This month, our theme is Coming of Age. It’s a hugely important topic; that step from childhood to adulthood is incredibly formative, it crops up in almost every novel, and ultimately, we’ve all experienced it. Here, for you, is an extract from the wonderful Life Moves Pretty Fast by Hadley Freeman. In it, Hadley explores two of the most important facets of one of the most well-known coming of age films. Enjoy!
Here at 4th Estate we’ve been celebrating International Women’s Day, which comes as no surprise considering the wonderful array of female writers we publish. And so, to mark this momentous occasion, we wanted to share insightful snippets of what it’s like to be a woman by a selection of these revered writers – from being a feminist, and telling our stories, to gender bias in the way we eat, tropes in films, and the stereotypes attached to beauty. Read more…
We’ve given you enough lists of books to take you through to the end of 2016 (and we’ll be checking that you’ve read them all), so we thought we’d give you, via the terrific Hadley Freeman, this list of eighties movies that you should sit back and watch this Christmas. We’re imagining that you’ll have some extra time on your hands, and how better to spend it? Plus, popcorn is basically fat free, isn’t it, which is what you’ll be wanting after delicious Christmas dinner. You don’t have to watch all of these films, but we’ll bet you want to after looking at the posters… Read more…
For many of us (particularly if you were fortunate enough to be born in the 70s or 80s), America was introduced to us at a tender, impressionable age thanks to Hollywood’s far-reaching and never-ending power.
For Hadley Freeman, American movies of the 1980s taught her everything she needed to know: comedy in Three Men and a Baby, Hannah and Her Sisters, Ghostbusters, Back to the Future and Trading Places; all a teenager needs to know – in Pretty in Pink, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Say Anything, The Breakfast Club and Mystic Pizza; the ultimate in action – Top Gun, Die Hard, Young Sherlock Holmes, Beverly Hills Cop and Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; love and sex – in 9 ½ Weeks, Splash, About Last Night, The Big Chill, Bull Durham; and family fun – in The Little Mermaid, ET, Big, Parenthood and Lean On Me. Read more…
‘I was born in the US but, weirdly, I’ve hardly seen anything of the US. At the risk of stating the teeth-bleeding obvious, America is a big country so you can’t just jump in your car and check out California, especially if you live in New York. Instead, my childhood holidays were spent visiting the same places over and over again as we rode the merry-go-round of visits to relatives: one grandmother and grandfather in Miami, another grandmother in Ohio, cousins in Washington DC and Seattle. Read more…
Sunday the 15th of March sees Mother’s Day, a day to celebrate every single thing your Mum has done for you. Whether it’s something as basic as your washing, as unconditionally kind as coming to collect you from the train station when you’ve missed the last bus and don’t want to shell out for a cab, or telling your dad that he really ought to respect your life choices (even if it means you’ll be out of work for a year until the green grows out of your hair), Mum has your back, and Mum’s are the best. And, in some cases, let’s not forget that Mum has to be Dad too. To help you give your Mum the very best gift possible, we’ve paired some of our brilliant Mum-friendly books with some especially Mum-friendly presents. Spoil her rotten this Mother’s Day.
Hadley Freeman’s ‘Every Dating Guide You’ll Ever Need’ (taken – and edited – from Be Awesome: Modern Life for Modern Ladies)
‘With the help of this little guide, you’ll see that you won’t have to change anything about yourself to get your man, other than your behaviour, personality, natural desires and looks. Once you do all that, you can have ANY man eating out of your hand. Yes, I said ANY man. The only stress you’re going to have in your life now is … which guy to choose!
First of all, how to meet this special someone? You need to break out of your usual social circle as that pond is too small for you to fish in – aim for the ocean! Give internet dating a go – honestly, EVERYONE’S doing it these days (except anyone who ever advocates that you try it) and how about joining an evening class? Not a girly one like ‘vegetarian cooking’ or ‘beginners French’ because you’ll only meet girls and gays there, which would be a total waste of your time and money. Be ruthless and choose ones that don’t interest you at all but sound hot and hetero, like ‘car maintenance’ and ‘how to make your own app’. But also bear in mind that when you meet someone that way there is a risk that you’ll have nothing at all in common, especially if you met him in an evening class that doesn’t interest you at all or on some internet site where decisions are based purely on aesthetics. Read more…
