Re:Read

In this episode, we're talking Toni Morrison's modern masterpiece Beloved. Memory, magic, motherhood, murder--nothing's off the table in our discussion about this moving and otherworldly novel about a runaway slave who is haunted by her dead daughter's ghost. Listen in, and then join the conversation in the comments section below! 

To reread with us, grab a copy of Beloved at your local bookstore or neighborhood library, or download it from your favorite digital book space.

Beyond Re:Read

As our Re:Readers know all too well, the 1998 film version of Beloved was shot right in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where we were both born and raised. Borrow a copy from your local library or rent it to stream on Amazon.

Fast Facts

• When Beloved was passed over for the National Book Award, 48 African American writers signed onto a letter of protest that was published in the New York Times Book Review. The novel went on to earn Morrison the Pulitzer Prize in literature. 
• Did we mention that the film version of Beloved was shot at the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum in Lancaster County? We DID? Well what are you waiting for: Go, go, go! 
• Toni Morrison doesn't just write novels, children's book, and plays ... she also wrote the libretto for Margaret Garner, an opera based on the real-life story that also inspired Beloved! 

We came, we saw, we conquered ...  Ulysses, James Joyce's modern masterpiece, and what's been called the most difficult book in the English language. Did we understand what we read? You be the judge. (If we had to put a number on it, we'd say we got about 15% of it all. But that's what rereading is for, right?)

In Episode 006: Getting Used to Ulysses, listen in to our thoughts about modernism; the Blooms; dear, dirty Dublin; and just what to make of this bear of a book. And then tell us what you think in the comments below!

To reread with us, grab a copy of Ulysses at your local bookstore or neighborhood library, or download it from your favorite digital book space.

Beyond Re:Read

We are all about reading Ulysses with a lot of support. If you live in or around Philadelphia, check out the schedule of courses at The Rosenbach, which regularly keeps Ulysses on its roster. If you're reading solo, grab a handy guidebook. We recommend Ulysses Annotated by Don Giford and Robert Seidman, as well as The New Bloomsday Book by Harry Blamires. And for free online sources, don't miss Spark Notes! The history of the publication of Ulysses is about as fascinating as the text itself, and no one covers it better than Kevin Birmingham in The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce's Ulysses. 

Fun Facts

• Every June 16 cities all over the world celebrate Bloomsday to commemorate Leopold Bloom's epic one-day trek through Dublin chronicled in Ulysses. 
• Joyce chose the date, June 16, for Ulysses because it marked the date of his first day with his wife, Nora. 
• Ulysses was first serialized in the literary magazine The Little Review, whose publishers faced an obscenity charge for its content. 

Earlier this month, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was banned from public schools in Biloxi, Miss., for making people “uncomfortable.” Yup, you read that right. Uncomfortable. Banned. Yikes. 

Your faithful Re:Readers can’t lie: taking another look at Lee’s masterpiece made us a little uncomfy, too. Difference is, we don’t want to ban it; we want everyone to read it so we can start up a thoughtful, ongoing conversation about race, childhood, and belonging-and-othering in the American South and beyond. We also want to talk about why Jessica let her own personal Boo Radley into her home as a young child. So much to discuss.

Say it with us: We Read (And Re:Read) Banned Books!

To reread this particular banned book with us, grab a copy of To Kill a Mockingbird at your local bookstore or neighborhood library, or download it from your favorite digital book space.

Beyond Re:Read

In 2015, Harper Lee published her second novel, Go Set a Watchman, which was an early draft of Mockingbird. The publication--and content--generated much controversy. We think it’s worth a look, if only for the historical perspective it offers when trying to understand Lee and the context in which she dreamt the story for To Kill a Mockingbird. For more on Harper Lee’s life and the story behind the publication of Mockingbird and Watchman, check out the biography Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee by Charles J. Shields. After all the reading, if you’re in search of some screen time, watch Gregory Peck take on the role of Atticus Finch in the beloved film version of To Kill a Mockingbird, currently streaming on Netflix.

Fun Facts

• Dill, best childhood pal of Jem and Scout Finch, was based on Harper Lee’s real-life next door neighbor: Truman Capote. Best literary besties ever? We think so, too.
• Lee was finally able to turn to writing full time when some friends gave her enough money to serve as a salary for one year while she worked on Mockingbird.
• Lee wanted Atticus to be played by Spencer Tracey on the silver screen, but the role ultimately went to Gregory Peck. We think he did it justice, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences apparently did, too: He was nominated for--and won--the Oscar for Best Actor in 1962.