I recently went down a nineteenth-century polar expedition rabbit hole thanks to THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley (no regrets though, they were fascinating, especially John Franklin's doomed mission).
The Ministry of Time also piqued my interest in the book Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household. I didn't finish it, but it was fun to read the same book as Lt. Graham Gore!
I've been SO curious about Rogue Male--I want to know why he loves it but also I'm not sure I want to read the whole thing either? Do you feel like it helped you understand his character better?
Having read a bit of it, I think it's more likely the author was paying homage to the thriller genre than giving us direct insight into Gore's character. The narrator is self-sufficient and distrustful and spends the whole book on the run.
This summer I read The Lioness of Boston, a fictionalized account of Isabella Stewart Gardner, whose museum is home to one of the greatest art heists in history. After reading the book, I immediately went to the museum with a friend, and then opted to renew my membership at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. I now have plans with a group of friends to see exhibits over Winter Break and all throughout 2025!
this is amazing! i know about the heist thanks to my brother (there was a documentary i think?) and it’s always seemed to fascinatingly bizarre that they pulled it off!
Ooh! Ooh! This is a bit off-topic, but since I thought I'd have nothing of import to add to any of this thread I just had to chime in! LOL! (I gravitate to memoirs, poetry and books about progressive Christianity, not so much classic novels though I read quite a few growing up that I loved)
Anyway, a member of my church here in Massachusetts just wrote about book about Isabella Stewart Gardner. Natalie Dykstra, has a new biography - - CHASING BEAUTY: THE LIFE OF ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER. The description on Amazon sounds quite intriguing. I won't make this long and rambling by pasting it here. The reviews sound glowing , though do we ever know if reviews are real people or bots? Stories of bots have me paranoid these days. LOL!
I loved Jasper Fforde's THE EYRE AFFAIR because Miss Havisham was her own full character. I read Great Expectations with a new appreciation and loved it. The series is quirky but delightful.
The main character in THE EYRE AFFAIR is Thursday Next. After I finished the book, I read about the character who inspired her in THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY by G.K. Chesterton (which I loved).
I just read Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, where the story revolves around the play Our Town. I've never seen it (I know a lot about the plot of it now though!) but if there was a revival near me I'd get tickets for sure :) I really want to see it now!
Earlier this year I read DISOBEDIENT by Elizabeth Fremantle, which led me into a little Internet rabbit hole to devour anything I could about Artemisia Gentileschi. I was familiar with her prior to this and had seen some of her paintings, but the book really sparked an active interest. I included an afternoon at the National Gallery in London on a recent trip specifically so I could gaze at Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria for an extended period of time and cry, which I did. Twice.
MARGOT’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES sent me into a WWE and pro wrestling hyper fixation. I guess this is more one piece of art leading t an interest in a whole genre of art, but I did specifically read about the real life wrestlers that they name checked.
Ooh! I love this question so much! I’m sure I could think of lots of examples (I’m a habitual hyperlink rabbit hole follower) but the first thing that came to mind for me was LANDMARKS by Robert Macfarlane, the first book of his I read, the subject of which is explicitly other books about landscape. It opened a whole box of gorgeous classics of nature/place writing for me, especially British classics I wasn't familiar with, such as THE LIVING MOUNTAIN by Nan Shepherd and THE PEREGRINE by J A Baker, both of which are now on my shelf and firmly on my favorites list. I also credit that book as the inciting incident of my own place-writing-via-blog journey.
Basically my entire TBR list is one long chain that I’m sure started with some random book in middle school. The list is so long and the connections so attenuated that half the time when I am looking at the list I have no idea why it’s there at all…but they’re almost always worth it. Hemingway led me to THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ALICE B TOKLAS and John dos Passos, two of my favorites.
Oh god this is going to make me sound insufferable, but IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME by Proust references lots of art and other goodies. The one that stuck out to me and gives me a little thrill whenever I run into it elsewhere is the Delphos gown by Fortuny. I got to see one in person at the Met last December! It's visually referenced in fashion on the reg, once you see it you can't unsee it!
SARUM, by Edgar Rutherford is the historical fiction novel about 25 generations of humankind that created Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. It began in prehistoric times with ancestors who stood on the cliffs of England and watched the glacier carve out the English Channel.
I had to go to Salisbury and see what that land and people were like today. It was magical.
This is a good one! I made sure to specifically book the bus day trip from London that involved Stonehenge, Bath and Salisbury (most options didn’t have Salisbury) because of this book.
Yes! I do this a lot and it’s one of my favorite things about art. Most recently I’ve had Allegri: Miserere mei on repeat after finishing the beautiful MARTYR! By Kaveh Akbar
SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater led me to a lifelong love of Rilke (including frequent references to the poem quoted in that novel!), and by extension, Stiefvater’s love of John Singer-Sargent led me to check out his portraits. :)
ok i really love this! if you’re more interested in Sargent (and his contemporaries), i read David McCullough’s The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris a few years ago and found it really interesting!
Maggie Stiefvater's other series THE RAVEN CYCLE actually ignited a huge interest in ley lines in me - the history and beliefs around them - how there are stories of them across different cultures. Its so fascinating. I think she does such an incredible job of incorporating these passions of hers into her works that it sparks a love in it for you.
I've got two. First one is super-obvious but reading DEMON COPPERFIELD by Barbara Kingsolver sent me straight back to the original DAVID COPPERFIELD by Charles Dickens because I loved the new "telling" so much I had to compare to the original (totally worth it.)
More relevant to me as a writer was seeing Selva Almada's IT'S NOT A RIVER nominated for the Intl Booker which made me run out and buy the original Spanish language version, though the translation must be excellent too. That book helped me decide that I do enjoy literature in my third and most-used tongue, so then I jumped on the "nueva narrativa" bandwagon and a attempt to ban Dolores Reyes' amazing DIRT EATER made me buy that and devour it too (pun intended ;). Now I'm looking forward to titles by Mariana Enriquez, Samantha Schweblin and rest of Almada's catalogue to add to my 2025 to-read list.
The first time I remember doing this was for A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, specifically his naming a character Esme Squalor, which led me to J. D. Salinger and FOR ESME, WITH LOVE AND SQUALOR. I want to revisit the series and see how many more references I pick up decades later.
There is a book by Dan Hinkley called WINDCLIFFE which describes how he created his garden in the spirit of the BBC adaptation of THE ENCHANTED APRIL by Elizabeth von Arnim. I completely fell in love with that book and it sent me off in the direction of other female writers from the same era and the Famed Bloomsbury set (Virginia Wolf, Vita Sackville west)
I recently went down a nineteenth-century polar expedition rabbit hole thanks to THE MINISTRY OF TIME by Kaliane Bradley (no regrets though, they were fascinating, especially John Franklin's doomed mission).
omg yes i have this on my list to do as well specifically because of that book!
As for art it got me obsessed with: "The Terror" first season is all about the expedition! Graham Gore plays a tiny part too.
The Ministry of Time also piqued my interest in the book Rogue Male by Geoffrey Household. I didn't finish it, but it was fun to read the same book as Lt. Graham Gore!
I've been SO curious about Rogue Male--I want to know why he loves it but also I'm not sure I want to read the whole thing either? Do you feel like it helped you understand his character better?
Having read a bit of it, I think it's more likely the author was paying homage to the thriller genre than giving us direct insight into Gore's character. The narrator is self-sufficient and distrustful and spends the whole book on the run.
This summer I read The Lioness of Boston, a fictionalized account of Isabella Stewart Gardner, whose museum is home to one of the greatest art heists in history. After reading the book, I immediately went to the museum with a friend, and then opted to renew my membership at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. I now have plans with a group of friends to see exhibits over Winter Break and all throughout 2025!
this is amazing! i know about the heist thanks to my brother (there was a documentary i think?) and it’s always seemed to fascinatingly bizarre that they pulled it off!
Ooh! Ooh! This is a bit off-topic, but since I thought I'd have nothing of import to add to any of this thread I just had to chime in! LOL! (I gravitate to memoirs, poetry and books about progressive Christianity, not so much classic novels though I read quite a few growing up that I loved)
Anyway, a member of my church here in Massachusetts just wrote about book about Isabella Stewart Gardner. Natalie Dykstra, has a new biography - - CHASING BEAUTY: THE LIFE OF ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER. The description on Amazon sounds quite intriguing. I won't make this long and rambling by pasting it here. The reviews sound glowing , though do we ever know if reviews are real people or bots? Stories of bots have me paranoid these days. LOL!
I love this!
I loved Jasper Fforde's THE EYRE AFFAIR because Miss Havisham was her own full character. I read Great Expectations with a new appreciation and loved it. The series is quirky but delightful.
The main character in THE EYRE AFFAIR is Thursday Next. After I finished the book, I read about the character who inspired her in THE MAN WHO WAS THURSDAY by G.K. Chesterton (which I loved).
Just put that on hold thank you!! I can't believe I missed this connection in all the years I have spent loving Thursday!
Seconding this as well!
I just read Tom Lake by Ann Patchett, where the story revolves around the play Our Town. I've never seen it (I know a lot about the plot of it now though!) but if there was a revival near me I'd get tickets for sure :) I really want to see it now!
Oh yes! I reread the play after reading Tom Lake!
It’s opening on broadway in nyc soon :)
Earlier this year I read DISOBEDIENT by Elizabeth Fremantle, which led me into a little Internet rabbit hole to devour anything I could about Artemisia Gentileschi. I was familiar with her prior to this and had seen some of her paintings, but the book really sparked an active interest. I included an afternoon at the National Gallery in London on a recent trip specifically so I could gaze at Self Portrait as Saint Catherine of Alexandria for an extended period of time and cry, which I did. Twice.
Absolutely love this.
MARGOT’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES sent me into a WWE and pro wrestling hyper fixation. I guess this is more one piece of art leading t an interest in a whole genre of art, but I did specifically read about the real life wrestlers that they name checked.
Sent me to exploring only fans 😂 a girl I knew from high school did it and I re-looked at her Instagram and channel without new perspective!!
With a **
wait MARGO also made me sooo curious about wwe as a genre
Ooh! I love this question so much! I’m sure I could think of lots of examples (I’m a habitual hyperlink rabbit hole follower) but the first thing that came to mind for me was LANDMARKS by Robert Macfarlane, the first book of his I read, the subject of which is explicitly other books about landscape. It opened a whole box of gorgeous classics of nature/place writing for me, especially British classics I wasn't familiar with, such as THE LIVING MOUNTAIN by Nan Shepherd and THE PEREGRINE by J A Baker, both of which are now on my shelf and firmly on my favorites list. I also credit that book as the inciting incident of my own place-writing-via-blog journey.
Seconding this!!
Basically my entire TBR list is one long chain that I’m sure started with some random book in middle school. The list is so long and the connections so attenuated that half the time when I am looking at the list I have no idea why it’s there at all…but they’re almost always worth it. Hemingway led me to THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF ALICE B TOKLAS and John dos Passos, two of my favorites.
Oh god this is going to make me sound insufferable, but IN SEARCH OF LOST TIME by Proust references lots of art and other goodies. The one that stuck out to me and gives me a little thrill whenever I run into it elsewhere is the Delphos gown by Fortuny. I got to see one in person at the Met last December! It's visually referenced in fashion on the reg, once you see it you can't unsee it!
hahaha not insufferable; Proust is the ultimate example of this phenomenon!
I would also throw in Garth Greenwell's SMALL RAIN, lots of wonderful allusions in there.
SARUM, by Edgar Rutherford is the historical fiction novel about 25 generations of humankind that created Salisbury Cathedral and Stonehenge. It began in prehistoric times with ancestors who stood on the cliffs of England and watched the glacier carve out the English Channel.
I had to go to Salisbury and see what that land and people were like today. It was magical.
This is a good one! I made sure to specifically book the bus day trip from London that involved Stonehenge, Bath and Salisbury (most options didn’t have Salisbury) because of this book.
I loved visiting Salisbury for the same reason! That was my first Rutherford, but not my last!
I have also read his novels about Russia and the building of the Eiffel Tower. Outstanding.
Those are the only two I haven’t read! Need to get going on those!
Yes! I do this a lot and it’s one of my favorite things about art. Most recently I’ve had Allegri: Miserere mei on repeat after finishing the beautiful MARTYR! By Kaveh Akbar
yes! i do this with music mentions all the time!
Oh gosh I forgot how incredible that piece is, I performed it in college! Thank you foe the reminder!
You’re so welcome :)
SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater led me to a lifelong love of Rilke (including frequent references to the poem quoted in that novel!), and by extension, Stiefvater’s love of John Singer-Sargent led me to check out his portraits. :)
ok i really love this! if you’re more interested in Sargent (and his contemporaries), i read David McCullough’s The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris a few years ago and found it really interesting!
I love Sargent and that love has led me to sooo much art and book, THE GREATER JOURNEY and soooo many others, fiction and non.
Maggie Stiefvater's other series THE RAVEN CYCLE actually ignited a huge interest in ley lines in me - the history and beliefs around them - how there are stories of them across different cultures. Its so fascinating. I think she does such an incredible job of incorporating these passions of hers into her works that it sparks a love in it for you.
I had never heard of ley lines until I saw an episode of Midsomer Murders. "The Sleeper under the Hill" season 14 ep 5, I believe. I'm into it!
Shiver was my introduction to Rilke too!
I've got two. First one is super-obvious but reading DEMON COPPERFIELD by Barbara Kingsolver sent me straight back to the original DAVID COPPERFIELD by Charles Dickens because I loved the new "telling" so much I had to compare to the original (totally worth it.)
More relevant to me as a writer was seeing Selva Almada's IT'S NOT A RIVER nominated for the Intl Booker which made me run out and buy the original Spanish language version, though the translation must be excellent too. That book helped me decide that I do enjoy literature in my third and most-used tongue, so then I jumped on the "nueva narrativa" bandwagon and a attempt to ban Dolores Reyes' amazing DIRT EATER made me buy that and devour it too (pun intended ;). Now I'm looking forward to titles by Mariana Enriquez, Samantha Schweblin and rest of Almada's catalogue to add to my 2025 to-read list.
I’m just about to finish “nuestra parte de noche” “our share of night” by Mariana Enriquez, it’s exquisite
I definitely revisited My Last Duchess by Robert Browning after reading THE MARRIAGE PORTRAIT by Maggie O’Farrell!
ooh this is a good one!
The first time I remember doing this was for A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS, specifically his naming a character Esme Squalor, which led me to J. D. Salinger and FOR ESME, WITH LOVE AND SQUALOR. I want to revisit the series and see how many more references I pick up decades later.
he really did have a gift for names, lemony snicket
There is a book by Dan Hinkley called WINDCLIFFE which describes how he created his garden in the spirit of the BBC adaptation of THE ENCHANTED APRIL by Elizabeth von Arnim. I completely fell in love with that book and it sent me off in the direction of other female writers from the same era and the Famed Bloomsbury set (Virginia Wolf, Vita Sackville west)