Issue #1: February 23, 2020
Of Interest
In preparation for starting this newsletter I’ve returned to reading book blogs as well as revamping who I follow on Twitter to include more book people. Its interesting to see what is being talked about in the world of books, what’s popular, and what is driving conversations.
One of the first things I picked up on this week was something from Annabookbel who announced a Paul Auster Reading Week:
As I had just finished up Autumn (Seasonal, #1) by Ali Smith, I took it as an opportunity to choose City of Glass (The New York Trilogy, #1) by Paul Auster as my next book to read. It was a solid read, but someone described it as Raymond Chandler meets Derrida, and while I'm not sure that is entirely accurate, it certainly does portend the textual layers you'll find in this book and I will not entirely sure I even begun to peal them all back on this first read.
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The long list for the International Booker Prize will be announced on the 27th of February and I’m always eager to read long-lists because they are a great way to expand my TBR.
I'll be honest and admit that only reason I knew the long list was going to be announced was because of the following two blog posts:
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International Booker Prize 2020 Predictions – 1streading's Blog
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International Booker Prize 2020 – Predictions – Tony's Reading List
But I think the most interesting resource I found was this Goodreads' list:
Here's a few other things I read this week:
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Sally Rooney’s Attention Span Has Improved - The New York Times
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Danez Smith: 'Being a Poet Means Committing to Vulnerability' | Literary Hub
Currently Reading
Listening To
I’m not listening to podcasts nearly as much as I used to, but one that I do listen to is called Marlon and Jake Read Dead People with features the author Marlon James and his editor, Jake Morrisey, discussing the books they love and hate by dead authors. I’m currently listening to the second episode, but there have been five published so far with new ones coming out every Monday.