Finding great stories, so you don't have to

Hello, friend. How was your Jubilee weekend? I know it feels like a distant memory already, doesn't it?

In a book I was reading recently, I discovered the word 'jubilee' derives from a Hebrew word yobel meaning 'trumpet' (specifically a ram's horn trumpet).

This trumpet is blown to mark the start of the jubilee, and in Judaism the official Jubilee Year marks freedom from enslavement and is celebrated every fifty years. So now you know – I mean it might have been a more useful conversation topic last week, but hey-ho.

Right, on with the links...

Why your favourite colour is probably blue
For all those of you who've read the above headline and said 'No, my favourite is orange', it's still worth clicking through and reading the piece. 

The most common secrets we keep
Think you don't keep secrets? This article begs to differ, having canvassed 50k people, the list included states that 97% of people keep at least one of the secrets. How many are you keeping? 

BOOK OF THE FORTNIGHT
The Survivors by Jane Harper
If you've not read a Jane Harper novel before, then you're in for a treat, regardless of which one you choose. An Australian writer, she has an uncanny knack for detailing the oppressive nature of small communities. The Survivors tells the story of a missing woman in a seaside town in Tasmania. The woman's disappearance brings to the surface the events of 12 years before, when there was a tragedy during a fierce storm. Harper is an intelligent writer and this latest 'rural noir' thriller continues her run of success. Previous novels The Dry and The Lost Man are also worth reading.
Buy links^*: UK Bookshop / Amazon / Hive

-oOo-

Have you reached peak TV yet?
This is from my pen – upon reading this week's Guardian article about the best TV of 2022 so far, it struck me that the amount of TV available to us has reached insane levels. How on earth are you expected to keep up? Is there any point even trying? I often see friends on social media say 'I've run out of Netflix, what shall I watch?' and I've baffled that you can run out of things. Anyway, read the rant and let me know what you think.

What do Nobel Prize winners know and not know?
This is a fab piece by The Fence. They've basically asked Nobel Prize winners a bunch of questions to test their knowledge. If the first one whets your appetite, then there's more where that came from: "Is there one part of your own discipline which you have never fully grasped?"

Is Tom Cruise any good at running?
If you've seen   Cruise is still running in his films. He even uses it in his Instagram bio ('Running in movies since 1981'). But can he actually run well, or not? ESPN asks the experts...  

The 6 forces that fuel friendship
This is a great piece. I really like research and insight into friendships and these six elements seem obvious once you read them, but they need spelling out. If you think about your own friendships that might have waned, then doubtless omitting one of the reasons will be why.
Pair with: Robin Dunbar's Friends – Dunbar's number (how our capacity for friendship is limited to around 150 people) is named after him and this book is fascinating.

This optical illusion has a revelation about your brain and eyes
The final sentence is the killer – it's not really a spoiler –  "the world you are seeing is an illusion, but don’t be alarmed".

What life as a touring tennis pro is really like
Most of us – when we think about professional tennis – picture the likes of Serena Williams or Roger Federer with their multi-million dollar contracts and a glamorous life travelling the world playing. But for those slightly lower down the ranks of the tennis elite, the reality is rather different. Great, eye-opening read.

If you like Content-ment, feel free to buy me a Ko-fi! ☕️

“UIntroverts, because they are quieter, are often thought to be better listeners. But this, too, is false. Listening can be particularly challenging for introverts because they have so much busyness going on in their own heads that it’s hard to make room for additional input." (From You're Not Listening by Kate Murphy)

If you like Content-ment, feel free to buy me a Ko-fi! ☕️

The end blurb...
^*My book recommendation links usually go to one of three places: 
1) Bookshop.org (an online bookshop with a mission to financially support local, independent bookshops – it's an affiliate link, so I earn a tiny amount at no extra cost to you)
2) Hive, which makes a donation to a local independent bookshop of your choosing every time you buy from them.
3) I also include an Amazon affiliate link, though, as I know lots of people still read via Kindle, even though they're taking over the world!

I'm always grateful when people send on recommendations for inclusion in here. If you ever see something you think I'd love to read, please let me know. The internet is a big space and I only search a small part of it...

Finally, if you're reading this for the first time, why not sign up here to get a dose of similar enjoyment every two weeks, or simply email me at rob@robmansfield.net with "Content-ment" in the subject line.

See you in a fortnight!

Rob