Things to Read #25

Things I wrote for The Irish Times on London food culture, online shopping for the holidays and waterproof Converse.

From the IT archive – a 1976 interview between Maeve Binchy and legendary designer Eileen Gray.

The very sad story of the real Lolita.

‘Best of’ lists can be a pain in the patoot but this 2014 books list is rather good.

Mad monarchs. The only kind of monarch, surely?

The Daily Mash, more onion-y than The Onion.

“Some readers had similar problems accepting a woman. I can’t remember the number of times I’ve picked up the phone in the sports department, answered some trivia question, and, when the answer didn’t win the guy a bar bet, had the caller demand, “Put a man on this phone.” Some simply called me a “stupid bitch” and hung up.”