Carnival Row openly subverts H.P. Lovecraft

Warning: broad spoilers ahead for season 1 of Carnival Row. H.P. Lovecraft is one of the most imaginative, singular, brilliant, and influential horror writers of all time. He’s also one of the most overtly, profoundly racist. Lovecraft’s…

Free reads: how to find no-cost fiction

If you’re a dedicated reader, the internet can provide a treasure trove of free books, short stories, and other reading material. But where do you look? Especially if you want to find free reading material that doesn’t violate copyright? In…

The Kindle is getting a Kids Edition bundle

Amazon’s been offering Kids Edition versions of its Fire tablets for years, and now it’s bringing a bundle to its Kindle e-readers with a new Kindle Kids Edition. The move makes a lot of sense, given that Amazon already pushes reading and…

How Blade Runner got its name from

As of November 2019, we’ve officially caught up with Blade Runner’s dystopian future. But we’re already ten years past the very different book that inspired its name. Most fans of Ridley Scott’s 1982 film are aware that it’s based on a…

Europe’s share markets rise as global

European stock indexes are recovering some ground after huge falls on Thursday. Markets have seen volatile trading as investors weigh the effect of the coronavirus against measures aimed at easing its economic impact. Share markets…

Coronavirus: Europe ramps up support

European authorities are increasing efforts to try to stave off the economic effects of coronavirus. The European Union (EU) will put a package of measures in place including a €37bn euro (£33bn) investment initiative. And German finance…

Upcycling sports shirts and aeroplane seats

"When I started talking about upcycling, people thought I was talking about riding bikes uphill," laughs Scott Hamlin. But the former Adidas boss has a simple, yet ingenious, business model - he buys unwanted tops from professional sports…