Engrossing book explores London’s historic underbelly

Old-time London was nothing like the glamorous metropolis seen in romantic period-piece movies. Imagine streets full of horse manure, cesspools behind or beneath every building, the soot of countless coal fires in the air and storm drains that served primarily to flush whatever was dumped into them out into the same river that provided the city with its drinking water. Historian Lee Jackson describes those conditions in fascinating albeit gross detail and provides plenty of photos in “Dirty Old London” (Yale University Press, $38), and shows why it took social reformers almost 100 years of struggle to get solutions put in place. A $22 paperback edition will be out in December.

—John Berger

Sea creatures adorn whimsical towel

With the longer days of summer here, it’s time to take inventory of beach gear. You’ll want this 100 percent cotton terry Sea Creatures beach towel ($10.99 at Target) in your bag. It measures 34 by 64 inches, and although a bit on the thin side it has a soft feel. Other designs are available.

—Nina Wu

Virtual fun run encourages healthy lifestyle

The health and beauty website Flex It Pink, which encourages women to live healthy, hosts “virtual races” throughout the year, with participants given a one-week window to complete the 5K/10K events by running, hiking, walking, swimming or biking when and where it is convenient for them. Up next is the Summer Solemate Fun Run, Sunday to Aug. 1, benefiting the Wounded Warrior Project. Register at flexitpink.com and you’ll receive a swag pack containing a finisher’s medal, race bib and a T-shirt or tank top for $29. (The pack pictured is from May’s race.) Finishers post photos of themselves on Instagram and Facebook wearing the medal and bib.

—Nancy Arcayna

Amusing ‘Star Wars’ series features Lego characters

Most of the computer-animated “Star Wars” shows leave me as cold as the ice planet Hoth, but on one of my frequent jaunts up and down the TV dial, I recently stumbled across the amusing “Lego Star Wars: The New Yoda Chronicles,” on Disney XD. Written with zippy humor, the limited series will appeal to kids and grown-ups (as the best children’s shows do) and satisfy longtime “Star Wars” fans. Half the fun is seeing familiar characters — Bib Fortuna, the Cantina Band, Admiral Akbar — in Lego form and the other half comes from witty dialogue and visual gags (Darth Vader’s cape keeps getting caught on things, for instance). Disney XD just released a new parody, “Lego Star Wars: Droid Tales,” comprising five 22-minute episodes retelling the entire saga from C-3PO and R2-D2’s perspective. And it wouldn’t be “Star Wars” without the music of John Williams. Watch the first episode, “Exit From Endor,” at 2:30 p.m. Sunday and 4:31 p.m. July 27 on Disney XD, or catch it on YouTube.

—Christie Wilson

Organic rice chips offer savory snack

Before I migrated to Hawaii, I lived on the margins of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California, where rice fields and fruit and nut trees dominate the landscape. Agriculture is resource-intensive, so I’m particularly gratified to see a rice producer embrace organic methods. Lundberg Family Farms, founded in 1937, has done so since the 1960s. Its crunchy, gluten-free rice chips, made primarily with organic brown rice, serve as a more nutritious, savory substitute for most crackers or chips. Flavors include wasabi, smoky maple, Sriracha and honey Dijon, but my fave is Sesame & Seaweed. A 6-ounce bag was $3.99 at Whole Foods Markets.

—Elizabeth Kieszkowski