How to drink your way through the literary classics
We’re all having a lot more time at home these days, which means a lot more time to read. And with world events what they are, we may all be slightly more inclined to a convivial tipple.
I’ve often thought that certain books seem to demand an alcoholic accompaniment, either because of the indulgence of their characters or the habits of their authors. Here are my top pairings for literary and gastronomic indulgence. They should be the ticket to a calming and relaxing evening. [Indulge responsibly of course!]
F. Scott Fitzgerald- The Great Gatsby, or The Beautiful and the Damned
Champagne or a Gin Rickey
Unlikely fiction for changing the way you think about the world
There are a lot of these kinds of lists on Medium, lots of recommendations for books that will improve your efficiency, your career prospects or your mental health. Books about important topics that can open you up to new ideas, new vistas, and better information. Those books are often non-fiction, which is great, but fiction has it’s own kinds of lessons to share with the reader.
This is my own take, four works of fiction that really changed how I think about the world, that left a lasting impression on my mind and my imagination, and have become touchstones in…
Weight-loss ideas for people who just can’t be bothered
It’s January 2nd. Resolutions have been made. Feasting time is over and many of us are looking to get on board the healthy bus again. After a year of home-bound lockdowns, gym closures, sourdough experiments and excessive Christmas feasting we’ve all put on a few extra pounds. If you would like to lose that weight but are also lazy AF than this is the article for you my kindred spirit.
I’ve got a bit too much wiggle and jiggle around my mid-drift so I’m looking to lose some weight, but I’m not going to wake up at 5 am to…
Inequality, Social Movements, Economics, Society, Politics
Social inequality stems from a complex nexus of cultural and economic factors. One principle explains why inequality will always exist
If there is one political issue that has dominated twentieth and twenty-first century politics it is inequality.
Since the nineteenth century and the Industrial Revolution, the question of why some people benefited enormously from unprecedented generation of wealth, while others remained mired in poverty, has attracted the attention of many philosophers, economists, and intellectuals.
Depending on your political and personality proclivities, you likely have your own ideological reasoning for why inequality exists.
You may attribute it to differences in IQ and ability, to systems of racism or sexism which have historic impact, on cultural backgrounds and educational opportunities, structural business…
We are not as important as we think we are, a point made clear by Covid
When my university announced that all fall classes would be delivered virtually, with exceptions made for laboratory or practical work, it wasn’t too much of a surprise. We had all seen the ongoing situation and seen the sensibility of trying to deliver as much coursework as possible in a socially distanced format.
The move was unprecedented at my institution, we are an old university with a lot of ideas about tradition and the great education which can be provided in the holistic setting of a university.
While we scrambled to record online lectures, develop discussion boards and online questionnaires, learnt…
A series on the experience of doing the OMAD diet
Apologies friends I missed one of my weekly updates on here. But I’m picking up where I left off.
After having some difficulties in Week 3, or rather, having to eat lunch and then a small evening snack so extending my eating window to about 5 hours, I got back on track in Week 4.
It has become something of a habit now to skip breakfast and lunch. …
Why this piece of cinema has stood the test of time
Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette) is a 1948 film directed by Vittorio De Sica.
Sometimes called The Bicycle Thief in English, it has been a hallowed piece of cinema since its release in the 1950s, receiving an Academy Honorary award in 1950 and deemed the greatest film of all time in 1952. The title often pops up on most listicles of ‘Films to See Before You Die’ and Top 100 Films of All Time.
The film was on my radar, and I finally watched it using Amazon’s Mubi subscription this week.
I have never felt so immediately charmed and enthralled…
It Doesn’t Take Much To Make Nice Coffee
2020 was the year I embraced coffee at home and got rid of my habit of costly daily takeaway coffees. Aside from the obvious financial implications of this habit, I had always enjoyed getting a coffee out as part of my daily routine. Without the commute to work I also lost that part of my day where I would walk, listen to a podcast, have a coffee, and mentally prepare for the day.
Making coffee at home doesn’t have to be a chore, it can be a beautiful ritual which marks out the beginning of your day. …
These timeless books are nostalgic and escapist gold mines
The books we read as kids are so important, so formative, that sometimes we unduly canonize the books we read as the best, the mostest, the superest books of all time.
Sometimes when we read these books again as an adult we’re disappointed, the magic is gone, or the plot doesn’t sing the way it did when we were 10 years old.
The following list of books are the opposite of that feeling. These are books I read as a kid, re-read as an adult, and loved even more as an adult!
If you are looking for some great (and…
Eating one meal a day for 100 days series
This is week 3 of the OMAD diet, and if you want to read more about why I chose to do this, and what the first couple weeks have been like scroll to the end for links.
Week three was the week I fell off the wagon. I lost about 6 pounds in the first two weeks of this lifestyle change, and I don’t know why but I started to have more of an appetite during the day.
During the first week I honestly had no trouble skipping breakfast and lunch, and in week 2 it was much the same…
Elizabeth John
PhD. Writer. Lover of coffee and productivity hacks. Bi-racial. Big fan of Fight Club, the Sopranos, garlic bread and films about the mafia.
