When Nell comes home just before dinnertime as “First Aid” opens, many readers will recognise her immediately, as I did. I first met married couple Nell and Tig in the linked collection Moral Disorder (2006). I read that collection on the subway, mornings and early evenings; the rhythm of
Hosted by Cathy and Rebecca with weekly themes and a link collector, the first week of this event invites participants to “tell us about any novellas you have read since last NovNov” (it’s okay not to follow the five week’s themes exactly and, instead, allow them to mesh with
Initially, I watched Hana Gartner interviewing Margaret Atwood on “Take 30” Sept. 27, 1977 as a complement to Dancing Girls, and ostensibly that’s the subject. But it’s more interesting as an example of the kind of preconceptions and judgements Atwood’s faced throughout her career. You don’t learn about the
In November, Naomi and Sarah are hosting a readalong for The Story Girl, so the last time I packed up my bookbag, I stuck in my copy of Elizabeth Waterston’s Magic Island (2008) to read her chapter on L.M. Montgomery’s 1911 novel. Story Girl reads like a collection of
Part of the appeal of MARM for me is a sense of having reserved the month. When I heard about Old Babes in the Wood, I thought, November! And that, simultaneously, seems to create an opportunity for other reading, in the remaining eleven months. (Next year, I think I
