Welcome to the end of 2021 and the beginning of Five Great Reads, a weekday wrap of great summer writing to get your day going, or at least perk it up a bit. They’re chosen by me, Alyx Gorman, a person who’s about to find out whether very small puppies enjoy very big fireworks.
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As Australia faced another day of record infections, national cabinet met to redraw Australia’s Covid rules, including changing the definition of a close contact. And if you’re wondering why we don’t have free rapid antigen tests in Australia, it’s very hard to get a straight answer. Scott Morrison said it was down to industry concerns, but the industries concerned deny lobbying about it. Follow Australia’s Covid developments today live right here.
In non-Covid news, speculation is mounting that socialite turned convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell may try to cut a deal by naming names in a broader investigation of her ex-boyfriend Jeffery Epstein’s high society circle.
And in case you missed it amid all the Covid yesterday, the front of Canberra’s Old Parliament House was set alight by protesters for the second time in as many weeks. The Aboriginal Tent Embassy has released a statement condemning the destruction.
Now, on to the reads.
1. The dramatic double life of Ghislaine Maxwell
Court testimony during Maxwell’s trial painted an “intimate” portrait of a woman born to wealth and drawn to power. Victoria Bekiempis tells the story of her entry into Epstein’s orbit and the luxury and horror that followed.
Notable quote: “These girls were just a means to support her lifestyle,” prosecutor Lara Pomerantz said in her opening. “A way for the defendant to make sure that Epstein – who demanded constant sexual gratification from young girls – remained satisfied so that the defendant could stay in the lifestyle to which she was accustomed.”
A word of warning: As the quote above suggests, this story contains descriptions of sexual abuse, so stay away if that isn’t something you’re up for today (or ever).
Bonus read: Intrigued by the court sketch above? J Oliver Conroy interviewed the court artist who sketched Maxwell sketching her back, Jane Rosenberg. Over more than 40 years as a court artist, she’s witnessed many such strange and extraordinary moments.
2. What has the pandemic done to uni life?
Like all industries, higher education changed in the pandemic – but some of those changes could be forever, Wing Kuang discovers.
Notable quote: “I think universities are becoming much more aware that there’s online learning, and then there’s good online learning,” says Glenn C Savage, an associate professor of education policy at the University of Western Australia. “And they’re very different things.”
How long will it take me to read? About three minutes
3. “The B&B owner told me a horrifying home truth”
Fay Schopen’s story of a romantic winter mini-break gone awry is the Holiday meets the Shining – with a bit of the Ice Storm thrown in.
Notable quote: “I should have been alerted to potential trouble ahead when reports of snow and ice storms in the region started coming in,” Schopen writes. “When I phoned the B&B to confirm we would still be coming, they seemed surprised and told us everyone else had cancelled. Being English, this didn’t occur to me. But as I now know, American weather is different.”
4. Australia’s best TV of 2021
Our critic Luke Buckmaster names his top 10 local shows of the year.
Is one of them MasterChef? No.
What about The Block? Also no.
The Bachelorette? Nope.
So no reality TV? Not a whiff. Well, there are some stunning docos in there, including an experimental art-meets-science project; but for the most part it’s all biting satire and scripted drama.
5. Live vicariously this New Year’s Eve
By reading musician Banoffee’s story of a truly wild beach party, as told to Michael Sun.
Notable quote: “We formed a conga line, all dancing down the street, down the steep little cliff path towards the beach, where we were met by a surprise.”
How long will it take me to read? A minute. You’re here for a good time, not a long time.
