Name: Gillian

Reading: A Time in Rome, Elizabeth Bowen

Why did you want to read this? I wanted to read A Time in Rome because Rome is my first city, in every sense (I went aged 17 and lived there for six months; I’d never been out of England before), and Elizabeth Bowen is a peerless writer, a near favourite. Yet I only discovered it before my most recent visit. 1959, 2018, same Rome.

How did you record yourself? I recorded myself on Voice Memos on my iPhone, in a nice soft armchair in a carpeted room with the door shut. I struggled how to share the recording but, with persistence, did it!

Name: Catherine  

Reading: Good Morning, Midnight, Jean Rhys  

Why did you want to read this? I wanted to read Good Morning, Midnight because it has been my favourite book since I first read it, over ten years ago, aged 19. It’s hard to explain why something is your favourite book, like asking why you love someone, but I think the tragedy of the story appeals to me. I’m drawn to Sascha the downtrodden woman, roaming around Paris remembering the humiliations of her youth and railing against other people who seem to be able to keep it together in a way that she can’t.  

How did you record yourself? I recorded myself on my phone sitting at my desk in my room.

Name: Stella

Reading: Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

Why did you want to read this? I studied this classic book at school and loved it, aided by an excellent English teacher. I enjoyed the antiquated but relatively accessible language/wit as well as the colourful ensemble of characters. Of course, my naive teenage self fell in love with the lively heroine, Elizabeth Bennet (see also, Jane Eyre!). It's been quite comforting to rediscover this book again!

How did you record yourself? Laying on my sofa using my phone and a mic cocooned in cushions, fighting the sound of seagulls and cars outside.

Name: Kelly 

Reading: Tender at the Bone, Ruth Reichl  

Why did you want to read this? It had been several years since I'd read Tender, but it was the first book that came to mind. A memoir by American food writer Ruth Reichl, it’s filled with stories that make me laugh and at times almost cry. It was maybe the first 'food writing' I enjoyed reading. One of the most tender themes of the book is Ruth's relationship with her mother - something she shares from the first chapter. Many parts of the book resonate with me, even more so since moving 5000 miles away from my family.   

How did you record yourself? I sat on my couch with my laptop beside me, propped up on a blanket to bring it a little closer to my voice. I used Audacity (as recommended by you!) since I hadn't previously recorded myself so didn't know how else to do it!

Name: Olga

Reading: Second-hand Time, Svetlana Alexievich

Why did you want to read this? I am interested in the idea of compiling alternative archives and subverting the ‘official’ narratives. The voices in this book belong to a particular time and place, but at the same time speak outside of history; their desires are very human: simultaneous desire for a greater purpose and for a comfortable life, for freedom, for love even when tanks are under the windows.

How did you record yourself? Sitting cross-legged on a cushion underneath Antonioni's Zabriskie Point film poster. I did a few sittings over a Sunday afternoon with long tea breaks in-between.

Name: Fiona 

Reading: Circle of Friends, Maeve Binchy  

Why did you want to read this? This is one of the most comforting books I've ever read. It reminds me of my mum; years after she had passed away, I found this on a bookshelf and it opened up a whole new world of books for me. Maeve Binchy has been described as a quiet feminist in the past, and while some of the narratives in this book are a bit catholic guilt'ish and archaic, when I think of it being published and how sex, bodies, and women's roles are fleshed out into stories, Binchy did a lot for Irish women. For me reading it is like going home, and thinking about my mum.  

How did you record yourself? I have one of those short attention spans now. It took me three sittings to record this, the first time, sitting at my desk staring out the window. The second and third time in my bed, with coffee surrounded by smoke because I have an addiction to burning Palo Santo.

Name: Jade

Reading: Racism on the Victorian Stage: Representation of Slavery and the Black Character, Hazel Waters

Why did you want to read this? I love reading aloud, and therefore took this opportunity to read aloud for my pleasure, which also, given my anxiety around lack of time, and reading about slavery and racism (which we do so much of alone, and that I can only do intermittently - I am a slow reader of non-fiction), I took as an activity that would allow me to ease into both of these non/work necessities, that is to prioritise reading around my subject area and history that directly effects my lived experience. I read it through aloud, on reading for the first time, and I would say that specialist words are clumsily mispronounced, among other regular hesitations and interruptions (from Hilda, my puppy, occasionally).

How did you record yourself? Because the chapter is so long, I recorded myself at intervals from my drawing desk (an old engineers’ desk), on my MacBook Pro using the QuickTime Player feature, reading with both hands holding the book, but trying not to let it cover my mouth too much.

Name: Sinae 

Reading: Luster, Raven Leilani 

Why did you want to read this? Luster is a book that makes you laugh. You might hear me giggling under my breath while reading it. Of course I have read this chapter before and many in fact since I stuttered too many times. Yet, it still make me laugh. It is about being poor, insecure also wanting more for life and demanding for that in an unapologetic way which I loved. I wish you enjoy it!  

How did you record yourself? At my quiet studio on the weekend. I used my phone and read from the kindle app on my phone at the same time so you might hear an awkward pause in between at times my finger slipped somehow! 

Name: Shirin

Reading: Don Quixote, Kathy Acker

Why did you want to read this? To me Kathy Acker’s writing represents possibility. Her work taught me that everything is possible: rules can not only be bent but forgone entirely. Acker’s stories are deeply rooted in our violent heteropatriarchal capitalist reality, but often veer toward an oneiric dimension which I like to think a reminder to wield the powerful gift of imagination to create new, collective-oriented, love-filled futures. Don Quixote is no exception. The famous knight is now a woman who sets to save the world by looking for love. Since I first discovered Acker’s work many years ago, I’m almost constantly in the process of rereading her writing. 

How did you record yourself? With a microphone and my laptop at my desk on a Sunday afternoon while staring at the bookshelves (books apparently help reduce echo more than being inside a closet does).

Name: Mel

Reading: Ducks, Newburyport, Lucy Ellmann

Why did you want to read this? Ducks has been mine and freya's beloved lockdown companion. My attention wanders as often as the narrator's and I feel less bad about myself while reading pun after excellent pun. I'm sure ducks is actually a fancy magic trick. Whatever you have been thinking about will appear in the pages you read - a chocolate pudding, the sunlight through leaves, a pandemic.

How did you record yourself? Propped my phone on a pile of cushions on the sofa.