BookStack Directory: Part 6
"F" is for Faculty, student loans and final exams not required
Hello. I’m back with the penultimate installment of the BookStack Directory. In case you missed them, you can find all the previous posts in this series here.
“F” is for Faculty includes the writers who have erudite credentials and the bookshelves to match. Some are actively working in academia and probably also have the funny hats and scepters and things like that too. Others have left the academic grind behind to explore other ways of using their brain in the world. Either way, on Substack they might show you a picture of their cat or tell a cute story about the kids or an elder in their neighborhood, then teach you another way to read a text that’s been intimidating you.
Read them to remind yourself you’re smart— and that the humanities will only die when humans no longer love a good story. Never happening, right?
- by Ph.D. researcher offers an ongoing collection of historical artist and writer biographies focused on the Bloomsbury Group. Weaving together her interdisciplinary training in art history, film history and journalism with her experience preparing academic study guides, she expertly curates monthly selections of images and excerpts from the work and diaries of Bloomsbury figures.
- with is your permission slip to write in your books. Artful conversation about books read slowly, from classics like Nella Larsen’s Passing (current selection for her book club starting September 9) to recommendations of steamy or spooky reads worth talking about, she’ll inspire you to read whatever you choose with extra attention.
- by Professor of Early Modern Latin & English and poetry reviewer Victoria Moul offers accessible analysis of poetry, translation and other matters. If you’re interested in languages and the aesthetic pleasures of considering traditional texts through a modern lens (and vice versa), you’ll find her perspective captivating.
- by brings a wandering, tell-it-like-it-is approach to sharing her life as a reader and researcher who has turned herself loose in the world. What is it like to think and read apart from the expectations of the university, when you’ve trained deeply to take note of resonances and connect the dots between them in ways others might not immediately perceive? Discover world literature by women, especially Latin American literature, and feel that you too can roam through her infrequent but memorable posts.
Trying to describe
feels like trying to taste the color blue. Instead, I recommend you experience her essays whole and see what comes up for you. Get yourself a nice warm beverage and settle in for a good think session. Trust me: there’s literature in there among the philosopy and memories.
- with offers regular posts to help you cultivate your taste in books deliberately and thoughtfully, combining passion and analysis. Professor Halbrooks shares regularly about books he’s teaching in his classes as well as free-standing essays about rock music and other cultural phenomena. His current reading challenge features Jonathan Swift, and he’s recently covered Emma and Lord of the Rings, too.
- provides the antidote to any exhaustion or discouragement seeping into your life through the headlines. Subscribers receive a weekly boost of confidence in humanity inspired by authors, stories and language. Come for the good feelings, stay for the inspiring community challenges and discussions.
If you’ve been wanting to read more poetry, start with a subscription to
with Jeremy Noel-Tod, editor of The Oxford Companion to Modern Poetry. He writes about poetry differently, every week. Ranging from poets of the modern English-language canon to contemporary poets, Noel-Tod’s writing will help you appreciate and connect to many voices and forms.
Thanks for reading and subscribing to these brilliant writers.
Though I have mixed feelings about bringing this series to an end, the Grand Finale is up next for the BookStack Directory. Please feel free to comment with any recommendations that have not yet been included in previous posts to add to my lengthy list coming soon.
If you’ve found this series valuable, please restack and recommend The Booktender so others can find it too.
In case you missed it
The U.S. National Book Awards longlists will be announced September 10-13. Want to compare how our bookish instincts stack up (or not) to the handful of literati judges who have actually read all the contenders? Complete a ballot by September 9 to join the guessing game. If you have a Substack, include it for a mention.
Please play along?
NBA Non-Fiction Longlist Ballot
Cheers,
Abra
These are truly some of my favourite Substack publications, Abra. It's so clever of you to have gathered them all in one place - you sum them up beautifully.
Oh my goodness, I am so honored to be in this list!! And your description is so kind & wonderful. Thank you for sharing and for including my work alongside all these other incredible scholars!