This week, our book club is discussing Thrity Umrigar's novel Honor, in which an Indian American journalist follows a Hindu woman in India facing judgment for her marriage to a Muslim man.

In Editor's Choice, we explore Emma Smith's Portable Magic, a unique history of the book that should delight any lover of reading. Our accompanying "beyond the book" article looks at the modern evolution of the "shelfie" and how certain prominent women have used books to exercise control over their public images.

You can also try your hand at our new literary quizzes, check out free books for members to request and take advantage of our Fall Membership Sale.

With best wishes,

Davina Morgan-Witts

BookBrowse Publisher

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Indian American journalist Smita has returned to India to cover a story, but reluctantly: long ago she and her family left the country with no intention of ever coming back. As she follows the case of Meena--a Hindu woman attacked by members of her own village and her own family for marrying a Muslim man--Smita comes face to face with a society where tradition carries more weight than one's own heart, and a story that threatens to unearth the painful secrets of Smita's own past. While Meena's fate hangs in the balance, Smita tries in every way she can to right the scales. She also finds herself increasingly drawn to Mohan, an Indian man she meets while on assignment.

"I loved this book. Beautiful, heartbreaking, thought-provoking. The characters were very well-developed and the book well-written. It gave me insight into a culture I am not at all familiar with. I have recommended it to my book club and we will be reading it in January." - CelesteW

"I have always thought Thrity Umrigar was an excellent writer, and this book does not disappoint. Honor evokes so many emotions - anger, disgust and hate, but also tenderness, love and devotion. I loved how the author expressed these feelings and conflicts through her beautifully drawn characters." - lynne z

"I think every young woman should read this book! It shows the power men use to keep women in their control. I fear some of the things happening in my country now as men try to gain control of women's health. I loved the book and will look for and read others by this author and recommend it to my book club." - Joan Holmes

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Portable Magic begins with an alluring narration of the fairy tale "The Master and His Pupil," a story featuring a book with the power to summon demons. Pointing out that "It's the book that summons the demons, not its clumsy reader," author Emma Smith lays out her central argument: "the book itself, as much as its contents,…has agency."

Maintaining a razor-sharp focus on the materiality of the book -- more precisely, the "undersung inseparability of book form and book content," which she terms "bookhood" -- Smith explores familiar as well as new topics and themes. She brings scholarly vigor to issues around the reading, publication and usage of books and sets them in geographical, temporal and historical contexts. All this is done with a conversational levity that is both beguiling and surprising: I did not expect to be laughing out loud at this book.

Smith situates each main idea in a bookish anecdote, then brings in interesting twists and turns of events with journalistic flair. In the chapter "Christmas, gift books and abolition," she charts out the particular journey of the Christmas book in Europe from banal gift to a means of disseminating pro-abolitionist content. ... continued

Perhaps it's a quirk of readers, but it seems almost natural to be drawn to other people's books -- whether in images on social media or in someone's home. Books offer a snapshot of who a person is, presenting a quick glimpse of what influences them, what they might think about and what holds lasting meaning for them.

So it isn't surprising when people are mindful of the appearance of their very visible bookshelves. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit and many businesses shifted work online over Zoom calls, some used their bookcases as their backgrounds. It seemed a neutral, formal-looking choice, but it was also in some instances a way to implicitly suggest erudition.

Colloquially termed "shelfies," personal images of (often carefully selected) books and reading have flourished in modern times. But while the shelfie may have thrived on social media and been wryly brought center-stage by the pandemic, it's hardly a new concept. In a chapter titled "Shelfies: Anne, Marilyn and Madame de Pompadour" in Portable Magic, Emma Smith draws a parallel between three very different historical women, showing how they used images of themselves with books in order to inform and shape the way they were seen in the public arena -- often considered the domain of men.

We've just launched a Literary Quiz section. There's just two quizzes for now, but more are planned once we have some feedback on what subscribers like you think of these two. So, if you try one or both and have a couple of minutes to spare afterwards, please click the link on the final page of either quiz to tell us what you think. Thank you!