I am reading Mariana, by Monica Dickens. This was republished a few years ago by Persephone Books. If you haven’t discovered Persephone, you should. It’s a London bookshop that specializes in republishing books by relatively unknown women authors from the 20th century. So far they have published 137 books. I have several on my bookshelves, and every so often treat myself to a new bunch of half a dozen or so.
I have a stack of these I haven’t read yet, so pulled this one off the shelf.
This is a delightful book, and after I read a bit, I went back and read the introduction. Monica Dickens turns out to be the great-granddaughter of Charles Dickens. Her writing style is quite different than his, but equally enjoyable.
One thing led to another, and I pulled Bleak House off the shelf and added it to my “currently reading” pile. I believe the last time I read any Dickens (Charles, that is) was in the late seventies. I was in my second year of medical school, and decided for some insane reason to take a night class in Victorian literature. I guess studying pathology and pharmacology until all hours of the night wasn’t enough of a challenge. Probably my favorite book I read for that class was Middlemarch, and I don’t recall which Dickens we read.
We’ll see how long this lasts in the paperback version. The print is tiny, and it’s a pretty cheaply bound volume, so the pages are starting to come out. I might end up finding a Kindle version if it gets to the point of holding it together with a rubber band.
The Persephone books all have that same pale grey cover, with lovely endpapers (including a matching bookmark) in every book.
What are you all reading this week?
I am halfway into Midnight Sun (Twilight from Edward Cullen’s viewpoint) by Stephanie Meyer. Kind of patrician compared to your taste, but I gravitate to contemporary fiction. 🤓
“Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?” and “The Book Jumper.’
I hadn’t heard of Persephone Press. Thank you for the recommendation! I’m about to start reading Contagious: Cultures, Carriers, and the Outbreak Narrative by Priscilla Wald.
I am reading Haunted Honor, by my friend Donna Longino. It is her second book, and it seems she has stepped into her own. Her first book, Sarah was enjoyable, but having known Donna for so long, I felt that it was a bit awkward. Almost like she was having trouble voicing what was on her own heart. But this new book is spot on. I am really enjoying it.
I’ve been doing audio books while I walk, an hour a day. So, I’m “reading” Tune In Tokyo, a memoir of a gay American English instructor in Japan. Sort of random, sort of interesting.