Elmore LeonardLeonard is regarded as the greatest American crime writer, surpassing even Raymond Chandler. But it is time to drop the qualification of genreThe best novelists create a world around the reader. You can feel it bubbling up in irrepressible invention. So we have "a guy by the name of Booker, a twenty-five-year old super-dude twice convicted felon" in his Jacuzzi when the telephone rings. No one answers it, and Booker gets out of the Jacuzzi. Read More...
TV reviewAutismReviewChris Packham gives autistic people the chance to make a film about their life, and the results are deeply moving. It’s a charming, powerful watch that’s hugely intimate
‘What I see is different,” says Chris Packham as he introduces Inside Our Autistic Minds (BBC Two). The naturalist is in his natural habitat, a woodland scene, which looks lush and peaceful but is, Packham explains, a lot for him to take, because he sees not just a vista of nice trees but all the connections between them, the names of all the species, their possible animal and insect inhabitants. Read More...
The Friday flyerRunningInterviewJenni Falconer: 'Running a marathon burns about 2,500 calories'Kate CarterTV and radio presenter Jenni Falconer on time-consuming, exhausting and dull training – and the euphoria of crossing the line at the end of the raceHello! What have you been up to recently? It's been a busy year so far as I am trying to juggle work, hanging out with my toddler and marathon training. The latter seems to be the most exhausting, but all the long runs will be over on 13 April … at which point I start focusing on the London Duathlon on 14 September. Read More...
