Posts by Jay Barksdale

I'm so jealous of my reading that when anyone recommends a book, even though I say thank you, in my dark heart I throw it to the ground and go back to the dead ones, usually Balzac, Dickens or Sylvia Townsend Warner (who?)

But lately, as factotum to the Research Study Rooms, i.e. Allen Room and Wertheim Study, I've had a change of reading habits and switched to LIVING AUTHORS!

The Wertheim Study is a hidden gem at The New York Public Library, though certainly treasured by the writers and scholars that use it.  But who was Maurice Wertheim?

Enough of the oceanic understanding of Dickens, the truth and tragedy of Balzac, the flawless technique of Sylvia Townsend Warner (who?) - let's get some joy and light and ROMANCE into the mix.  The Juliet Club by Suzanne Harper, a writer of The Wertheim Study at The New York Public Library does this perfettamente.  It's one of those reads where you take the bus to have more reading time, pause a while before the end to let it linger, then, alone, finish in one happy rush.

I read dead people - Dickens, Balzac, Sylvia Townsend Warner (who?), etc.  But once in a while I visit the quick. This time I'm glad I did, for The Orphan Game by Ann Darby is one mighty fine novel, written with great control and intensity.