Category Archives: Arts & Culture

Actor, bestselling author hopes his latest book will remind readers they’re not alone

The acclaimed actor and bestselling author says he hopes his books start conversations and allow kids to open up about their fears.

MESA, Ariz. — Backstage at the Mesa Performing Arts Center, actor and bestselling author Max Greenfield is working with local bookstore employees in an assembly line: book after book is signed, placed in a box by a Changing Hands employee and brought to a table where audience members to purchase after the event.

Greenfield is talking about guitars and which celebrity is a good dinner guest. He’s playing music from his phone and grinning as he signs book after book, title page after title page.

He says his hand doesn’t hurt – he only worries when his leg falls asleep.

As he takes the stage with Allie Cesmat, the kid’s events coordinator and assistant children’s buyer at Changing Hands, Greenfield is met with applause from a full theater.

Whether you know Max Greenfield as Schmidt from New Girl or Dave Johnson from The Neighborhood, chances are you’ve seen the Los Angeles-based actor grace your screen at some point.

For audience members in Mesa, they’re excited to see Greenfield for a different reason: his children’s books.

From the screen to the page

Greenfield stopped in Arizona as part of his tour for his fourth book, Good Night Thoughts, a picture book he wrote and that is illustrated by James Serafino.

Greenfield said his writing is less of a transition from acting, but something that works together with his acting.

“I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to write a children’s book in 2020 and I enjoyed the process so much,” Greenfield told 12News. “It’s this incredible balance of getting to act and think about the children’s books and doing sort of both at the same time and it’s been really fun.”

His journey as an author started during the pandemic when Greenfield posted videos of himself and his kids trying, much like the rest of the world, to do life from home. 

Greenfield was and is still a self-proclaimed reluctant reader — something he hopes his books show kids is much more common than they might think.

“I grew up very reluctant to read anything because it was really difficult,” Greenfield said. “I found it really difficult and I didn’t understand why it was difficult and it didn’t seem like it should be difficult.”

Too ashamed to say anything about his struggles, Greenfield said he found ways around it – and continued to find those ways well into his 30s. 

But when he was dealing with similar issues with his daughter, he said it was important to him that his book would add a different perspective to the conversation on reading.

“This experience isn’t always articulated in the classroom,” Greenfield said. “It was those sort of experiences that led me to write the book and ultimately… I just wanted to share those experiences with other children.”

His latest book is, Good Night Thoughts, is a departure from his first books: I Don’t Want to Read This Book, This Book is Not a Present, and I Don’t Want to Read This Book Aloud all center around Greenfield’s struggles with reading.

Good Night Thoughts is all about acknowledging, but not succumbing to, your fears, Greenfield said. 

‘I felt seen’

Cesmat, who moderated Greenfield’s Changing Hands event, said booksellers at Changing Hands sell all of Greenfield’s books to parents, educators, librarians and grandparents because they are the perfect picture book for what many commonly call “reluctant readers.”

“There’s a reading crisis nationally, post-COVID,” Cesmat said. “Max kind of saw a need for some of those reluctant readers and to address some of the topics that are big for kids, but they might not have the language to use.”

As a fan of his first three picture books, when Cesmat saw Greenfield coming out with his fourth book Good Night Thoughts, she knew she wanted to ask Greenfield to stop in the desert on his book tour. 

“We all have anxiety and mental health issues,” Cesmat said. “At Changing Hands, we want to uplift those stories, and working with Max was a no-brainer.”

And when she read Good Night Thoughts, Cesmat said she felt seen by Greenfield’s writing.

“It really spoke to me as someone who struggles with anxiety,” Cesmat said. “I wish that this book existed when I was a kid because it gives language to those things I didn’t know how to explain.”

Not your typical bedtime story

While most people recognize Greenfield from his beloved acting roles on television, he said he has started to get recognized by his books.

“The books have really found their voice in schools,” Greenfield said. “It has been so rewarding… listening to librarians and teachers say how much this book means to them, special ed teachers… it’s been so rewarding.”

Greenfield said that’s why you go on a book tour – and he is so humbled and appreciative hearing everyone’s stories.

With Good Night Thoughts, Greenfield said the book isn’t meant to be a typical bedtime story. He hopes it is the start of a conversation.

“The desired result is not having your child fall asleep,” Greenfield said with a smile. “It reminds you that you’re okay, and potentially sets up a conversation where that child feels comfortable enough to start to begin to articulate feelings that have potentially been overwhelming to them, that have been difficult to talk about.

A good children’s book is not just meant to be read. It’s meant to start a conversation.”

Next events

Changing Hands brings authors from all over the world to the Valley to share their work and interact with the community. To learn more about their events, head to the website.

This fall, Changing Hands will be hosting several authors for conversation at the Phoenix and Tempe locations, as well as at off-site events. A few authors headed to the Valley soon are:

Jodi Picoult, 7 p.m. on Sep. 11Liane Moriarity, 7 p.m. on Sep. 16Connie Chung, 3 p.m. on Sep. 21Rupi Kaur, 7 p.m. on Oct. 21

To learn more about their events, head to the website.

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Book review: The Waiting Room conjures melancholic ecological fables

By Choo Yi Feng Fiction/Epigram Books/Paperback/157 pages/$22.78 A homesick street illusionist who conjures fantastical tropical creatures out of polymer waste. A museum in the afterlife assembled from the junk of the living. A dispossessed mermaid who works for Singapore’s aquariums.

Liane Moriarty discusses her latest book, ‘Here One Moment,’ at Kepler’s on Monday

Author Liane Moriarty will be at Kepler’s Books on Sept. 9. Courtesy über photography.
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The compulsively readable novels of Australian author Liane Moriarty are beloved – and bestselling – for their addictive and clever plots, compelling characters and keen observations. You may have even caught some of the filmed adaptations, including “Big Little Lies,” “Nine Perfect Strangers” and “Apples Never Fall.” Her latest book, “Here One Moment,” takes place on a commercial flight, where a woman suddenly informs everyone of the date of their respective deaths. For six of the passengers, these dates are disturbingly soon, and it looks like the prophecies may be more than just a mad woman’s ramblings. The characters are faced with questions of destiny, free will and choosing how to live on limited time. Moriarty will discuss the book during a visit to Kepler’s, in conversation with novelist Karen Joy Fowler (“The Jane Austen Book Club”). Virtual admission via Zoom is also available. Sept. 9, 7 p.m., Kepler’s Books, 1010 El Camino Real #100, Menlo Park; $16.74-$57.69; eventbrite.com.
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Book Review:

Shambhala Publications released From Foundation to Summit: A Guide to Ngöndro and the Dzogchen Path by Orgyen Chowang in July 2024. A 400-page enchiridion on the ascension of spiritual awakening, the author considers it a commentary to the book A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar by Thinley Norbu Rinpoche, and as such it provides a framework for this book. 
Thinley Norbu Rinpoche was a great teacher of Dzogchen who passed away in 2011. His teachings covering the entire path from ngöndro (preliminary practices) through to Dzogchen. At the behest of the author, Orgyen Chowang, although despite some initial hesitation, Thinley Norbu Rinpoche included Dzogchen teachings in his text about guru yoga, particularly for those who wish to advance directly. 
It is with gratitude to a dedicated team that this book was able to take shape. Chuck Goldman is one of Orgyen Rinpoche’s longtime students and the editor of From Foundation to Summit. He edited and consolidated the considerable volume of teachings, while Ngawang Zangpo translated Orgyen Rinpoche’s teachings as he taught these transformative practices to his students. 
This was influenced in turn by Patrul Rinpoche, a beloved teacher from the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism, known for his simple lifestyle and insight teachings. Patrul Rinpoche himself authored several books, including the Words of My Perfect Teacher.* Patrul Rinpoche believed that sacred teachings should be helpful and easy to understand, and Thinley Norbu Rinpoche implemented this idea when writing A Cascading Waterfall of Nectar. He has assumed a straightforward, relatable writing style that avoided complex outlines and fancy poetry. This approach, praised by Dzogchen master Jigme Phuntsok Rinpoche (with whom the author spent nine years), is an example of the Nyingma lineage’s tradition of writing from intrinsic awareness. 
The end result is that Orgyen Rinpoche’s teachings, blessed by Thinley Norbu Rinpoche himself, shares an ancient wisdom—which can be challenging for many people to grasp and is often wrapped up in flowery syntax—in a contemporary and grounded language.
From shambhala.com
As one might imagine, translating Tibetan thought processes into English poses challenges. The subject-object, actor-action-result structure of English can constrain the meaning of sentences in Tibetan. To address this, we are told by the editor, that he aimed to phrase Orgyen Rinpoche’s expressions in a “nondoing” way. Thus Goldman invites more of an “active experience” for the readers, with adjunct footnotes and explanations (especially for Dzogchen teachings), as a helping hand along the way. I feel he succeeded. This book follows the order of ngöndro practice, but, as we are made aware, early chapters introduce advanced material, including Dzogchen terminology.
Dzogchen reminds us that the energy of life transcends everything that we hold on to as true or “real.” This energy lies beyond the human construct of something like nihilism and extends into a far greater reality that our limited minds cannot comprehend. It is essentially the practice of preparing for death. As I clumsily like to say, it is like preparing to catch the right bus for the next leg of the grand adventure—although there is no actual bus, no travel, and no destination, because they don’t really exist. Yet there is the adventure of the now, even if everything around this moment doesn’t exist either, and without any relative perspective this arguably renders the now asa mere construct.
However, a book like this becomes invaluable in the preparation of the mind. To recycle a story of my own experience as a young adult: I was helping to wallpaper someone’s house, learning on the job from someone who knew what they were doing. I was taught that 95 per cent of a good result was in the preparation of the walls: cleaning off the old paper; scraping the walls flat; filling in any scuffs; and degreasing the walls with a good soap wash and letting it dry completely; addressing any issues with the skirting boards and where the walls meet the ceiling; and fixing issues with doorframes and windowframes. Once, and only once all these preparations were properly satisfied could we actually begin with the new wallpaper. And it is much the same when it comes to working with our mind.
I have a proclivity toward neurology and quantum physics, and I see how mind training and dissolving kleshas as very much akin to rewiring the brain from the “negativity bias” (as neuropsychologist Rick Hanson expresses it), and prajna as akin to the quantum realm of protomatter. Without really understanding our subjective mind, let alone its formed biology, Dzogchen is utterly unfathomable and potentially even dangerous. 
Training is like being taught exactly how to make a soufflé, rather than simply being handed eggs, flour, milk, and butter and then told to make it look like the picture in the cookbook. If, by some wonder, one gets it right on the first go, repetition may still prove to be a challenge. Furthermore, while it may not be as unfathomable or dangerous as nihilistic disassociation within a shimmering vibrating node of limitless energy renewing itself within a nano-moment in an expanse beyond the concept of measure—cooking a soufflé to perfection every time takes some skill. And so it may be with the essence of what it means to be sentient. 
As such, the fact that we were born and are awake enough to read these words, let alone practise them, is a privilege not to be squandered, lest we not be so fortunate the next time; lest we show up at the bus stop and, in a panic, jump on the first one that comes along—destination unknown. 
The concept of a precious human birth, however, does stress the rarity and significance of our existence at all.
Orgyen Chowang Rinpoche. From shambhala.com
Within this book, as part of our training, we are told of concepts such as the eight freedoms and 10 favorable conditions, and we are reminded that not all conditions are earthly. Taking the correct bus that allows us to practise the teachings leading to enlightenment includes factors such as not being born in a hell realm, as starving spirits, and as pragmatic as not being in places where positive teachings are rejected or lacking. 
In the context of these practices, the fact that you were born into a situation in which you even have the thoughts that may bring you to a book like this means that you have struck the jackpot. Personally, I find that is reason enough to not waste a moment on trivialities that don’t matter, and to not take the time we have for granted—as we have no idea when this ride will come to an end.
Buried within the chapters of this book are meditations that we, especially in the West, would never have had access to not so long ago. We live in extraordinary times with a wealth of wonderful teachers, including our author, who can guide us through the secret techniques of tantric practices, even if at a relatively and necessarily rudimentary level when outside the sanctity of advanced retreats. 
The author guides us from the Dudjom Tersar Ngöndro, which is a practice within the Dudjom lineage, with termas revealed by Dudjom Lingpa and Dudjom Rinpoche, through to taking refuge. From kayas to mandala offerings, yidam meditation and guru yoga to phowa and chöd. Even dakini practice with an unexpected Vajrayogini meditation would, while suitable for the general public, still not have been found in most books until recent years. 
The feminine dakini practices are seen as a vehicle to union with the masculine energy. The understanding of ultimate reality as energy represented as a masculine drive of matter is never apart from antimatter energy represented by the feminine aspect, arguably tangoing within dark energy. It is most unfortunate that we attribute genders to these principles of proactive and reactive, expansive and redactive, peaking and troughing, setting the stage for the societal imbalances that we see today. However, if it is enlightenment that we seek, myopic attitudes require dissolving. Frustratingly, we still see the cultural patriarchal influences weave through the teachings and yidams of Buddhism.
In conclusion, this book is a wealth of glorious information that anyone on the path of wisdom would benefit from reading, although it may feel overwhelming for a neophyte. So just read it slowly, then read it all again—which I certainly will because this is a gem. And when you read it again, do the practices. As I like to say: the theory of breathing isn’t as useful as actually doing it. 
* Orgyen Rinpoche tells us that Thinley Norbu Rinpoche encourages everyone to read Words of My Perfect Teacher as well as the detailed ngöndro commentary by his father, Dudjom Rinpoche, especially for the serious student of self-mastery. It is a comprehensive guide on calming the mind, insight meditation, the relationship between meditative and post-meditative states, and the stages of enlightenment, that makes it easier to navigate the meditation path and overcome obstacles, The guide covers various perspectives, including Mahayana, Mahayoga, Anuyoga, Atiyoga, trekchöd, and thögal.
See more
From Foundation to Summit: A Guide to Ngöndro and the Dzogchen Path (Shambala Publications)
Related features from BDG
Book Review: This Fresh Existence – Heart Teachings from Bhikkhuni DhammanandaBook Review: Gardens of Awakening by Kazuaki TanahashiBook Review: Tibetan Buddhism: A Guide to Contemplation, Meditation, and Transforming Your Mind by Khenpo Sodargye
More from Nachaya’s Book Corner by Nachaya Campbell-Allen

The Best Books Club: “The Gauguin Connection,” by Estelle Ryan

Photo by Kelly SikkemaI’ve long known I’m a bit of an oddball. I could fill a column with proof of that assessment, but I’ll focus on just one for now.
Studies show the vast majority of people anticipate a fresh start with new opportunities and goals as December draws to a close each year. On the contrary, for more than 45 years, as a student and then as an educator, my internal calendar caused me to become giddy — really! — with New Year anticipation as July drew to a close and a new school year drew near.
That all changed 15 years ago, and when late July arrived again this year, I again found myself neither looking forward nor anticipating anything promising. As a result, and because I wanted to introduce others to a protagonist I’ve followed through 17 novels, I selected “The Gauguin Connection” for our September selection and began reading.
I initially read the first book of Estelle Ryan’s then-new series when it was originally published in August 2012, and I enjoyed it as much this time as I did then. The plot is engaging, with enough twists to keep a reader interested without becoming so convoluted as to need an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of the details. Ryan avoids — at least in this book — creating stereotyped characters. Instead, each member of the small cast of main characters, outstanding in their respective fields, is interesting and engaging.
Fortunately, the art connection, which holds little interest to me but is central to this book and therefore necessitates quite a few in-text discussions of art and artists, doesn’t distract from what is, for me at least, the crux of the book — the mystery to be solved.
As I finished “The Gauguin Connection,” I felt drawn to look back even further in my reading history, to the genesis of my intense love for mysteries. And so, one evening in early August, I turned off my phone and curled up in my oversized chair with a large bowl of still-warm buttered popcorn and a 32-ounce Sprite and spent a delightful evening re-reading “The Secret of the Old Clock” (Carolyn Keene, 1930).
I stayed up beyond my self-imposed normal bedtime, just as I had stayed awake far past my parent-imposed bedtime, huddled under the blankets with my desk lamp and book, countless nights throughout my childhood. As I closed the book in the wee hours of the morning, I vowed to occasionally resurrect that practice in the months to come.
As I journaled several hours later, I came to the decision it’s time for me to resurrect another tradition from my past. To once again see late July and early August as a time of new beginnings, opportunities and goals.
Of course, I was a bit late to the game, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I purchased a new dot-matrix journal for the “new year” and, with the help of our next The Best Books Club selection, have spent the past 30-plus days looking forward, considering the possibilities, dreaming and goal-setting.
It’s been a wonderful time of staying up late — sans the desk lamp under the covers — considering my 100 Things list, watching YouTube videos, listening to a variety of intriguing podcasts, etc.
I’ve begun to find a healthy balance again, one of reflecting on the past without becoming mired in it and of looking forward to the future while cherishing the moments of the day at hand.
So grab a notebook, real or electronic, and a copy of our September selection, and plan your own roadmap for the absolute best year of your life!
Although we’ll no longer be discussing books via The Best Books Club Facebook Group or Facebook Live, I hope you’ll f ind a friend or small group of friends with whom to continue talking about books you love. Here are some questions to consider for this month’s selection:
1. According to publishing statistics, mystery books are the No. 2 best-selling genre. What is it that makes them so popular?
2. Mystery novels are typically plot-driven rather than character-driven. Do you think that’s the case with “The Gauguin Connection?”
3. Was the climatic scene believable? Explain.
4. If you were casting the movie version of “The Gauguin Connection,” who would you cast as Genevieve, Colin, Manny, Vinnie and Phillip?
5. What is your favorite book genre and why? What book introduced you to that genre?
Coming Up
I’m really excited about our October selection for The Best Books Club! “It’s Never Too Late to Begin Again” (Julie Cameron, 2016) will inspire you to discover “creativity and meaning at midlife and beyond.” Do not let the word “creativity” stop you; no saying, “Well, that’s not for me, because I’m not creative.” One thing I’ve learned in 60-plus years on Earth is every single person is “creative” in some way. Yes, some people are “artists,” but all of us create merely by being. So, grab a copy of this book and discover how you can create something new!
Patti Miinch, a resident of Cape Girardeau, is an author, mother and mother-in-law of two, grandmother of five and retired educator; while she has many loves, spending time with her family, sports, travel and reading top the list.

Calls for curriculum review after publisher pulls text on Irish family ‘stereotype’

A number of TDs are seeking a review of the Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) programme for secondary schools after a publisher withdrew a book which portrayed a “traditional” Irish family in a way that was described as prejudiced and a crude caricature.The book, Health and Wellbeing, gave two examples of representative Irish families. The first portrayed a family wearing Aran sweaters, with the children Irish dancing, eating potatoes, bacon and cabbage each day, and stated that they played no foreign sports, played Irish music, never travelled abroad and did not mix with other religions because they would be a “bad influence” on them.This family was compared to a second family, which was multicultural, travelled abroad a lot because it was a good way to learn about other cultures and societies.The depiction of the Irish family drew widespread criticism from politicians including Independents Mattie McGrath and Carol Nolan and Fine Gael TD Charlie Flanagan.The multicultural Irish family featured in the book The publisher, the Educational Company of Ireland, has now withdrawn the chapterIt has apologised for its inclusion and for any hurt caused.In a statement it said the module, entitled “Looking at Difference”, was “designed to help students understand the importance of diversity in our lives, to introduce students to the Equal Status Acts and to highlight the types of discrimination they cover.“Following the students’ introduction to the Equal Status Acts, the activity uses exaggeration and hyperbole to convey the nature and effects of inclusion and bias.“On closer inspection, we now appreciate that our approach should have been different and accept that it has caused upset and anger, even though this was not our intention.”A spokesman for Minister for Education Norma Foley said it was the responsibility of schools to select the resources they used to help follow the curriculum.“Any concerns regarding material published in textbooks should be raised with the publisher themselves.”Ms Nolan described the portrayal as malicious and said it said Irish identity and culture had become the source of “ridicule and scorn”.Mr McGrath called on the Minister to clarify how a book “which misrepresents Irish families but does so in a prejudiced manner, was approved for publication in the first place.”He continued: “The discriminatory depiction of a traditional Irish family in the SPHE book is disturbing and wrong. It risks shaping young minds with a biased agenda rather than fostering independent thought.“Had it not been for the widespread anger and complaints from myself and others, students would have been exposed to this bigoted nonsense.”Mr Flanagan said the depiction was “degrading offensive and insulting”.The Fine Gael TD said: “I raised aspects of SPHE last year directly with Ms Foley. Curiously she told me she had no role in the matter which I find strange. I’m now pleased there’s a rethink but sadly only after a public backlash. Minister Foley needs to review the entire programme.”SHPHE families Asked about the controversial chapter, Labour leader Ivana Bacik said she had not seen the chapter but added it sounded “problematic”.“I recall seeing other texts as a student in England that portrayed a real anti-Irish sentiment. I think it’s very disappointing in 2024 to see a text that appears to condone some sort of stereotype. I’m glad to hear it’s being reviewed.”The publishers said that the reason the chapter does not appear in the Irish version of the book is because the Irish edition is an earlier one, and the latest edition (in which this chapter appeared) has not been translated as yet.

Author has first showing of book

Michigan author Philip Sterling reads passages from his new book “Lessons in Geography” and shows where he lived in Michigan on his hand. Sterling’s book of essays details his life and the experiences he had growing up in eastern Michigan, and how important the “mitten” is to him. (Journal photo by Antonio Anderson)

Best kids bookshelves for organised storage: Top 8 book racks for kids rooms

Best kids bookshelves for organised storage: Top 8 book racks for kids rooms to keep it decluttered ByAffiliate Desk Sep 07, 2024 09:30 AM IST Share Via Copy Link

Lavish books to get lost in

The latest coffee-table tomes all celebrate exuberance. Kicking things off is the story of the London seven-storey superstore Biba, with an introduction by its co-founder, Barbara Hulanicki. A little more weighty — literally and metaphorically — is the 24-tome edition of Freud’s works. Plus, there’s the latest visual extravaganza of chintz across the centuries and the transcendent photography of two pioneering female photographers.Welcome to Big Biba: Inside the Most Beautiful Store in the Worldby Steven Thomas and Alwyn W Turner, ACC Art Books, £22Founded by the fashion illustrator Barbara Hulanicki and her ad-executive husband Stephen Fitz-Simon, Biba began as a mail-order fashion business, its first success a pink gingham frock. The couple went on to reinvent fashion (couture styles at low prices) and shopping (dim lighting and loud music). The Biba revolution reached its peak in 1973 when it took over Derry & Toms department store on Kensington High Street in London, and this book details the creation of that seven-storey palace where everything was Biba branded. The aesthetic inspirations were golden-age cinema and art nouveau, the vibe playful naughtiness — in the lingerie department, bras and pants were strewn across a massive bed. Fresh fish was sold from a barge to a soundtrack of seagulls and the Rainbow Room restaurant served Biba red wine at 75p a half litre. In its heyday Biba was the second most popular tourist attraction in the capital after the Tower of London, but financial difficulties meant it had to close in 1975. Now all we have is this book of marabou-fringed nostalgia.Francesca Woodman and Julia Margaret Cameron: Portraits to Dream Inby Magdalene Keaney, NPG Books, £35Julia Margaret Cameron and Francesca Woodman were pioneering female photographers, separated by time and social context and yet joined by the resonances between their works, as explored in this gorgeous, richly textured book published to accompany an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London this year. Cameron was born in 1815 and didn’t start taking photographs until she was 48; Woodman was born in 1958, printing her first photograph at 13 and taking her own life at 22. Both had short careers but both have become hugely influential. Their works engage with femininity, mythology, angelic beings, women in nature and narrative imagery. Cameron’s photographs are dreamily unfocused and unretouched — sometimes her fingerprints are visible — whereas Woodman rubbed the surfaces of her photos, wrote and drew on them. She said photographs can “offer images as an alternative to everyday life”, while Cameron wanted to capture a “transcendent beauty”. The book also contains essays and sketch books.AdvertisementRevised Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund FreudOriginal translation by James Strachey. Revised, supplemented and edited by Mark Solms, Rowman & Littlefield, £1,500Tell me about your mother. Or perhaps your coffee table … Is it big enough to handle this magisterial offering: 24 books comprising all the psychological works by the inventor of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud? The Standard Edition was first published in English 60 years ago and contains all our old favourites, including “The Interpretation of Dreams” and “Jokes and their Relation to the Unconscious”. This edition has been meticulously revised over three decades by the psychoanalyst and neuropsychologist Mark Solms, with the project taking three decades. It includes 56 new items, including a previously missing paper on the transference of neuroses, a letter to Einstein and a letter concerning homosexuality. There is also an extensive bibliography and revised indexing. The books are beautifully presented, with gold-stamped linen covers and midnight-blue endpapers. The Book of Printed Fabricsby Aziza Gril-Mariotte, Taschen, £150The Musée de L’Impression sur Étoffes in Mulhouse is dedicated to the history of printed fabrics, from their first arrival in Europe from India in the 16th century to the present day. There are more than 50,000 textile samples in the museum, only 900 of which have made it into this handsome double volume, a visual feast presented in a fancy slip jacket with a monkey motif, weighing in at a hefty 6.2kg. The first volume explores the popularity of cotton fabrics imported from India, with their colourful floral motifs, and the development of the techniques to create similar fabrics in Europe. The second volume kicks off with cashmere, which, when it was introduced, was so expensive that only the Empress Joséphine and other ladies of the court could afford to wear it (although soon enough paisley knockoffs were being produced). Learned essays are provided by a former director of the museum, and there are archive images of people wearing printed fabrics as well as luxurious interiors in which everything has been upholstered in chintz. But the real joy of this book is the pages and pages of gorgeous, delicate, flamboyantly decorated fabrics.

Disney halts ‘The Graveyard Book’ as best-selling author of children’s books faces multiple sexual assault accusations

Due to the recent series of sexual assault accusations against award-winning author Neil Gaiman, Disney has pushed pause on the development on a forthcoming film adaptation of his 2008 book title “The Graveyard Book.”According to IndieWire, the film, directed by Marc Forster, hasn’t been stopped completely but “multiple factors, including the allegations, contributed to putting it on hold.”The project was in deep development up until this point, but no cast has yet to be attached.The accusations against Gaiman, to which he denied, stem from a string of accusers who came forward against the author. Among the accusers was Scarlett, who accused the author of sexually assaulting her in New Zealand in February 2022, while she was working as his child’s nanny.Another accuser, identified as K, accused Gaiman of forcing her to have rough sex with him, which was not always consensual, and she “neither wanted nor enjoyed.” K said this happened after meeting Gaiman at a Florida book signing in 2003. K was 18 at the time, according to the U.K.-based Tortoise Media.In August, three more women came forward to accuse Gaiman of sexual assault and abuse, per Tortoise Media. Of the two women’s claims, one said they signed a non-disclosure agreement after her experience with Gaiman. A third woman, who goes by the name Claire, spoke out about her experience with Gaiman, accusing him of sexual misconduct.So far, Gaiman has denied all accusations against him and said he was “disturbed” by the allegations.Gaiman’s previous work has been adapted in Hollywood for film and TV, including “The Sandman,” “American Gods,” “Coraline,” and “Good Omens.”