One of our favorite annual prizes has just been announced – the Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction award, to (dis)honor “unconvincing, perfunctory, embarrzssing or redundant passages of a sexual nature in otherwise sound literary novels”.

Presented with the award by Courtney Love in a lavish London reception, first time author Iain Hollingshead seemed delighted with the act of penance, claiming the prize was “a much better guide to a good read than those purveyors of powerful sleeping drugs, the Booker, the Pulitzer, the Goncourt et al”.

For the record, the passage in his otherwise well-received novel Twenty Something: the quarter-life crisis of Jack Lancaster, included the following scene:

Oh Jack, she was moaning now, her curves pushed up against me, her crotch taut against my bulging trousers, her hands gripping fistfuls of my hair. She reaches for my belt. I groan too, in expectation. And then I’m inside her, and everything is pure white as we’re lost in a commotion of grunts and squeaks, flashing unconnected images and explosions of a million little particles.

Bulging trousers? Ouch.

Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Awards [via Reuters]

Where some would write a review, others weave fascinating tales of journeys to far-off places. Some products just need that kind of passion.

Such is it as the Stogie Review, where Walt has turned a review of the Oliva Series G Maduro into what feels like a novella about the 75 minutes he spent with the flavourful, Nicaraguan torpedo.

When I hit the half way point it was like someone flipped a switch. The cigar went from good to great. The smoke became ultra smooth on the palate and the bitter chocolate faded while the flavors of coffee and nuts picked up. While the cigar went through its transformation, the Nicaraguan style spice began to slowly come back into the picture.

It’s how I’d imagine Hemmingway’s cigar reviews would be like. Except with video.

Oliva Series G Maduro [Stogie Review]

Slim-cut jackets, flat-front trousers and simple, fitted shirts are set to remain the way to dress as the tailored look pushes in 2007, making Thom Browne, Michael Bastian, et al. more successful, while confining the rest of us to the gym solely for fashion’s sake.

The classic, sophisticated suit dominating the New York menswear revival is still king, with neutral tones and the ever-so-shrunken look. Leisurewear is similarly on a vintage binge with, believe it or not, sharp dress shorts joined by zipped windcheaters and rugby shirts.

One year forward, 30 years back.

Trend: Tailored Clothing Look [Mens Flair]

Michael Bastian – Spring 2007 [Men.Style.com]