A beauty seminar, a debut novel and a classic coming-of-age comedy: What’s on tonight, Thursday January 21

Wondering what to do with yourself? A buzzed-about debut novel, a beauty panel and an old film favourite – here’s what’s on tonight.

Whether you’re wondering about the future of “clean” beauty, looking for a new book for your book club or want to cosy into a comforting comedy you’ve seen a dozen times before, we have your evening plans covered.

READ
We are all the birds in Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan

Today is a bumper day for book releases. From the much-anticipated Girl A (mentioned in yesterday’s WOT) to Ask No Questions by Claire Allan, Forgive Me by Susan Lewis, Francis Bacon: Revelations, by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan, What If We Stopped Pretending by Jonathan Franzen, Make It Happen: How To Be An Activist by Amika George, and Our Little Cruelties by Liz Nugent, there are tons of great new books to get stuck into.

But the one we’re ordering We are all the birds in Uganda by Hafsa Zayyan. This is her debut novel and it has already won the Merky Books New Writers’ Prize, despite only coming out today. The novel looks at the lives of two people, spread across decades and continents. Hasan in 1960s Uganda is coming to term with the loss of his wife as his family struggles to make ends meet under an unstable new regime. Samann is a lawyer in modern-day London dealing with an inexplicable emptiness at the sight of his success. An unexpected tragedy brings him home, where he confronts not only his future but the past he never knew.

ATTEND
Up Close on Skincare Sessions, Cult Beauty

Part of Cult Beauty’s ongoing skin sessions, this week tackles the future of “clean” as a beauty buzz word. With no legally binding meaning for the word, panellists Nicola Moulton, Executive Creative Director at SEEN, Mark Curry, co-founder of The Inkey List, and Sarah Lee, co-founder of Glow Recipe discuss what exactly it should mean and what we want from “clean” products, whether it’s plant extract ingredients or ethically made beauty.

The session is free but they do ask that you donate to their charity partner Beauty Banks to help them on their quest to make hygiene poverty history. You can book here and it kicks off at 7pm.

STREAM
Superbad, Amazon Prime

Definitely not new and yes you’ve seen it at least three times, but when the world is terrifying and unfamiliar, we all turn to the comforting humour we know so well.

This film launched the movie careers of Jonah Hill, Michael Cera and Emma Stone, and has a decent team behind the camera too – it’s written by Jonah Hill (who also stars) and Evan Goldberg, and directed by Judd Apatow. Of course it was going to be a hit. 

In case you somehow missed this coming-of-age comedy, it follows two young high schoolers on a quest to lose their virginity before graduation. Does this sound like every high school movie ever? Yes. But are we still going to rewatch it? Absolutely. It’s on Amazon Prime from today.

Read more: What to eat tonight: Salmon, prawn and asparagus tart

Read more: ‘Behind Her Eyes’: A sneak peek of your new must-watch Netflix thriller

Read more: ‘A very happy old man’ Why Greta Thunberg got the last laugh in her spat with Donald Trump