Hi! I’m Melissa and I live and work in London. A couple of years ago I rediscovered my childhood and teenage love for reading, and I wanted a place to share some of the brilliant books I have read since then. So here we go!
Reading Interests
I mainly read literary fiction – contemporary, modern classics (20th century) and classics. Without actively deciding to, I overwhelmingly read books written by women. I read a lot of literature in translation. I also enjoy poetry and essay collections, and I’m a sucker for a literary biography. I am scared of big books, and love novellas and short stories.
Favourite Publishers
I have a bit of an obsession with McNally Editions (they’re just such high quality and I’m yet to read a book published by them that I didn’t like…) and I always look out for Penguin Modern Classics, NYRB and Virago books when I’m ferreting around the shelves of second-hand book shops.
Do I break the spine?
No, and if that makes me a fake reader, so be it!
Other Interests
Other interests include pasta, green tea, yoga, and my boyfriend.
Shoutout to Radhika’s Reading Retreat for inspiring me; her fantastic blog has consistently found me whenever I’m Googling obscure 20th century literature titles. Impeccable taste!
an important distinction 