Improving Jane Eyre by quantifying user-generated data

The Times features writer Dave Eggers and his new novel, The Every.

In The Every, a dystopian sequel to his 2013 bestseller, the social media giant The Circle merges with an Amazon-esque platform to develop apps that calculate the month and year of a person’s death, while analysts hope to improve novels such as Jane Eyre by quantifying user-generated data. (Will Humphries)

The Herald (Scotland) recommends '20 urban strolls inspired by books, music, and horrible histories'.

Delightfully doom-laden

Ever had a yearning to wear black mascara, black clothes and have a little black cloud of your very own, always hovering three inches above your head? Then you are probably suffering from Gothic-itus, a malady that renders you most morose. 

We don’t recommend that you fight this angsty ague. Instead, stoke those fires by packing a bag with copies of Wuthering Heights and the collected works of Edgar Allan Poe, plus a monochrome photograph of Robert Smith, singer with The Cure.

Head sullenly towards the Glasgow Necropolis, the picturesque Victorian cemetery east of Glasgow Cathedral, and one of the most spectacularly spooky graveyards in the country. 

Now mope your way round the monuments to the dead. Enjoy the spectacular view of the city. Emit a world weary sigh.  Hey, maybe you’ll get lucky and it will rain soon – aren’t the doldrums delicious? (Lorne Jackson)

AnneBrontë.org features a letter on the Brontë family written by Elizabeth Gaskell in 1853. A long and interesting post on the Brontës' juvenilia on Brontë Babe Blog.