Liberties Press are delighted to announce the publication of Eileen Battersby’s Second Readings – From Beckett to Black Beauty. With an introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, Richard Ford, and featuring 52 classic novels – one for each week of the year – plus an extensive essay by Eileen on why stories matter, there is guaranteed to be something for every fan of literature.
From America to Ireland; Russia to Brazil; Germany to South Africa, Second Readings is a celebration of reading and breathes new life into well-known and long-forgotten novels. Isn’t there a book you always go back to, or one that you always meant to read but have not got around to yet?
There are some surprising choices: Orwell’s Coming Up For Air features, instead of 1984 or Animal Farm; or The Lord of the Rings but not Finnegan’s Wake – although Ulysses is there. Yet this is literary appreciation without an agenda. And while there may be no Henry James, no Victor Hugo, no Flann O’Brien it is only a question of capacity as opposed to criticism. Certainly, there will many discussions prompted by the variety and breadth of what has been included and there is plenty to attract the widest range of readers, with The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne; All Quiet on the Western Front; Wuthering Heights; A Confederacy of Dunces; The Great Gatsby; and The Picture of Dorian Gray among the 52 selections.
About the Author: Born in California, Eileen Battersby discovered reading at an early age. While completing post-graduate work, she began writing book reviews and covering sports. An Irish Times staff arts journalist, she is also the paper’s Literary Correspondent and has written on all aspects of the arts including classical music, the visual arts and theatre as well as history, archaeology, architectural history, and horses. Four-time winner of the National Arts Journalist of the Year award, she lives in the country with her daughter, Nadia, and their horses, dogs and cats. Her ambition is to breed and/or produce an Olympic showjumper.
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