A book on Greek antiquities has been returned to an Australian public library about 150 years late, with water damage from years bricked into a fireplace. The book was returned to the library in the seaside town of Kiama last week by a local Ross Simmons who had found it during recent home renovations inside a tea crate bricked … Read more
In 2016, DJ DiDonna was, by all accounts, riding high. The fintech company he co-founded, EFL Global, was growing at a fast clip. He had given a speech at the United Nations about how to empower entrepreneurs through access to finance, and the startup had landed a feature in The New York Times. Then came … Read more
All among the living and undead know Count Dracula. But vampires have a long and more established pedigree than readers of Bram Stoker may recognize. These bloodsuckers have even made their ways to American shores. In his new book, “Exhumed: Unearthing the History of the American Vampire” (Running Press), Aaron Mahnke starts with the “vampire … Read more
A 1992 guide to building sheds and barns has become an unlikely hit. Thanks to a handful of BookTokers — influencers who review and recommend titles on the platform — Monte Burch’s “How to Build Small Barns & Outbuildings” is having a moment. Sales of the book, published by Hachette Book Group’s Storey Publishing imprint, … Read more
“My fiancé died a month before our wedding, and now I’m going on our honeymoon alone to see if life is worth living.” That’s how Laura Murphy introduced herself in a TikTok post that went viral. The video — posted Aug. 25, 2024 — swiftly surpassed 1 million views and now boasts more than 4 … Read more
Paul Skalnik had a strange gift for being in jail when accused murderers suddenly felt the urge to spill their secrets. Skalnik was a petty con artist with a grimly reliable routine, writes Pamela Colloff in her riveting new book, “Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast.” … Read more
Sing, O Muse, of… like… whatever. As Christopher Nolan’s take on “The Odyssey,” one of the oldest surviving works of literature most were forced to read in elementary school, threatens to smash the box office this weekend, internet moaners are griping about everything from the casting to the script and the soundtrack, which blends ancient … Read more
On July 9, 2015, a dead raccoon appeared on a Toronto sidewalk and, for reasons no one fully understood, four men from a nearby office decided to hold a funeral. They bought a cellophane-wrapped rose, signed a card, and placed it on the corpse, whom they named Conrad. In “Our Wild Familiars” (Crown, out Tuesday), … Read more
Two adorable little girls dressed in frilly white — the elder wearing a blue sash, the younger sporting a pink one — are captured by the painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir in a moment of innocence nearly 150 years ago. In the 1881 Impressionist masterpiece “Pink and Blue,” familiar from innumerable postcards, jigsaw puzzles, and art prints, … Read more
Jacqueline Harpman has been dead for 14 years, but she’s living every author’s dream. She has a new short story collection — “We Were Forbidden” (out now) — a novel that’s become a bestselling phenom thanks to social media and three more books in the pipeline. Harpman, a Belgian-Jewish writer and trained psychoanalyst, died of … Read more
Sophia Smith Galer first understood language loss as a sound coming from upstairs. Her 93-year-old nonna was in bed in north London, speaking al dialët, the family’s regional language from northern Italy, with Galer’s mother. Galer could understand much of it, but she couldn’t answer in it. “I remember going home afterwards and feeling real … Read more
This summer, Americans from sea to shining sea (and everywhere in between) are embracing our nation’s history. And if you’re searching for a stay in the heart of America the Beautiful, look no further than a truly old-school inn. From major political milestones to pop culture moments, hotels have seen it all, and the National … Read more
Living in Vermont, science and nature writer Rowan Jacobsen noticed the effects the seasons had on him. Summers were gorgeous, but the grey winters were brutal and left him lagging. “I felt as if my cells didn’t work,” he writes in his new book, “In Defense of Sunlight, The Surprising Science of Sun Exposure” (Scribner). … Read more
Although St. Barth has been known as a tropical playground for the rich and famous for several decades, it’s not so long ago that the Caribbean island was a scruffy, even rough corner of paradise attracting hard-living ex-pat dropouts who fancied themselves as modern pirates. If that sounds like a Jimmy Buffett song, that’s because … Read more
Frank Lloyd Wright was never a modest man. Praised frequently as the greatest architect in American history, he would parry “Why limit it to America?” During his long life — he died in 1959 at the age of 91 — he married three times, sired seven children, infuriated clients, ran up debts he couldn’t pay. … Read more
It has them running for the hills. Some of the biggest icks that turn off women all involve one thing men do. “Runs with their backpack bouncing, chasing a ping pong ball … anything running seems to be a moment where men show their unf–kability,” comedian Jared Freid told The Post. A man who “runs … Read more
Mamie Van Doren isn’t done spilling secrets. The actress and sex symbol has written a new memoir, “You Thought I Was Dead,” in which she lays bare her decades-long career in showbiz. The 95-year-old is also the subject of a new documentary about her life that’s currently in production. In her latest tell-all, the star addresses Hollywood’s … Read more
Chess champ Magnus Carlsen, 32, lost to 19-year-old Hans Niemann at the 2022 Sinquefield Cup, sparking Carlsen’s cheating claims. Niemann, who admitted to prior online cheating, faced a wild “anal beads” theory for his win that went viral. Niemann’s $100 million defamation lawsuit against Carlsen and Chess.com was dismissed, leading to a confidential settlement. In … Read more
Cameron West, who lives with Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID), revealed childhood sexual abuse by his grandmother. Rikki, West’s wife, helped manage his breakdown and supported their family through his 24 alters. West’s 1999 book, “First Person Plural,” a bestseller, is reissued with a new epilogue. Cameron West’s eyes go somewhere else for a moment. He’s … Read more
Alex Blum, 71, and his three biological brothers all gather together for the first time in midtown. Blum, adopted at birth, found his long-lost siblings through a DNA test. Their mother, Lee Hart, told her younger sons their older brother died at birth, a story they doubted. On a recent sunny morning in midtown, Alex … Read more