Three on a Theme: Works of (Auto)biography by Susie Boyt, Sarah Laing and Jenn Shapland
The article reviews three memoir‑biography hybrids—Susie Boyt’s *My Judy Garland Life*, Sarah Laing’s *Mansfield and Me*, and Jenn Shapland’s *My Autobiography of Carson McCullers*. Each author uses an iconic woman—Garland, Mansfield, McCullers—as a lens to examine personal trauma, sexuality, and creative identity. Boyt blends fandom with mental‑health reflections, Laing juxtaposes graphic storytelling with her bisexual experience, and Shapland uncovers queer love letters that catalyzed her own coming‑out. The pieces illustrate how biography can become a vehicle for autobiographical exploration.
Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates for #1961Club
Rebecca Foster’s review for the #1961Club revisits Richard Yates’s 1961 novel Revolutionary Road, focusing on the Wheelers’ façade of 1950s suburban bliss and their desperate plan to flee to Paris. The critique highlights how Yates layers irony, showing the couple’s...
Review Catch-Up: Memoirs by Maggie Nelson and Jonathan Tepper
The review covers two recent memoirs: Maggie Nelson’s 68‑page experimental piece Pathemata, which uses autofiction to examine chronic jaw pain, grief and marital strain, and Jonathan Tepper’s Shooting Up, a sprawling account of growing up in a 1980s Spanish missionary...
Three for #ReadingWales26: Tishani Doshi, Gwyneth Lewis & Jan Morris
Reading Wales Month, organized by BookerTalk and Nut Press, featured a curated trio of women‑written works—a novella by Tishani Doshi, a poetry collection by former poet‑laureate Gwyneth Lewis, and a memoir by travel writer Jan Morris. Each book offers a...
Three on a Theme for Mother’s Day: Baker, Diski and Sampson
The article spotlights three distinct mother‑themed books released between 1988 and 2022: Timothy C. Baker’s memoir "Reading My Mother Back," which weaves classic children’s animal stories with personal grief; Jenny Diski’s dark novella "Like Mother," portraying inherited trauma through a...
Victorian-Themed Novels by Annie Elliot and Livi Michael (#ReadIndies)
Two new Victorian‑themed novels are drawing attention for centering women’s experiences within the era’s literary canon. Annie Elliot’s debut, *Mr & Mrs Charles Dickens: Her Story*, retells the marriage of Charles and Catherine Dickens from Kate’s perspective, using a present‑tense framing device that...
#ReadIndies Nonfiction Catch-Up: Ansell, Farrier, Febos, Hoffman, Orlean and Stacey
A new indie nonfiction roundup spotlights five 2025 releases that span nature writing, personal memoir, and rewilding. Neil Ansell’s auditory‑focused wildlife quest, David Farrier’s evolution‑centric environmental treatise, and Melissa Febos’s year‑long celibacy experiment illustrate diverse narrative angles. Julian Hoffman and...