Spinebender Reviews
asked
Madeline Miller:
What books are comfort reads for you? Not necessarily books that hold any literary or artistic merit (although those can be comfort reads too). I'm thinking of books that you come back to again and again, when you're in need of a good read that you know you'll enjoy and will lift your mood.
Madeline Miller
For me, comfort reads have a key quality: I can open the book to any page and get sucked in. My oldest one is Watership Down, by Richard Adams. It's the Aeneid with rabbits, and it stands up to adult reading. I also love Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim. Sharp, funny and ultimately sweet. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (I know, not classically uplifting--but incredible storytelling is always wonderful). Gertrude and Claudius by John Updike, which was the first literary adaptation that I ever read. In the same genre, March by Geraldine Brooks. Heartburn by Nora Ephron. The Aeneid by Vergil. (A strange comfort book, but it's true). And, because I am a Shakespeare director, any of Shakespeare's plays feels like coming home, especially Julius Caesar, King Lear and Troilus and Cressida. I love how when I read them, I am simultaneously hearing them anew, and hearing the voices of actors in past productions I directed. Oh, and The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K LeGuin, and Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin. Just typing the titles of these books has made me want to pull them all off my shelf and start reading! I am sure as soon as I hit submit, I will realize five more I forgot...
More Answered Questions
Jason Stenger
asked
Madeline Miller:
I just finished the audiobook of Circe and was absolutely enthralled throughout. Your storytelling is amazing and the characters are so vivid. On top of that I felt Perdita Weeks did an incredible job bringing a voice to Circe and real life to an already moving story. Did you have any input on who would narrate this book and either way do you feel she captured the voice you were looking for?
Lindz
asked
Madeline Miller:
I absolutely LOVE "The Song of Achilles". It instantly became my favorite book! I was wondering about something. In an interview about the book, you said that you spent 5 years creating the first draft, then you scrapped it and started again. Why did you scrap the first draft? And did you completely delete it, or is there still a copy of it lurking somewhere? Thank you so much for writing such a beautiful book!
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