What We're Reading – October 2019

Girl, Woman, Other by Bernardine EvaristoSince studying Lara as a student, I have been a fan of Bernardine Evaristo’s work, and am delighted to see her win the Booker Prize this year. Girl, Woman, Other follows the lives of twelve black characters with different backgrounds and experiences, most of whom identify as female, living in London. I’ve enjoyed getting to know them through my reading and seeing how their lives are linked or overlap in different ways. What I found particularly interesting about this book is how each character responds in their own way to the universal questions of self and identity, particularly the tensions between personal, public and political gender discourse and the effect it has on the relationships the characters have with others. This feels like a very important book, and a must-read if you’re interested in what’s happening in UK fiction today.Rachel Stevens, Director LiteratureCommon People - An Anthology of Working-class Writers (ed Kit de Waal). An exceptional collection of essays, poems, memoir and short stories celebrating working-class life, culture and literature. There are many highlights, but I especially recommend Lisa McInnery’s essay ‘Working Class: An Escape Manual’, which considers how working-class writers and artists are co-opted into other identities when they achieve success. Debut author Adam Sharp’s ‘Play’, a memoir of his relationship with a substance-addicted father, is poignant and deftly handled - he’s a writer to... Continue reading at 'British Council global'

[ British Council global | 2019-10-30 09:49:28 UTC ]

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“Through Multiculturalism We Become Better Humans”: A Conversation with Vonani Bila, by Ming Di

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Music publishers accuse Spotify of 'bait-and-switch subscription scheme'

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'Mad Men' ad exec launches new campaign to win buyer for townhouse

Jerry Della Femina, an icon of the advertising industry whose memoir about Madison Avenue’s rollicking heyday provided fodder for the hit cable series Mad Men, has a new campaign: selling his home.Della Femina and his wife, former TV journalist Judy Licht, have put their Upper East Side... Continue reading at Crains New York

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A Summary and Analysis of Clarice Lispector’s ‘A Chicken’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University) The Ukrainian-born Brazilian novelist and short-story writer Clarice Lispector (1920-77) has not had as much attention as her fellow titans of South American literature, Jorge Luis Borges and Gabriel García Márquez. But her short stories are often... Continue reading at Interesting Literature

[ Interesting Literature | 2024-06-12 14:00:27 UTC ]
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7 Books Structured as Conversations

I love it when a text centers the dynamics of conversation. In my own life, talking to others gets me out of my head, and introduces me to possibilities I would never have dreamed of alone. I think of a quote by the activist Valerie Kaur, which my local bookshop has printed on some of […] The... Continue reading at Electric Literature

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Lit Hub Daily: June 12, 2024

What if Jane Austen is actually the master of anti-romance? Inger Sigrun Bredkjær Brodey on how Austen’s rushed endings undercut her reputation. | Lit Hub Criticism Living with a literary icon can teach some incredible lessons. Cory Leadbeater on his life-changing friendship with Joan Didion. |... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

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Ursula K. Le Guin’s Home to Become Writers Residency

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Here are the guest editors (and new covers!) for the Best American Series 2024.

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BANNED TOGETHER: Empowering Teens and Fighting for the Right to Read

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De Los Reads: Here's what we're reading in June

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This NYC vet makes house calls. In 'Pets and the City,' she's penned a memoir full of tails

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Jill Ciment’s New Memoir Revisits Her Affair With a Much Older Man

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Book Review: ‘The Friday Afternoon Club,’ by Griffin Dunne

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Clive Myrie: ‘The closest I’ve come to death? Coming under attack while reporting in Iraq’

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A New Book, ‘BoyMom,’ Seeks Answers on How to Raise Children

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A Comic Anthology for Pride Month and Beyond

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Bill Gates to tell his ‘origin story’ in memoir

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