The Economist: ‘What makes a good literary critic? For centuries writers were in agreement. The critic, Wordsworth noted, was a scornful sort who “frowned” on things. A critic knows, wrote Dorothy Parker, when a book is not “to be tossed aside lightly” but “thrown with great force”. A critic should—as Graham Greene said of all writers—have “a splinter of ice in the heart”. But then Greene had never met Dua Lipa.
‘Ms Lipa is a British pop star. She is also an increasingly popular literary critic, thanks to her book-club podcast.’

And: ‘Now, anyone who is anyone—and, given the nature of modern celebrity, plenty of people who are almost no one—has a book club, whether podcast, website, YouTube channel or newsletter.’

As well: ‘Ms Lipa also appears in adverts for Nespresso, a coffee brand.’

Magaret Atwood, Nespresso. Sales are sales. Dua Lipa, the savior of literature.

(a sf 2126)