Yesterday I had the delightful experience of being informed by a bookseller at McNally Jackson that I had a free paperback book of my choice waiting for me at the store. Now the question remains: what the hell should I get? Here are some thoughts from my wish list:
Parallel Lives: Five Victorian Marriages, by Phiyllis Rose
The Pantomime Life of Joseph Grimaldi, by Andrew McConnell Stott
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements by Sam Kean
The Devil and Sherlock Holmes: Tales of Murder, Madness, and Obsession by David Grann
I also have never met one of these books that I didn’t like:
—nineteenth century novels about women hemmed in by society (Madame Bovary, Tess of the D’Urbervilles)
—mid-twentieth century novels about ladies who are doing it for themselves (The Dud Avocado, The Post-Office Girl, Easter Parade, The Group, Revolutionary Road)
Mid-twentieth century novel about a lady doing it for herself: Lucinella! Very funny, very great. Done and done.
