Zoo in the head

Talking the talk

A swift survey of the pages that refer people to this blog shows that pokemon images are down, dead zebras and zoo porn are holding steady, and I've had one visit from someone using the search term "ex journalist zoo in head status anxious zoo failure robert hanks talks the talk but can't". Can't what? So tantalising. Or perhaps whoever it was didn't feel the need to specify what I can't - there's just so much. Clearly, this was someone who knows me very well: my wife?

Searcher, if you return: get in touch. I think you have a lot to tell me about myself.

Humour me

When I was a sub-editor, years ago, I always found that the easiest way of getting a rise out of a writer was to say thanks, that was a terrific piece, we hardly had to do a thing to it, just take out all the jokes; then you would hold the telephone receiver away from your head until the shouting stopped. But the unkind truth is that most jokes please only their authors, and removing the rest is an essential part of an editor's job.

Anyway, my review of Giles Foden's Turbulence is in the new edition of the London Review of Books - on the web here, but you'll need a subscription to read the whole thing. And I could swear it was funnier before they edited it.