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Defector Reads A Book

Here’s The First 2022 Selection For Defector Reads A Book

3:27 PM EST on January 21, 2022

Dancer Gertrude Fisher laying with her legs bent over her head to read her husbands latest novel 'Marquee Ballyhoo', 1932.
FPG/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

A hearty thank you to everyone who came in from the cold with us to talk about John le Carré's novel! I, sadly, read too slowly to contribute to the excellent conversation, but because of that I got a wonderful reward. When I finished the book a few days later, I got to read the blog post and your comments with fresh eyes. Wow. So beautiful. How could we let this easy beautiful thing in the world disappear in 2022. We cannot.

The first book for the new year will be ... Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence. I am very excited to read this book because it is a glaring gap in my knowledge of American literature and because I heard it slaps.

If you’re interested in participating this month, we recommend looking for a copy at your local library, stopping by an independent bookstore, or heading over to Bookshop.org. Because The Age of Innocence is over 100 years old, you can also read the book for free if you have a digital reader, by going to Project Gutenberg.

To get us back on schedule, you'll have a little longer than usual to read this book. Meet us back here at Defector on Thursday, March 3, to discuss. We’ll make sure to send out a reminder in The Cipher, the daily newsletter that goes out to all Pal-and-up subscribers. 

If you liked this blog, please share it! Your referrals help Defector reach new readers, and those new readers always get a few free blogs before encountering our paywall.

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