The Reading List – August 2020

The kids are back to school. Commuting is (partially) back on the menu. And there’s a whisper of plaid shirts, crisp leaves and pumpkin spice lattes in the air. Nobody knows what September will bring (an Indian summer? Or a second wave lockdown?), so to take your mind off worrying about it, here’s what the OG copy team have been reading this month. 

Black Panther rules Marvel’s world. Literally (Connie Guglielmo, CNET)

As the world mourns the late, great Chadwick Boseman, check out this interview on trailblazing, representation, playing the first Black superhero in mainstream comics, and the importance of T’Challa’s accent. 

The new rules of social engagement (Clara Strunck, Tatler)

What do ‘zoom calling your therapist’, ‘tinned food’ and ‘holiday in the British Isles’ all have in common? They’re now official hallmarks of good upper class behaviour, according to these charmingly bonkers guidelines from Tatler magazine. (Senior Copywriter Nic Jones was disturbed to learn that ‘discussing your antibody test’ isn’t the done thing.)

Has Self-Awareness Gone Too Far in Fiction? (Katy Waldman, The New Yorker)

In the wake of Normal People becoming a lockdown telly fave (as long as you didn’t watch it with your parents), Katy Waldman at The New Yorker takes a look at the trend for self awareness and analysis in fiction, and whether or not it’s all it cracked up to be.

Your office needs you – but here are five reasons why we’re staying away (Sathnam Sanghera, The Times)

One of the more clear eyed pieces about the return to the office, from Sathnam Sanghera at The Times. Balances the benefits and drawbacks of remote work in a way that few other articles seem to at the moment. It’s nice to see him back writing about business.