Ten minutes with... is a special series presented by Coode Street that sees readers and booklovers from around the world talk about what they're reading right now and what's getting them through these difficult times.

Award-winning author, editor, and scholar Delia Sherman talks about reading old French newspapers and memoirs; the rewards of research; listening to audiobooks during long walks (including a lot of Dickens!); the orderly appeal of good murder mysteries from Ngaio Marsh, Margery Allingham, and others; missing out on being a teenager; and how political themes are finding their way into her novel in progress.

Books mentioned include:

• The Porcelain Dove by Delia Sherman