Top Stories
Stories in BookClub that you’ll love, handpicked by our team.
I Got My Book In a Library
I had some exciting news in my email. A few months ago, I sent a few of my poetry books over to the National Poetry Library in London. I really hope to one day actually visit the place someday, because I think it will be a place where I love. I already adore the Oxford Poetry Library. A lot of the libraries near me don’t have a lot of poetry books, so it’s really nice to know there are libraries dedicated just for poetry.
By Chloe Gilholy10 months ago in BookClub
Infernal Insight
I feel like something of a fraud teaching Dante’s Inferno for two reasons: 1. I must rely upon an English translation to do so effectively. I can tell a bolgia from a boulder and contrapasso from contraception, but my Italian is primitive at best. 2. I do not take the metaphysical or theological foundations of Dante’s work very seriously, insofar as I have a fraught relationship with Catholicism and remain obstinately agnostic. In spite of these considerations, I have continued to guide students through a translation of this astonishing text for many years as part of an introductory course in Comparative Literature. I think it would be irresponsible to ignore Dante's work in such a context, given its enormous historical and artistic significance. In the process, my understanding of moral and ethical matters has undergone a radical transformation. I have come to see betrayal as the most dreadful of transgressions, and to recognize that contemporary culture actually promotes and rewards the traitor at every turn.
By D. J. Reddall10 months ago in BookClub
Comics
They were only comics. Well, comic books. My older brother Steve would set me on his lap in the living room. We always perched in the rocking chair furthest from the kitchen, the one that spun all the way around (& drove mom crazy when we did it). The comics tended to be either from the Marvel or DC universes—Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Spiderman, Green Lantern, The Phantom….
By Randy Wayne Jellison-Knock10 months ago in BookClub
a love letter
* I know I didn't choose a specific book, and I'm not sorry, lol. ~ Books saved my life. Plural. You didn't read that wrong, I don't mean I read one specific piece and had some sort of instant connection or epiphany. No the moment I was able to understand words strung together in sentences, I read ferociously. I read unapologetically. Anything I could get my hands on. I still do. And they've all meant something to me–escape.
By Heather Hubler10 months ago in BookClub
Austen's Unmarried Heroine
It is a staple, if not a stereotype, of not just Austen novels, but novels by and for women, that the heroine must end up married (or at least in a happy relationship) by the end of the story. Of course, the world was different 200 years ago, and it was expected that women would get married (still is for the most part I would say but I think generally people are more chill about it now and you won't be a disappointment or disgrace!). Also fans of the Little Women (2019) adaptation will know that publishers wouldn't want to publish a book back then where a heroine didn't end up married at the end.
By Lauren Writes Austen10 months ago in BookClub
And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street
I owe so much to a childhood that had so many obstacles. I was an odd kid, as my parents and relatives reminded me constantly when I was a failure on the football - yes, soccer - pitch, or chose certain types of music to play at parties, or when I wanted to spend time alone with my favourite books.
By Kendall Defoe 11 months ago in BookClub
The Color of the Wheat Fields . Runner-Up in Book Club Challenge.
Whenever I see a wheat field, I think of a little prince with golden hair. I admit he’s a silly person to think about since I’ve never met him myself, but that is the power of a good story. The story is called “The Little Prince,” which was published in 1944 by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
By Judah LoVato10 months ago in BookClub