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Monday Musing: 09/09/13

September 9, 2013January 20, 2019 ~ The Book Habit

Hello hello!

I am still alive, despite disappearing for most of last week. My mum’s birthday brought about a surprise trip to the US and, with jet lag and an Elvis impersonator to contend with, my attention to blogging has been less than stellar. But I am back to it this week, with some more reviews and the regular features. Enjoy!

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My name is Laura and I am a book addict. The Book Habit is a chronicle of my literary adventures, indulging my decades-long love affair with the written word. Here I post reviews, as well as anything else related to the literary lifestyle.

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Women have had a historically unique relationship with the supernatural. Hand-in-hand with the subjugation of a group is the need to explain and condemn any deviation from social norms. The childless woman, too friendly, too reclusive, too beautiful, not beautiful enough - all have been justified through the idea of female perversion through witchcraft, devilry, and demonic possession. It is no surprise then that women are the founders of gothic literature, in all of the genre’s profound, transportive glory. From Ann Radcliffe to Mary Shelley - as well as the more contemporary efforts of Angela Carter and Octavia Butler - gothic horror has been a way for women to reclaim their own sense of identity in a world determined to confine them. The original goths, female authors broke boundaries and stereotypes as they grappled with the rationally irrational to stretch society’s idea of the shadowy possibilities of unconventional heroines, predatory men, and gory lustfulness. Today on The Book Habit, I’m looking at the history of women as authors of the best gothic literature - asking what exactly lies at the heart of our unique ability to conjure the very best of gothicism’s imaginative potential. Click the link in my bio to have a read! . . . . #booksandtea #booknerd #bookish #bookworm #bookstagram #bookphotography #booklover #igreads #booknerdigans #bookblogger #booklove #bookstagramfeature #instabook #reading #bookstagrammer #instabooks #books #booksofinstagram #book #autumnreads #bookblog

“The most racking pangs succeeded: a grinding in the bones, deadly nausea, and a horror of the spirit that cannot be exceeded at the hour of birth or death. Then these agonies began swiftly to subside, and I came to myself as if out of a great sickness. There was something strange in my sensations, something indescribably sweet.” . . . Closing out my October reads with a return to Robert Louis Stevenson’s gothic masterpiece, ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’. Following the lawyer, Mr. Utterson, as he attempts to unravel the complex connections between the kind, intelligent Henry Jekyll and the murderous Edward Hyde, Stevenson’s novella has been subsumed by popular notions of its themes. The monstrous transformations depicted in the many visual adaptations of the book - most notably, Frederic March’s ape-like representation of Mr Hyde - replace the subtlety of Stevenson’s exploration of good and evil with a kind of contrived creepiness. The novel excels in its position at the limits of human duality - as Hyde both represents and permits Jekyll’s ability to full expresses his socially-prohibited desires. The fact that ‘Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde’ remains one of our favourite gothic works is a testament to the continued relevance of its themes. Stevenson offers no comfortable excuses - Jekyll is neither possessed by the devil nor in the throes of influence from some supernatural power. He is fundamentally human, in both his good and evil. And that’s what makes Stevenson’s novella so profoundly terrifying. Click the link in my bio to have a read of the full review! 🎃 . . . And props to @coffeeandaclassic for the inspiration behind this post. All of the ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ bits and pieces pictured are from October’s subscription box! Not sponsored - I just really, really love these boxes! . . . . #bookreview #booksandtea #bookrecomendation #booknerd #bookish #bookworm #bookstagram #bookphotography #booklover #igreads #booknerdigans #bookblogger #booklove #bookstagramfeature #instabook #reading #bookstagrammer #instabooks #books #booksofinstagram #book #autumnreads #horrorstories #gothicliterature

October has been a bumper month for books, both personally and across the literary world. We had a rule-breaking Booker Prize announcement that celebrated the power of female voices in fiction, some great new releases, and the publication of some of the deepest quantitative research to-date on literary censorship in US schools. In my corner of the world, books have played a massive role in my celebration of all things October. I’ve recognised the darkening days and dropping temperatures with a truly prolific month of reading. I passed the 52 book mark for 2019 and have closed out the month knee-deep in a return to my childhood love for Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy. So grab a massive mug of tea, a couple (or more) of biscuits, and click the link in my bio to read about all of the most important literary happenings from October! And let me know what your favourite October read was, down in the comments! 🍂 . . . . . #autumnreads #autumnreading #bookreview #booksandtea #bookrecomendation #booknerd #bookish #bookworm #bookstagram #bookphotography #booklover #igreads #booknerdigans #bookblogger #booklove #bookstagramfeature #instabook #reading #bookstagrammer #instabooks #books #booksofinstagram #book

A few years ago, I was lucky enough to work on the film sets of both Poirot and Miss Marple. It was a fortunate consequence of my time spent as a tour guide and manager at Knebworth House, a favourite location for the fictional murders and bejeweled parties of countless period dramas. As a lover of Agatha Christie’s work, getting the chance to see some of the author’s most provocative narrative twists come to life was an incredible privilege. And it set me on a deep dive into Christie’s global fandom in an attempt to unravel exactly what it is about her novels that has established Agatha Christie as the queen of detective fiction. This month marks 99 years since the publication of Christie’s first foray into the mystery genre - The Mysterious Affair at Styles, published in the US in October 1919. It is a perfect opportunity to revisit Christie’s work and the incredible legacy that has earned her the status of both the most sold and most translated author in history. On The Book Habit today, I’m talking about my own relationship to Agatha Christie’s work and my thoughts on what it is that sets the author’s work apart. Click the link in my bio to have a read! . . . A shoutout to @itslauracrow for these tremendous Poirot-inspired pins (easily my favourite literary purchase of the year)! Check out her shop on Etsy! . . . . . #agathachristie #poirot #autumnreads #booknerd #bookish #bookworm #bookstagram #bookphotography #booklover #igreads #booknerdigans #bookblogger #booklove #bookstagramfeature #instabook #reading #bookstagrammer #instabooks #books #booksofinstagram #book

September has been quite the month. Aside from contending with a nose-dive in my mental health, I also turned 31. Now officially ‘in my 30s’, September has demanded some quiet contemplation as I look to the year ahead. I always enjoy the timing of my birthday. It comes just as autumn unfurls itself with the subtle grace of falling leaves and the misty augurings of dropping temperatures. More than the obvious calls to start afresh that come with the spring, I’ve always connected with autumn’s invitation to reappraise and embrace those small, yet significant, changes that the season brings. It feels appropriate that I get to welcome in a new year at the same time. In combination with the reassessments demanded by life with panic disorder, depression, and the many symptoms that come from these two conditions coexisting, it’s been a significant month. Not least because of the books that have helped me to carve a meandering path through the psychological wilderness that operates hand-in-hand with mental illness. I discovered Angela Carter at a time when I required the silent soothing that only luminously poetic prose can bring. And I was whisked away to a thrilling escape through the historical, Dracula-inspired mystery of Elizabeth Kostova’s ‘The Historian’. That fiction can provide us with a wordless sense of well-being and comfort in times of profound distress is something that I have experienced in my lifelong struggles with mental illness. September has been no exception. For more on my month in review - including my favourite articles, interviews, and new releases from the literary world - click the link in my bio! And, whatever September held in store for you, I hope that fiction has served your needs as well as it has mine. 🍂 . . . #selfcare #bibliotherapy #booksandtea #booknerd #bookish #bookworm #bookstagram #bookphotography #booklover #igreads #booknerdigans #bookblogger #booklove #bookstagramfeature #instabook #reading #bookstagrammer #instabooks #books #booksofinstagram #book

“The flowers cupped in the garden with a midnight, unguessable sweetness, and the grass rippled and murmured in a small voice that was an intensification of silence. The stillness was like the end of the world. She was alone. In her carapace of white satin, she was the last, the only woman. She trembled with exaltation under the deep, blue, high arc of sky.” . . . In many ways, Angela Carter is a key part of our millennial inheritance. As we work toward an entirely necessary reexamination of the stories embedded in us from youth, Carter’s novels are some of the most successful attempts to take traditional cultural narratives - embodied in the performance of gender and sexuality that we see everywhere in fairytales and classic gothic literature - and introduce a new perspective. ‘The Magic Toyshop’ begins from a familiar premise - a teenage girl, Melanie, flush with the earliest expressions of puberty, orphaned and forced to live under the omniscient oppression of an unknown uncle, Philip. Into this narrative, however, Carter brings an authentic exploration of sexuality and a gripping examination of power. Philip’s traditional notions of femininity and control are everywhere - in the toyshop populated with his favourite wooden puppets, in his wife who has lost the capacity to speak, and in his determination to rob Melanie of her emotional and physical autonomy. The novel is creepy and distressing but with the perfect sense - for childhood lovers of fairytales - of coming home. It is a mournfully beautiful book and one that flips traditional storytelling on its head with an understanding of the flawed vibrancy of humanity. Click the link in my bio to read a full review! And a big thank you to @aileaux for pointing us all to this incredible book - if you’re in the mood for some truly sublime content, be sure to check out her YouTube videos! ✨ . . . #bookreview #booksandtea #bookrecomendation #booknerd #bookish #bookworm #bookstagram #bookphotography #booklover #igreads #booknerdigans #bookblogger #booklove #bookstagramfeature #instabook #reading #bookstagrammer #instabooks #books #booksofinstagram #book #cozy

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