Art Kavanagh
@www.artkavanagh.ie
I write about books and literature: Andrew Marvell, Salman Rushdie, Tana French, that sort of thing. My newsletter, Talk about books, goes out every 2 weeks https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/tabarchive
The post by @mckelvie.bsky.social that I’ve just reposted reminds me of the time that Apple advertised its MacBook Air in France as «Parfaitment con» because the ç in «conçu» was too much for the software.
December 21, 2025 at 6:00 PM
The post by @mckelvie.bsky.social that I’ve just reposted reminds me of the time that Apple advertised its MacBook Air in France as «Parfaitment con» because the ç in «conçu» was too much for the software.
Reposted by Art Kavanagh
Your annual reminder that if you get this cracker joke and are confused by it, it's apparently because "ffi" is a special character in some fonts and when the typeface is changed to one that doesn't have it, those letters disappear. It's supposed to be "coffin medicine".
December 21, 2025 at 4:10 PM
Your annual reminder that if you get this cracker joke and are confused by it, it's apparently because "ffi" is a special character in some fonts and when the typeface is changed to one that doesn't have it, those letters disappear. It's supposed to be "coffin medicine".
"Most of all, ChatGPT seemed to want me to write a book. ‘It doesn’t even have to sell,’ the chatbot said, diverging sharply from the view of my literary agent."
Henry Mance in the FT: Can ChatGPT help with a midlife crisis?
Henry Mance in the FT: Can ChatGPT help with a midlife crisis?
December 21, 2025 at 4:54 PM
"Most of all, ChatGPT seemed to want me to write a book. ‘It doesn’t even have to sell,’ the chatbot said, diverging sharply from the view of my literary agent."
Henry Mance in the FT: Can ChatGPT help with a midlife crisis?
Henry Mance in the FT: Can ChatGPT help with a midlife crisis?
I was woken up by the blaring fire alarm in our apartment building at 5:50 this morning. I wasn’t able to persuade myself to get out of bed into the cold. Woke properly hours later: building’s still here. We’ve had a lot of false alarms and no real ones, which makes the fire alarm almost useless.
December 21, 2025 at 1:26 PM
I was woken up by the blaring fire alarm in our apartment building at 5:50 this morning. I wasn’t able to persuade myself to get out of bed into the cold. Woke properly hours later: building’s still here. We’ve had a lot of false alarms and no real ones, which makes the fire alarm almost useless.
"Anyone who didn’t see Wall-E as a warning can’t have been watching it."
It was kind of bleak, wasn’t it? I had some misgivings about my then very young nephews watching it but thought there wasn’t much point in trying to shield them from it. One of them now works in AI 🙁
It was kind of bleak, wasn’t it? I had some misgivings about my then very young nephews watching it but thought there wasn’t much point in trying to shield them from it. One of them now works in AI 🙁
December 19, 2025 at 6:08 PM
"Anyone who didn’t see Wall-E as a warning can’t have been watching it."
It was kind of bleak, wasn’t it? I had some misgivings about my then very young nephews watching it but thought there wasn’t much point in trying to shield them from it. One of them now works in AI 🙁
It was kind of bleak, wasn’t it? I had some misgivings about my then very young nephews watching it but thought there wasn’t much point in trying to shield them from it. One of them now works in AI 🙁
I’ve often complained about how Substack has made a mess of their RSS feeds. It now seems that they’ve broken podcasts too. I was 30 minutes into Ian Leslie’s chat with James Marriott about books when I noticed the cookie consent buttons, tapped “Accept” — and jumped right back to the start! 😡
December 17, 2025 at 11:21 AM
I’ve often complained about how Substack has made a mess of their RSS feeds. It now seems that they’ve broken podcasts too. I was 30 minutes into Ian Leslie’s chat with James Marriott about books when I noticed the cookie consent buttons, tapped “Accept” — and jumped right back to the start! 😡
Kate Hudson is “a great performer who hasn’t yet made a great film”, it says here. Well, I thought that Gerry Stembridge’s About Adam (2000) was pretty great, though perhaps it was marketed poorly 🍿
December 15, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Kate Hudson is “a great performer who hasn’t yet made a great film”, it says here. Well, I thought that Gerry Stembridge’s About Adam (2000) was pretty great, though perhaps it was marketed poorly 🍿
"Our tech overlords like the idea of being Thomas Edison, genius inventor-businessman, but they often have more in common with P.T. Barnum, genius of marketing and hype."
John Lanchester in the LRB on the AI bubble: King of Cannibal Island (paywall probably)
John Lanchester in the LRB on the AI bubble: King of Cannibal Island (paywall probably)
December 15, 2025 at 6:33 PM
"Our tech overlords like the idea of being Thomas Edison, genius inventor-businessman, but they often have more in common with P.T. Barnum, genius of marketing and hype."
John Lanchester in the LRB on the AI bubble: King of Cannibal Island (paywall probably)
John Lanchester in the LRB on the AI bubble: King of Cannibal Island (paywall probably)
"Emerson … thought her books were ‘imprisoned in the wretched conventions of English society, without genius, wit, or knowledge of the world.’"
Lake and Palmer, however, weren’t so dismissive. Henry Oliver on why we love Jane Austen more than ever after 250 years 📚
Lake and Palmer, however, weren’t so dismissive. Henry Oliver on why we love Jane Austen more than ever after 250 years 📚
December 13, 2025 at 8:30 PM
"Emerson … thought her books were ‘imprisoned in the wretched conventions of English society, without genius, wit, or knowledge of the world.’"
Lake and Palmer, however, weren’t so dismissive. Henry Oliver on why we love Jane Austen more than ever after 250 years 📚
Lake and Palmer, however, weren’t so dismissive. Henry Oliver on why we love Jane Austen more than ever after 250 years 📚
I can no longer claim never to have heard any of Taylor Swift’s music. A song that I now know to be “Cardigan” was playing in the supermarket earlier and I incautiously Googled the lyrics (which is how I now know it was “Cardigan”). Oh well, I always knew my innocence couldn’t last 🎶
December 7, 2025 at 4:50 PM
I can no longer claim never to have heard any of Taylor Swift’s music. A song that I now know to be “Cardigan” was playing in the supermarket earlier and I incautiously Googled the lyrics (which is how I now know it was “Cardigan”). Oh well, I always knew my innocence couldn’t last 🎶
It depends on my mood. In the past I’ve (very) occasionally loved them. More recently, I’ve done my best to avoid them. (Now that I think about it, a lot depends on the workplace.)
December 7, 2025 at 2:59 PM
It depends on my mood. In the past I’ve (very) occasionally loved them. More recently, I’ve done my best to avoid them. (Now that I think about it, a lot depends on the workplace.)
Roy Wood’s 20 best songs — ranked. I loved “Brontosaurus” when I was just discovering pop music; also “Fire Brigade” and “Blackberry Way”. Then “See My Baby Jive” a few years later made my schooldays more bearable. 🎶
December 4, 2025 at 10:21 PM
Roy Wood’s 20 best songs — ranked. I loved “Brontosaurus” when I was just discovering pop music; also “Fire Brigade” and “Blackberry Way”. Then “See My Baby Jive” a few years later made my schooldays more bearable. 🎶
"They have a total value of plus or minus €220 million and we’re in the process now of receiving the offers on those properties."
Plus or minus €220 million is a very big range. Couldn’t he narrow it down a bit? Investors blocked from withdrawing cash from German retail property fund
Plus or minus €220 million is a very big range. Couldn’t he narrow it down a bit? Investors blocked from withdrawing cash from German retail property fund
December 4, 2025 at 10:22 AM
"They have a total value of plus or minus €220 million and we’re in the process now of receiving the offers on those properties."
Plus or minus €220 million is a very big range. Couldn’t he narrow it down a bit? Investors blocked from withdrawing cash from German retail property fund
Plus or minus €220 million is a very big range. Couldn’t he narrow it down a bit? Investors blocked from withdrawing cash from German retail property fund
Against self-slaughter: Three short novels by Muriel Spark: https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2025/11/30/against-selfslaughter-three-short-novels.html
A discussion of The Driver’s Seat, Loitering with Intent and A Far Cry from Kensington.
A discussion of The Driver’s Seat, Loitering with Intent and A Far Cry from Kensington.
November 30, 2025 at 4:14 PM
Against self-slaughter: Three short novels by Muriel Spark: https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2025/11/30/against-selfslaughter-three-short-novels.html
A discussion of The Driver’s Seat, Loitering with Intent and A Far Cry from Kensington.
A discussion of The Driver’s Seat, Loitering with Intent and A Far Cry from Kensington.
GHT1CD 💿
(Small things come in big boxes)
(Small things come in big boxes)
November 29, 2025 at 11:04 AM
GHT1CD 💿
(Small things come in big boxes)
(Small things come in big boxes)
I’ve had the cd of Herbie Hancock’s The Piano, an improvised solo piano album recorded “direct to disc” in the early 80s, for more than 20 years now and I think I’m just beginning to appreciate it 🎶 🎹
November 27, 2025 at 9:03 PM
I’ve had the cd of Herbie Hancock’s The Piano, an improvised solo piano album recorded “direct to disc” in the early 80s, for more than 20 years now and I think I’m just beginning to appreciate it 🎶 🎹
Pleased and a little surprised to see Law & Order’s Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) included in The Guardian’s list of characters whose late arrival lifted tv shows. His is the first name I thought of when I saw the headline 📺
November 19, 2025 at 12:52 PM
Pleased and a little surprised to see Law & Order’s Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) included in The Guardian’s list of characters whose late arrival lifted tv shows. His is the first name I thought of when I saw the headline 📺
Once again getting great enjoyment from reading Sarah Ditum’s writing about music I’m not familiar with (though in this case have at least heard of): Neil Hannon is one of the true greats of songwriting 🎶
November 17, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Once again getting great enjoyment from reading Sarah Ditum’s writing about music I’m not familiar with (though in this case have at least heard of): Neil Hannon is one of the true greats of songwriting 🎶
Popular though they were as a live act, I have to say that I think Esbjörn Svensson Trio were better in the studio. I’ve been listening a lot to Live in London recently but I just played “Eighty-eight Days in My Veins” from Viaticum and it’s very nearly perfect 🎶 🎹
November 16, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Popular though they were as a live act, I have to say that I think Esbjörn Svensson Trio were better in the studio. I’ve been listening a lot to Live in London recently but I just played “Eighty-eight Days in My Veins” from Viaticum and it’s very nearly perfect 🎶 🎹
Yesterday’s newsletter post, mainly about Ian McEwan’s The Child in Time (1987), took me nearly all day to write, so I ended up having lunch at 8:15 pm and my “afternoon” coffee at 9:45 pm. Luckily, late coffee doesn’t seem to interfere with my sleep 📖 ☕️
November 16, 2025 at 11:30 AM
Yesterday’s newsletter post, mainly about Ian McEwan’s The Child in Time (1987), took me nearly all day to write, so I ended up having lunch at 8:15 pm and my “afternoon” coffee at 9:45 pm. Luckily, late coffee doesn’t seem to interfere with my sleep 📖 ☕️
Some other time: Ian McEwan, The Child in Time and Atonement: https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2025/11/15/some-other-time-ian-mcewan.html
Time, childhood and irreversibility in two novels by Ian McEwan
Time, childhood and irreversibility in two novels by Ian McEwan
November 15, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Some other time: Ian McEwan, The Child in Time and Atonement: https://letter.talkaboutbooks.net/2025/11/15/some-other-time-ian-mcewan.html
Time, childhood and irreversibility in two novels by Ian McEwan
Time, childhood and irreversibility in two novels by Ian McEwan
November 13, 2025 at 10:44 AM
I never saw that BBC Panorama programme and I still somehow managed to get the impression that Trump had urged his supporters to overthrow the 2020 election result. How did that happen? It can’t have been all the BBC’s fault.
November 12, 2025 at 12:50 PM
I never saw that BBC Panorama programme and I still somehow managed to get the impression that Trump had urged his supporters to overthrow the 2020 election result. How did that happen? It can’t have been all the BBC’s fault.
The Overspill’s Charles Arthur can’t remember how he learned to read but knows it can’t have been the “three cues” method. I’m sure I was taught using phonics. I’m lucky the school didn’t use the “whole word” approach, as I can’t, and couldn’t then, mentally store visual images of words.
November 12, 2025 at 11:17 AM
The Overspill’s Charles Arthur can’t remember how he learned to read but knows it can’t have been the “three cues” method. I’m sure I was taught using phonics. I’m lucky the school didn’t use the “whole word” approach, as I can’t, and couldn’t then, mentally store visual images of words.
Further down that same post from Adam Mastroianni’s Experimental History: Cognitive dissonance tests fail to replicate!
November 12, 2025 at 8:46 AM
Further down that same post from Adam Mastroianni’s Experimental History: Cognitive dissonance tests fail to replicate!