Matt Thorne
Twittering On
Given the success of books based on blogs – most notably the Belle de Jour series of autobiographies – it seems unsurprising that publishers should look to the latest ‘micro-blogging’ phenomenon, Twitter, as a source of new material. Twitter allows its users to ‘tweet’ up to 140 characters in one burst; it is the perfect medium for the witty bon mot, but it also encourages people to share the most banal details (‘just opening a jar of marmalade’, etc).
Popular with celebrities (particularly those with low impulse-control such as Lily Allen, Jim Carrey and Demi Moore’s husband Ashton Kutcher), it also allows nonentities to build up enormous followings. One of these nonentities is Justin Halpern, who has been rewarded for gaining a million followers with a book
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'Catastrophe' as a category 'is too large and miscellaneous ... if there is a "correct" response to an earthquake, it is unlikely to have much in common with the "correct" response to an epidemic'.
Jonathan Sumption on Niall Ferguson's 'Doom'.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/prime-minister-versus-pathogen
'He has been arrested in the past and upon his release, he has cheerfully persisted in his activism. His courage is exemplary.’
@lucyjpop investigates Zargana, the renowned Burmese satirist recently arrested as part of a widespread military crackdown.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/zargana-2
A new biography of the archaeologist and explorer Charles Masson provides a 'tale of intrigue, espionage, blackmail, disguise, rebellion, treasure and the discovery of lost civilisations', says @BijanOmrani.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/our-man-in-kabul