An Architecture Giant Dies Suddenly, Writers Fail at Politics and Humans Can’t Help But Covet Luxury

Our editors are a diverse lot, and are constantly perusing a long and broad list of publications. Fashion? Art? Architecture? Culinary studies? Semantics? It’s all here. In What We’re Reading, PaperCity shares the wealth.

Humans are consumers, and have been for a long time. Shiny objects, relics, expensive things in general. What does it mean? How did it come to be that we covet luxury? Here is (almost) all you need to know about the subject.

Writers and politics: Many scribes have much to say about the process, and much of it can be critical and influential. However, when writers run for office, it usually doesn’t go very well.

Robert Mapplethorpe died in 1989, at the young age of 42. His work lives on, of course, and it still has the capacity to move — and shock. Read this for an insightful appreciation of the artist.

Finally, the world of architecture has lost a giant: Zaha Hadid passed away this morning in Miami of a heart attack. She had been admitted to the hospital earlier and was being treated for bronchitis. Her many commissions — including one I visited and was awed by, the Tondonia Winery Pavilion — are lauded for their distinct designs. Hadid was the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize.