The Book Beat

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Showing posts with label Joan Didion. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Joan Didion. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 August 2025

Joan Didion’s packing list and the illusion of preparedness

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It’s the holiday season. You’re packing for your trip. There is no better time to revisit this: two skirts. Two jerseys. A bottle of bourbon...
Sunday, 20 July 2025

Grief, grammar, and the Didion sentence: Rereading The Year of Magical Thinking

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For me, few books confront grief with the unflinching clarity of Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking. It is one of my favourite o...
Saturday, 5 July 2025

Packing lists and California cool: How Joan Didion made the personal iconic

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Before minimalism was a hashtag or lifestyle trend, Joan Didion was living it with elegance and intent. Her now-famous packing list, tucked ...
Thursday, 12 June 2025

From Sylvia Plath to The Smiths: The ultimate bookish playlist

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If you're like me, and you love books and music, you probably get the same unique thrill in hearing a favourite book or author woven int...
Thursday, 1 May 2025

Why you should read Joan Didion and the best books to start with

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Joan Didion didn’t just write essays and novels, she rewired what prose could do. Her work is surgically precise and emotionally raw, offeri...
Tuesday, 1 April 2025

Joan Didion and the art of emotional precision: What writers can learn from her style

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Joan Didion never wasted a word. Her prose was as spare as it was surgical. It was a style that she forged as a journalist and later honed i...
Thursday, 6 March 2025

A guide to reading Joan Didion

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I’m a big fan of Joan Didion. I’ve read most of her published works, with her novel Play It As It Lays, Slouching Towards Bethlehem, and The...
Tuesday, 4 March 2025

Whatever happened to Donna Tartt?

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I found a box of books in the attic yesterday, and a signed copy of Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch was buried there. I added it to the bookshel...
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Monday, 24 February 2025

Publication of Joan Didion’s journal creates an ethical literary dilemma

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Joan Didion has been a monumental influence on countless writers, including myself. Her works, from Slouching Towards Bethlehem to The Year ...
Wednesday, 12 February 2025

Dialogue that does double duty: How to advance plot and reveal character

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Dialogue isn’t just there to make characters sound like they’re speaking. It’s one of the most powerful tools in a novelist’s kit. The righ...
Monday, 3 February 2025

Notes to John by Joan Didion

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I am a huge fan of Joan Didion so this is an unexpected book treat. A new book from the much missed Joan Didion.