For some reason, books inspire a very specific type of existentialism in me. Whether it's at a bookstore or a library, I look up at the lines of tempting, unread tomes and think about how, even if I tried, I could never read all of them in a lifetime. How many wonderful stories I'll miss! How nice it would be to enter some moment out of time, to read all the books one desired. I suppose it makes each story we do get to experience all the more dear. It's going to be a quick Good Stuff this week, but I do have a favor to ask: Send me your favorite book recommendations! Let's build a Good Stuff reading list to keep that existential bibliophilia at bay.
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Our favorites this week
Get going with some of our most popular good news stories of the week
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She's cookin'!
Nigerian chef Hilda Effiong Bassey has become an international sensation after cooking nonstop for 100 hours in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record. Fighting lack of sleep, yet buoyed by a cheering, dancing crowd at her cooking venue in Lagos, Bassey crafted 55 recipes and over 100 meals designed to showcase the best of Nigerian cuisine. “Nigerian cuisine is the best out there,” she told CNN. “The more recipes are propagated, the more people will be willing to try it. Nigerian food is such comfort food." Speaking of comfort, fans traveled from miles around to see Bassey's attempt, and local celebrities and politicians also showed up to cheer her on. The Guinness World Record committee still has to confirm all the details, but given she beat the previous record for marathon cooking by more than 12 hours, it looks like Bassey will have it in the bag.
→ Read the whole story here
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He's bakin'!
Still not hungry? Perhaps the story of another champion foodie can change that. As you know, baguettes are a BIG deal in France. The crusty, oh-so-French treat even has UNESCO protection for its cultural relevance. Every year, judges gather to anoint Paris' best bread at the “Grand Prix de la Baguette de Tradition Francaise de la Ville De Paris” contest. The winning baker gets the honor of supplying baguettes for a year to the Élysée Palace, the official home of the French president, plus a tidy cash sum. This year, the prize went to Sri Lankan Tharshan Selvarajah, who owns a Parisian bakery called Au Levain des Pyrénées. Selvarajah says his secret is to bake a batch every 20 minutes so that the bread is always hot and fresh. Despite its prize-winning glory, his bread still only costs 1.35 euros (about $1.50). He says the competition's celebration of local breadmaking helps keep costs low, quality high, and production local.
→ Read the whole story here.
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Winners, together
Friendship, sportsmanship, brotherhood, love: This moment has it all. Kevin Sinfield, a legendary figure in the sport of rugby league, stopped short of the finish line of the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon last weekend to carry his friend, former teammate and race honoree Rob Burrow across the finish line. The two men played together for England and Leeds Rhinos, and Burrow was diagnosed with the degenerative condition motor neuron disease (MND) in 2019. Since then, Sinfield has undertaken a series of endurance challenges to raise funds for MND, completing seven ultramarathons in seven days last year and running 101 miles in 24 hours the year before. According to UK media reports, Sinfield has raised more than £8 million (almost $10 million) for MND charities since his friend's diagnosis.
→ Read the whole story here.
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Music can heal so much, and CNN Hero Mike Ball uses this incredible power to give a new voice to children who have lived through trauma. His journey began when he visited a juvenile detention center in 2005 and saw that most of the young people there had survived serious traumatic experiences. As a writer and music lover, Ball knew songwriting could be a positive, creative outlet for them. He got some local folk and blues musicians on board, and his nonprofit Lost Voices was born in 2007. The organization offers weeklong programs where musicians go into juvenile detention centers and residential treatment facilities to work with children in small groups, helping them write songs and express themselves. A key element of the Lost Voices program is the trauma-informed care approach, which Ball and his team are specifically trained to implement. They create a nonjudgmental space where kids from all walks of life can freely articulate and work through difficult feelings.
→ Read the whole story here.
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Taryn Delanie Smith isn't a literal angel, but she's about as close as you can get. The TikTok star and 2022's Miss New York has grown an online following with her character Denise, a bathrobe-clad receptionist at the front desk of, you guessed it, heaven. While some of her skits are drop-dead funny (she'll show you where God's margarita bar is, or ding your angel credit for being mean to a barista), her humor also has a lot of heart. Some of her fans say her videos have brought them comfort in their grief after losing a loved one, and Smith will occasionally work a personal request for a new "resident" into some of her skits. In a recent appearance on the "Tamron Hall Show," Smith said she based her character on her fondness for New York DMV workers and her own experiences working as a receptionist in a call center. She also talked about the unexpected impact her work has had, bringing some laughter into people's dark times. "When you lose someone -- and we've all lost someone -- the hardest part is it just feels like they're gone," Smith explained. "I would argue that the love didn't go anywhere."
→Watch her interview here, and or check out her TikTok account @taryntino21.
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Rec of the week
Brought to you by CNN Underscored
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Shameless animal video
There's always time for cute animal videos. That time is now.
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This productive little beaver is accomplishing things! And by things, we mean arranging sticks and rolling balls around. You know, important beaver stuff. (Click here to view) |
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