Books to fall in love with

[danohu]

I stumbled onto Sheila O'Malley's blog this afternoon, and instantly knew I need to read everything she's ever written. Especially the book reviews -- e.g. on Harriet the Spy, Brideshead Revisited, Notes from Underground, and above all this essay on love and AS Byatt.

Talking of Byatt, The Guardian have a wonderful video interview with her; I assume they'll eventually turn in into an article, but they're taking their time about it. What's particularly delightful is how it works as a conversation rather than a potted Q&A. She covers several topics -- social realist novels, facebook, religion, big brother -- but keeps returning to a central theme of the limitations of culture concerned entirely with reality and people, where interest in life as it is has supplanted religion. Also, as one of the comments points out, it's somewhat intriguing that she has a roll of tape balanced on her knee throughout.

More superficially:

• The Spectator on Michael Moorcock: "He is generally sound on religion and politics". Yes, really.


• 
  A plea for intergenerational peace from Rhian
  


• Remember the park benches in Transmetropolitan? A park in China tries doing it with spikes [NB: Quirky news from China, hence probably exaggerated or downright false]