Two sides to a story: why feminist retellings are filling our bookshelves
“From Nineteen Eighty-Four’s Julia to Shakespeare’s Rosaline, the trend for a new perspective on a familiar tale is continuing apace. Authors and publishers explain what old stories tell us about today”
Writers talk about an important topic. Giving a voice to people who have traditionally been margrinalized is one of the most important functions of Life Themes in Literature.
Categories: Life Themes in Literature, Reading, Writing
Agatha Christie books, including Poirot and Miss Marple mysteries, to be rewritten for modern sensitivities
Agatha Christie joins the ranks of Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming, and Ursula K. Le Guin.
Categories: Literary Criticism, Literary History, Literature & Culture
Ghostwriter to the Stars: Who Is J.R. Moehringer?
“. . . in recent years, ghostwriting has begun to be presented more as a collaboration than like a celebrity trying to ‘pull one over’ on readers,” writes Alex Luppens-Dale in this article about J.R. Moehringer, whose most recent hit is Prince Harry’s memoir Spare.
Categories: Memoir, Writing
Intimacy Exposed: A Reading List of Diary-Themed Fiction
Writer Shaun Bythell believes that people enjoy reading other people’s diaries because of the intimate information they may contain. “Diaries written with a view to publication tend to be heavily sanitized,” Bythell says. Here he offers a list of 10 diaries that offer “an embarrassment of riches to choose from.”
Categories: Reading, Writing
11 Books About Women on the Brink
“Women especially, who have been for so long boxed into domestic roles and blocked out from more ambitious goals, might risk the roof over their heads to shatter the glass ceiling,” writes M.S. Coe, author most recently of The Formation of Calcium. Read her recommendations of books that feature “women who struggle . . . to give themselves what they really want—and are damned to the consequences.”
Category: Life Stories in Literature
Seven Books the Critics Were Wrong About
“Despite their initial mixed reviews, each of these titles is fascinating, complicated, and worth a try.”
Literary critics often disagree in their evaluations of books, writes critic Bethanne Patrick. “But then there are those moments when a critical mass gathers behind a negative assessment of a book, and the title can wind up losing not just a readership but also the chance at a longer life.” Here’s her “highly personal selection of books” that she believes “deserved a warmer reception from the get-go.” Are any of your favorites on her list?
Categories: Literary Criticism, Literary History, Reading
Here’s Why You Get a Book Hangover—and How to Get Over It
One book meme that I come across periodically is the book hangover. This malady seems to be something that nobody ever defines but everybody understands. Leandra Beabout here explains “why it happens, plus how to get over the sadness of leaving a fantastic fictional world,” with the help of two clinical psychologists.
Categories: Literature & Psychology, Reading
Life in the Aftermath: Books That Explore What Happens After Things Go Wrong
Tara Conklin saw the COVID-19 pandemic as one of those moments that divides life into two distinct parts: before and after. Like a lot of people, Conklin was unable to write for quite a while after the onset of the pandemic. When she finally began to write again, she “wanted laughter and happy endings. I wanted optimism, community, joy and characters who, eventually, do the right thing.”
Conklin’s recent novel Community Board examines how the protagonist, Darcy, reacts to “one of those fundamental before/after moments that divide a life.” “I insisted on a happy ending with this book, and so Darcy finds one.”
Categories: Literature & Culture, Literature & Psychology, Writing
And You Get Counted! And You Get Counted!: Oprah’s Book Club by the Numbers
A couple of weeks ago, Literary Links reported on Oprah’s 100th book club choice. BookRiot follows up that news with a full-on analysis of Oprah’s book club by the numbers, inclucing number of pages per book, year of publication, fiction/nonfiction, and repeat author appearances.
Categories: Book Groups, Book News, Reading
© 2023 by Mary Daniels Brown
Coincidentally, I’m about to write a review of a poetry chapbook that reimagines the Little Red Riding Hood story from a feminist perspective: Our Wolves by Luanne Castle.
One other comment. When I write fiction set in the 19th or 20th century, I rely on novels to answer my word usage questions. I’ll be sure to look for original versions.