IT’S A DAY of rest, and you may be in the mood for a quiet corner and a comfy chair. We’ve hand-picked the week’s best reads for you to savour.
1. My friend Taylor Morris
Photographer Tim Dodd writes about the recovery of his friend, who had all four limbs amputated following a mine blast in Afghanistan. (timdoddphotography.com)
The explosion blew off his legs, his left arm and his right hand. After receiving immediate medical attention in Afghanistan, he transferred to a hospital in Germany, and May 6th was taken to Walter Reed Medical Academy in Washington DC to begin the long rehabilitation process. That following week his closest friends began meeting nightly.
2. After Harry Potter
Ian Parker profiles JK Rowling as she publishes her first ever book for adults. (New Yorker)
She was ready for a change of genre. “I had a lot of real-world material in me, believe you me,” Rowling said. “The thing about fantasy—there are certain things you just don’t do in fantasy. You don’t have sex near unicorns. It’s an ironclad rule. It’s tacky.”
3. No evidence of disease
Maciej Ceglowski on the woman who had cancer, and also a secret. (Idle Words)
From what we could tell, Steph’s home life was weird. Her mother, as described to us, was some combination of nemesis and chauffeur, shuttling Stephanie between medical appointments while having towering arguments with her daughter. We saw Stephanie’s mom sometimes when she dropped Steph off, but never interacted with her.
4. A day with the Honey Boo Boos
Rich Juwiak goes to the mall with the family who went from child beauty pageants to reality TV sensations. (Gawker)
“This is my best friend,” said Alana, who was holding hands with her publicist as we approached the Macon Mall. It was spoken like a true celebrity. And then: “We have so many security guards, I get their names mixed up.” Wearing a pair of heeled sandals, she regularly came off as the “Princess” her T-shirt had labelled her.
5. Branded for life
Felix Gillette on the unknown actor who became the famous face of a ‘male enhancement’ pill, and others like him (BusinessWeek)
Eventually, a conspiracy theory took root: The unknown actor behind Smiling Bob had died in a boat accident in the Caribbean. Something sinister seemed afoot. Hypotheses varied: Perhaps Smiling Bob had been murdered? Or maybe he had faked his own death?
6. Inside the ‘counter-jihad’ movement
Aaron Labaree goes to the ‘Stop Islamisation of Nations Conference’, and describes what he sees. (Guernica)
“No one is going to save you,” she warned an audience that filled the tables to the back wall. “You are going to save you. Every morning, rub the sleep from your eyes and say, ‘What am I going to do to save the republic?’ We will win,” she declared, “But every single one of you must be a soldier.”
… AND A CLASSIC READ FROM THE ARCHIVES…
In August 2007, Laurie Abraham spent a year sitting in on a couples therapist – watching spouses working out whether their marriage could be saved. She wrote about it for the New York Times.
“You ask me for intimacy,” Marie was telling her husband of 22 years, Clem — and, unavoidably, the therapist and four other couples in the room — “the same way you ask if I’d like croutons on my salad.” She spoke slowly, deliberately, each word chipping out of her mouth like an ax striking wood. “I don’t hear the difference.”
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