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Defector Reads A Book

Announcing The May Defector Reads A Book Selection

1:31 PM EDT on May 7, 2021

Customers browse at a mobile book stall, Berlin, circa 1925.
Photo: Keystone View Company/FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Didn't you love it? Didn't you love cramming the last 200 pages of All The King's Men on Tuesday night? I know I certainly did. Really brought me back. Thanks to those of you who stuck with us for last month's edition of Defector Reads A Book, our longest pick yet. And thanks for all your thoughtful comments on Huey Long, the Great Twitch and Cass Mastern.

Let's change things up: Our May selection, it will delight fellow procrastinators to know, is probably short enough to be read the day of the discussion. It's Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story The Yellow Wallpaper, the furious and beautiful feminist classic about suffering in isolation.

The good news is that you can read it for free and online. If you'd prefer a hard copy, you could try an independent bookstore, your local library or Bookshop.org (the version linked there is a collection with some of her other poems and short stories, but note that we'll just be discussing this one). And then join us on Thursday, June 3 in the comments for some sparkling conversation. We'll make sure to send some reading reminders in The Cipher, our daily newsletter for all Pal-and-up subscribers. With any DRAB-related feedback or suggestions, you may drop me a line at maitreyi@defector.com. Happy reading.

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