The Known World
Recommended by Zadie Smith, NY Review of Books, May 2026.
Improvement Movement
They were the opener for Iron and Wine a few weeks ago and just blew me away. Shades of Beatles, shades of jazz and funk in a rock outfit. Their wild shifts in tempo and melody was thrilling and unlike anything else out there at the moment.
Abita Amber Lager in a thin glass straight from the freezer
I'm not a beer person. But when I was served this in a ice cold Japanese beer straight from the freezer, it was just like heaven.
The Luminaries
Brilliant, gorgeously written tale about the Gold Coast of NZ. Also very long - will last you the flight. (PS: there's also a TV show version from the BBC, but I did not fully finish it, and you know what they say about book>TV).
