in The Rye’ has affected our society on his 100th anniversary.
Books
Does the KonMari method spark joy?
I happened across the Marie Kondo movement a few years ago, when I snuck into my sister’s bedroom to try and steal a t-shirt- sorry Mia- and noticed that all of her clothes were folded in a peculiar way. Upon asking her, and thus being reprimanded for snooping in her chest of drawers, she told […]
Hot off the press: 2018’s anticipated releases
Feel Free by Zadie Smith Feel Free is an upcoming book of essays by Zadie Smith, scheduled for release in February. Split into five sections – ‘In the World’, ‘In the Audience’, ‘In the Gallery’, ‘On the Bookshelf’, and ‘Feel Free’ – it covers a range of topics such as the way we use social media, […]
Uncommon tripe: a review of Tom Hanks’ ‘Uncommon Type’
There’s a moment in ‘The Past is Important to Us’, a short story in ‘Uncommon Type’ about a billionaire businessman so in love with a woman from the past he travels back to 1939 just to see her, when the black attendant monitoring the time machine is asked why he never uses it himself. ‘Being […]
War and Peace: the essential 1,255 pages
War and Peace is as poignant in 2017 as it was when first published in the 1860s. Set during the French invasion of Russia, over 50 years before Tolstoy’s time, the writer records and reflects on the historical significance of Napoleon’s campaign, and its effects on the society he grew up in. At first glance, […]
Books for Music Lovers
Just Kids by Patti Smith Frequently hailed as the godmother of punk, this touching memoir details Patti Smith’s entrance into the New York music and art scene in the early 1970s, where she meets and falls for the photographer Robert Mapplethorpe. Tinged with youthful innocence and naivety, this tale of two young artists struggling to […]
A reflection on core texts
What could I buy with £9,250? I couldn’t buy a car, but considering my lack of a license and the small insignificant detail of having failed my test four times, I’m okay with that. I couldn’t buy a house, but who the heck can nowadays? But I could buy my course books, El Balneario and La […]
The post-degree reading slump: fact or fiction?
When I asked to write this article, I described my idea as ‘a piece about transitioning back to reading for pleasure now my degree is over’, but I’m going to be honest with you. At risk of sounding overly dramatic, the ‘transition’ has been a lot harder than I thought it would be. I’m a […]
The pen is mightier than the screen?
Sometimes technology doesn’t always win. It was recently reported that ebook sales in Britain are dropping at an alarming rate, with the sales of consumer titles down almost a fifth during the previous year, as print books hit a five-year high. Sales of consumer books have plunged 17% to £204m in the past year, the […]
The truth about the library fines system
Students have complained about the number of fines imposed by the University’s library – following a Exeposé Freedom of Information (FOI) revealing the University collected over £60,000 in fines in the past two academic years. In 2015/16, the University collected £13,047 in library fines, a considerate decrease from an extortionate £50,307 the previous year. Nonetheless, […]