Zadie Smith

Fail Better is an essay by Zadie Smith. It's about writers and their quest for the perfect novel. As the essay explores a writer's struggles, it ends up teaching us far more about the quest of reading and writing. I narrate this essay in today's podcast.

Zadie Smith; Novelist, Essayist, Thinker for our time.Zadie's first novel White Teeth was published at the tender age of 25, she was still a student at Cambridge when the unfinished manuscript of her first novel sparked a bidding war between publishers- it went on to be an instant success garnering praise and awards.Since then, she has long been an interpreter of multicultural Britain but has resisted becoming a symbol for it. She has become the rare kind of writer who’s opinion is regularly sought out because it is hers— in perusing her body of books, articles and essays it seems the woman can make an interesting sentence about most anything, from Jay- Z to the roman philosopher Marcus Aurelius.We met in 2017, when my good friend Catie Lazarus (who this episode is dedicated, we lost Catie to cancer in December) paired us onstage in her show Employee of the Month.  Zadie Smith used the early lockdown period to pen a concise and powerful volume of six personal essays titled Intimations, that was released last summer.  All of her royalties for the book go to two charities, The Equal Justice Initiative and The COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund for New York.THANK you to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me the vehicle to make this work.  I couldn't and more importantly wouldn't have done it without their support. Join me there if you’d like to support this podcast, for as little as $2 per month with no obligation to stick around long term. patreon.com/rizolove www.zadiesmith.com Catie’s Podcast; https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/employee-of-the-month/id487274151

Karya unik ini mengisahkan tentang Fatou, seorang asisten rumah tangga dari Pantai Gading yang bekerja pada sebuah keluarga kaya asal Timur Tengah di London. Rumah majikannya berada di sebuah kawasan elit di pinggiran Kota London. Suatu ketika di kawasan itu muncul pula sebuah kedutaan besar Kamboja yang tampak seperti bangunan rumah besar biasa. Namun, ada hal yang mencuri perhatian Fatou.

Awal mula diterbitkan sebagai cerpen di The New Yorker, karya ini kemudian di-novel-kan oleh sang penulis. Menjadikan The Embassy of Cambodia (mungkin) novel tertipis di dunia. Hanya sebanyak 69 halaman yang terdiri dari 21 chapter singkat namun berisi.

This episode's conversation is inspired by 'Intimations', a collection of personal essays by Zadie Smith. We talk about the challenges of working during Covid, PMS, our love for essays and our biggest lessons from the pandemic. We hope you enjoy the episode and as always, email us your thoughts at bookversationspod@gmail.com Next Bookversations Read: Transcendent Kingdom By Yaa Gyasi

Ep. 11 - Anisha and Dhruv mark International Women's Day by discussing two of their favourite women writers, Zadie Smith (White Teeth, On Beauty, Grand Union)  and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Americanah, We Should All Be Feminists). Then there’s the irreverent 2000s British comedy,-drama Teachers and Anisha’s latest Apple TV comedy recommendation, Ted Lasso. Plus, a cracking Iraqi burger meal kit recommendation. Finally, is an Instant Pot worth the fuss? BINGE READ - Women’s Day SpecialZadie SmithWriting about London discussed in episode 3 https://anchor.fm/eatwatchbingeread/episodes/ Episode-3-About-Lo-Fi-Sci-Fi--Woke-Friends--Evocative-Writing-and-Dumplings-eo4jdoGrand Union https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9780241463376On Beauty https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9780241989166White Teeth https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9780241463376Swing Time https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9780141036601 Changing my Mind https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9780141019468 Embassy of CambodiaThe Lazy River https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/12/18/the-lazy-riverChimamanda Ngozi AdichiAmericanah https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9780007356348Half of a Yellow Sun https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9780007506071Zikora (available on Kindle)We Should All Be Feminists https://uk.bookshop.org/a/4569/9780008115272Arundhati RoyWriting discussed in episode 1 https://anchor.fm/eatwatchbingeread/episodes/Episode-1-About- Biryani--the-Crown--Jhumpa-Lahiri-etc-ener34WATCHTed Talk, We Should All be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichi https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_we_should_all_be_feminists/transcript Teachers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teachers_(British_TV_series)Ted Lasso https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/ted-lasso/umc.cmc.vtoh0mn0xn7t3c643xqonfzy Megan Markle on Oprah (available on iTV)--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/eatwatchbingeread/message

The new millennium brought with it a fresh wave of optimism and excitement for the future. Zadie Smith's best selling debut novel White Teeth embodied this mood and symbolised a changing of the guard. Smith was lauded with critical acclaim and lavished with media attention — an overnight literary sensation at just 24 years old. With special guest Sharmaine Lovegrove, publisher at Dialogue Books, we explore the impact of the novel and the legacy of its author. Content Warning: Mention of suicide   Got a favourite culture moment from 2000 you want us to talk about? Suggest an episode idea here.  You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram Follow Sharmaine on Twitter here. Find out more about the Black Writers Guild here.  Select books Sharmaine mentions in the episode:  The Lonely Londoners, Sam Selvon Second Class Citizen, Buchi Emecheta The Buddha of Suburbia, Hanif Kureishi The Black Album, Hanif Kureishi Blonde Roots, Bernardine Evaristo Girl, Woman, Other,  Bernardine Evaristo Queenie, Candice Carty Williams Bridget Jones Diary, Helen Fielding Select work by Zadie Smith referenced:  Fences: A Brexit Diary, NY Books Stormzy at Glastonbury Intimations Sharmaines question to Zadie in the Guardian Clips Used:  Tony Blair wins landslide general election win for Labour (1997) - Newsnight archives America's Internet Trading Boom (1990) -   Journeyman Pictures Tony Blair on immigration (2004) -  London Business School Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When 24 Year old Zadie Smith published her debut novel, White Teeth, in 2000, she became an instant literary superstar. Two decades and several more novels, short story and essay collections later, her voice remains every bit as relevant. Never one to follow a trend, her writing has earned a reputation for originality and intellectual independence. Head of Talks and Ideas Edwina Throsby spoke to Zadie Smith when she was visiting the Sydney Opera House in November 2019.

The latest book from the bestselling author is an insightful and moving essay collection exploring ideas and questions prompted by this time of social isolation.

On our first Bright Morning Book Club episode, Elena and Rebecca talk about Zadie Smith’s most recent book of essays, Intimations, and her 2012 novel, NW. Topics include why we read, parachuting into characters, the challenges of these times we live in, and more. There are spoilers!