Author: British Day

I recently recommended a novel to a friend with my highest form of praise, one I assumed would make her take it from my hands without hesitation. It moved me to tears, I said, holding the book in my palms like a sacred offering. Crying has accompanied some of the most profound moments of my life. An airport farewell with no promise of reunion. Getting accepted into my dream university. Heartbreak. Daydreaming about the future. Losing a pet. Adopting a new one.  When I say that a book has made me cry, what I’m really saying is: This is part…

Delving into the moral and environmental dangers of a battery-powered future. Think about family secrets. Celebrating Diné cultural traditions. A deeply personal investigation in Pennsylvania and the complex relationship between Barbie and feminism. Nick Bolin | Drift | July 9, 2023 | 7,602 words The mining sector is in a temporary situation. As people become increasingly concerned about climate change, there is a surge in demand for alternative materials that can power the future. We’re talking about lithium, cobalt, and copper, which are needed to make electric car batteries, solar panels, and other items that are likely to become staples…

Max Olesker| Longreads | July 13, 2023 | 15 minutes (4,199 words) When I walk into the room, it is the enormous minotaur head that first catches my eye—its vast gaping concrete mouth containing the grate of a fireplace, its wide eyes staring back at me. Above the minotaur, ancient Greek tragedians are painted on the wall—Euripides, Sophocles, Aeschylus. Surrounding the minotaur on one side is an array of handmade military paraphernalia: shields, tabards, helmets, and weapons. Dismembered human body parts sculpted from newspaper adorn the other, limbs, torsos, and heads all aimlessly scattered near the bay windows. It’s a…

Carlos Barragan | Atavist Magazine | June 2023 | 1,370 words (7 minutes) This is an excerpt from the issue. 140, “Romance Swindler on the Couch”.” Natasha Bridges in a blanket The simplest hellos were written in the Facebook inboxes of men she didn’t know. Hello HelloHello While many men didn’t reply to Natasha, it was surprising how many did. What was even more impressive was that some of them seemed to be hooked on her right away. Can you love an older man? a man named James* wrote after just a few hours of messages. He said James is…

American children separated from their families. People who keep running 24 hours a day. The dark side of an ancient city. A man who treats water like wine. Amazing reaction to a bad trip. Shoshana Walter | New York Times Magazine and Exposure | June 29, 2023 | 7,167 words There’s nothing more American than making it difficult for people to become mothers. I don’t mean physically giving birth. Thanks to fervent anti-abortion advocates and the Supreme Court, many states are now literally forcing people to give birth, with dire consequences.That means being a complete human being. alone They live…

John Paul Scotto | Longreads | July 6, 2023 | 11 minutes (3,069 words) Dad and I were tossing a football in my yard. I was pleasantly surprised that my arm muscles retained the memory of a flawless throwing motion. The ball practically leaped out of my hand.  “It’s a shame Coach Mike didn’t give you more playing time,” Dad said. “You had such power to the opposite field.” He was referencing my final baseball season, freshman year of high school, two decades earlier.  “It’s all right,” I said, snagging his pass with one hand. “It was just JV baseball.” “You…

Linda Button| Longreads | July 4, 2023 | 15 minutes (3,167 words) MomoShe filled our lives with good food,chutzpah, laughter, and love. Enh. I could sense Momo looking over my shoulder as I typed, her head wrapped in a bright coral scarf. I was relieved she had put on weight since death. The final month her skin had hung on her, a size too big. She was back to her firm, long-legged self, her dark eyes bright with interest. “Enh?!” I said. I like where you’re going, but the words aren’t right. This was what we had always done for…

Photo: Pixabay I’m a fan of long-form journalism. Commissioned, edited and published by The Fence magazine. I enjoy reading it most of the time. However, such works sometimes tend to be decorative, dull and frankly too long. I would like to know what other editors and writers at other more influential publications feel, how they predict the future of long-form journalism in the British media landscape, and how this I wanted to know if there were too many sneak peeks on the American side, where the format is a gem. the country’s literary culture. The Financial Times and the Guardian…

Traveling through the aftermath of a tragic fire. The romance that launched a thousand Supreme Court opinions. A poetic ode to a simple life well lived. Follow the trajectory of food writing. And we explore the hidden costs of particularly delicate surgical procedures. This week’s favorites handpicked by our editors. Megan Greenwell | Wired | June 27, 2023 | 7,987 words Megan Greenwell’s work features the best features of a full-length feature. A very strong opening and a very compelling story will captivate you and make you purposely read slowly to keep reading till the end. The piece, about a…

Maddy Frank | Longreads | June 27, 2023 | 15 minutes (3,981 words) The caves of Missouri are bleeding. I had forgotten that—the way the rocks under the earth constantly drip, the water coming from places I cannot see. There is no singular source. It filters through the limestone like blood through lungs.  I write it down in my notes app so I remember: the caves of Missouri are bleeding. I don’t usually like metaphors like that. They feel scientifically false, a romanticization of something that is already astounding and beautiful enough without poetry. But I can’t help it. I…