HISTORY THE EMPEROR’S FEAST by Jonathan Clements (Hodder £25, 320 pp) British cuisine may have its fair share of strange foods — faggots, jellied eels and haggis, to name a few — but when it comes to stomach-churning dishes, the Chinese are in a league of their own. Those of a squeamish disposition will need … Read more
2020: The Story Of Us has left viewers in tears after author Michael Rosen, who spent 47 days in intensive care with Covid, revealed his heartbreaking recovery, as well as the selfless work by those on the NHS frontline. The ITV documentary, which aired yesterday, charts life in London and Lancashire hospitals in the first six months … Read more
MEMOIR The Wild Track by Margaret Reynolds with Lucy Reynolds (Doubleday £16.00, 320pp) Mothers frazzled, exasperated and (let’s be honest) often bored at the demands of looking after small children might have surveyed Professor Margaret Reynolds’s life with envy. She was — and still is — a leading academic, a writer and editor, a broadcaster, … Read more
FOOD SLOW RISE: A BREAD-MAKING ADVENTURE by Robert Penn (Particular £17.99, 240 pp) Is there any smell more delicious than that of freshly baked bread? No wonder supermarkets pump the aroma through their stores to entice shoppers to spend more. As a nation we love our bread, gobbling nearly 12 million loaves a day. Humans … Read more
WHAT BOOK would author Lionel Shriver take to a desert island? Author and journalist Lionel Shriver is reading Outside Looking In by T. C. Boyle She said that she would take Moby-Dick by Herman Melville to a desert island Books about horses gave Lionel the reading bug, as she was obsessed with them By Daily … Read more
The best things in life really ARE free: From tech entrepreneurs to the fashion industry, author reveals how modern life has ruined our perception of what is ‘truly valuable’ Stephen Bayley urges readers to search for what is truly valuable in a new book He has a hatred for the fashion industry, tech entrepreneurs and … Read more
Italian cook shares her rules for cooking the perfect pasta – and why you should NEVER break spaghetti so it fits in the saucepan A cook has shared common mistakes home cooks make when preparing pasta Silvia Colloca revealed her golden rules for cooking the perfect pasta every time The 43-year-old said you should never break … Read more
My shame at being a school bully by new Bond author Anthony Horowitz: Writer says he joined ‘pack’ in a bid to avoid being teased himself James Bond author Anthony Horowitz became a bully to ‘avoid being bullied’ Father-of-two said on a podcast how he was an unhappy and overweight child He would starve himself … Read more
WHAT BOOK would author David Baddiel take to a desert island? Comedian and author David Baddiel is now reading The Last Trial by Scott Turow He says that he would take Updike’s series of four Rabbit books to a desert island While reading Billy Bunter books by Frank Richards gave him the reading bug By Daily … Read more
The original Monopoly board game was inspired by segregated Atlantic City in the 1930s with property prices reflecting deep racial disparities between white and black residents, an author has claimed. Mary Pilon, who wrote her book The Monopolists about the hidden history of the beloved board game in 2015, argued that it’s property values ‘reflect … Read more