Happy weekend! Hope you’ve got lots of lovely things planned. Mine will hopefully include editing a podcast at some point, so that will be out early next week, but for today… let’s have a book, a blog post, and a link.
1.) The blog post – is the always-funny Jenny from Reading the End being extra specially funny about the Brontes. What’s the Bronte-est thing that happens in Claire Harman’s new biography of Charlotte? Find out…
2.) The link – who doesn’t love interspecies friendship? And etymology? I don’t think I’ve shared this, that I wrote a couple of weeks ago for OxfordWords about words you didn’t know shared an etymological origin.
3.) The book – coming out in a few days (if you’re in the US) and in late April (in the UK) is Helen Oyeyemi’s first collection of short stories, called What is Not Yours is Not Yours. Coming full circle in these three points (triangle?) is that I heard about it on Jenny’s podcast. A proof copy is now in my hot little hands, and I’m looking forward to starting it soon. I think it’s two different publishers on either side of the Pond, and the US and UK covers are very different. Which do you prefer?
I prefer the blue one — which I take to be US?
It is indeed the US one – I think I prefer the UK cover, though I have to admit that neither of them particularly win me over. Especially compared to Boy, Snow, Bird, which was such a beautiful book.
Thanks, Simon, for that link to Reading the End. Excellent Brontëness.
Isn’t it wonderful?
I think I prefer the left one. It catches my eye.
It is certainly very striking! I’m looking forward to seeing how it relates to any of the stories.
I like the wolf cover best! I hope you like the stories. I just got through reading the collection a few nights ago, and it was exactly as weird and Oyeyemi-ish as I wanted. I think it’s a collection that will repay many rereadings.
Thanks also for your very very kind words. I’m glad I made you laugh! :)
This is very encouraging indeed! I feel like Oyeyemi’s talent would particularly lend itself to the short story. I await finding out!
I think the shadow cover is more interesting, but they’re so different I wonder which suits the collection best. Or maybe that’s an accurate reflection of the diversity of the contents?