The reading journal
The Journal
Reading lists, essays, guides and notes from the shelves.
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Books for a Rainy Week
Five absorbing, unhurried novels to read while the weather does its worst.
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The Case for Reading Slowly
Why finishing fewer books, more attentively, might be the best reading resolution of all.
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How to Start a Book Club That Lasts
Small groups, good snacks and a few gentle rules: what we have learned from hosting reading circles.
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A Short Guide to Giving Books as Gifts
How to choose a book for someone else, and what to write on the first page.
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Notes from the Shelves: What We’re Unpacking
New arrivals, a winter novel we cannot stop recommending and a picture book about a very determined builder.
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On First Lines
What makes an opening sentence work, and why we read so many of them before choosing a book.