Diaries

You’ve probably seen plenty of Leonardo DiCaprio over the past two decades, but before he became the global superstar he is today, he was a part of the beloved 1995 adaptation of The Basketball Diaries. Based on American author, poet, and musician Jim Carroll’s autobiography of the same name, the film launched to critical and fan praise. It tackles the issue of addiction as high school basketball prospect Carroll struggles with his life and quickly loses his chance at stardom for a life on the streets. If you’re a big…

Canadian writer Sheila Heti’s 2010 breakout novel sought to interrogate its titular puzzler, How Should a Person Be? It’s become a continuing quest, but over the course of a career that now finds her publishing her 12th book, she’s also asked readers to consider again and again another question: how should prose be? Pairing philosophical inquiry with formal experimentation, she’s drawn inspiration from sources as scattered as reality TV, the I Ching and chatbot utterances, expanding our thinking about structure, character…

‘But isn’t it boring?” asked my partner. I had just explained the concept of Alphabetical Diaries, a book which delivers almost exactly what its title promises. The novelist Sheila Heti kept a journal for more than 10 years; she then culled sentences from the pages and arranged those sentences in alphabetical order. The book proceeds from A to Z: in the first chapter, each sentence starts with A, in the second each starts with B, and so on. The structure of the book is slick and oddly captivating. I read it over the…

Did you know Twilight’s Nikki Reed and The Vampire Diaries’ Ian Somerhalder are married? Yep, it’s pretty much the best fictional vampire union to happen! The couple exchanged vows back in 2015 and have two kids together. While the pair have opted to leave Hollywood in recent years to live a much quieter life on a farm, they aren't totally out of touch with the happenings of the world at large. Reed, for her part, just joined TikTok and did so by sharing a video of her and Somerhalder, which included the perfect homage…

Hideo Kojima will team with A24 on his Death Stranding movie. Alexander Siddig will join Foundation’s third season, while John Waters will join Chucky’s. Plus, another new look at the Doctor Who Christmas special. To me, my spoilers! Unboxing Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Limited Edition Playstation 5 BundleTritonTHR reports Freya Allen, Josh Whitehouse, Raff Law, Elsie Hewitt, Thalia Besson and musician Malcolm McRae are attached to star in Triton, a fantasy horror film from director Janell Shirtcliff currently filming in…

“Morbidcore” isn’t an established subgenre, but it’s not hard to imagine what falls into this category. These are games exploring life’s darker moments. Not for the sake of simply disturbing an audience, but instead, they’re stories communicating the more unsettling aspects of humanity — the parts we shy away from or refuse to acknowledge. Grief, depression, trauma, and pain are all prevailing themes in these narratives, and while they don’t aim to shock, they inevitably do. Indies aren’t the only titles that attempt…

1 DecemberThe Corrections by Jonathan FranzenAll Enid Lambert wants is everyone home for one last Christmas. Her husband, Alfred, is rapidly deteriorating with Parkinson’s. And so her three adult children – banker Gary, wannabe writer Chip and celebrity chef Denise – dutifully make their way from Philadelphia, Lithuania and New York up the snow-lined path of their parents’ house in St Jude. They manage breakfast together on the day itself. “This is the best Christmas present I’ve ever had,” poor Enid exclaims. A sabotaged…

When Nina Dobrev first joined the cast of "The Vampire Diaries," she had no idea just how successful the show would become. Cast member Nina Dobrev attends a special screening of the film "The Out-Laws" in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 26, 2023. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni(REUTERS) In a recent episode of The Jess Cagle Show on Sirius XM, the 34-year-old actress opened up about the whirlwind of fame that accompanied her role in the hit series, comparing it to her previous experience on the teen show "Degrassi."…

When my mother died in 2010 at the age of 52, she left behind two teenage daughters, a devoted husband, innumerable friends and an archive of beautifully written diaries chronicling nearly every year of her life from the age of 25 until her final days. My sister and I were aware of this growing collection throughout our childhood; her past selves were stacked neatly at the bottom of the living room bookcase, preserved in their various jackets of worn leather or patterned fabrics. “These diaries have been the only constant…

It’s always hard for a beloved actor to know when to leave the stage. So no wonder that political diarist Chris Mullin was tempted by one last encore, covering the dozen years from his leaving parliament in 2010. Three terrific previous volumes had already established this campaigning journalist turned Labour minister as one of the great political diarists, proof that it is not the big beasts but their wickedly observant juniors who often offer the most incisive take. Doubtless he was inspired, too, by his friend Tony…