Jenny Diski, author of The Sixties

The novelist and essayist Jenny Diski is one of the reasons to read the London Review of Books. Her witty, acerbic and unsentimental pieces never outstay their welcome. The Sixties, her study of the successes and failures of that mythical decade, is out in paperback from Profile Books. In November she has a new work of non-fiction coming out from Little, Brown called What I Don't Know About Animals.

JENNY'S FAVOURITE SITES

The Browser - A gripping compilation of good writing from the press and online. Essential in the struggle to keep up to date without being overwhelmed.

Justin Erik Halldór Smith -  Justin E H Smith's website is a reading feast. A philosopher and polymath who writes fascinating essays wonderfully and is very funny. Look out for Wednesday Animals and Imaginary Tribes, but be prepared to be sucked in for hours.

Cult Pens - A strange fetish of mine is satisfied with regular visits to Cult Pens. All sorts from the latest and greatest ultrafine gel pen to the completely desirable Pilot retractable fountain pen I'd been waiting all my life for. Written with pen (and pencil) love.

London Review of Books Blog - A regular read which I also write for. Looks at the world in smaller, sharper snippets than in its big sister journal of long and fascinating pieces, but with the same informed intelligence.

Crazy Meds - Run by Jared Poore, a sufferer from mental illness and medication taker. He writes with honesty and wit about the experience of dealing with madness and the common sense attempt to maintain a life with the help of appropriate medication. The forum is an insight into people sharing their knowledge and experience of coping with immense and much misunderstood difficulty with humour and personal expertise. A look into a closed and difficult world.

AlterNet - Aggregates and creates independent news and writing about politics and social issues. Very sharp and often radical investigation and analysis of world events.

3 August 2010