Welcome to The Tearoom

    • Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      As a woman without children, I felt many times that I have no voice in the matter, either way. But I have friends with children who are very happy, and childfree friends who are…

    • No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      The Light on Farallon Island is a Gothic story about disappearance, reinvention, and the impossibility of leaving the past behind. But its remote island setting made me think of something stranger than ghosts: the…

    • You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      When a reader becomes accustomed to devouring novels over the course of hours, it becomes something of an expectation that every book which sounds promising will have the same effect. When we come across…

    • A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      Have you ever felt a little out of place when telling someone that your idea of a vacation is curling up in bed with a paperback? Have you ever had the sensation that few…

    • Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Before writing Into the Light, Carstens spent time as an au pair in Paris—a chapter of her life that would become part of the story she tells. In this interview, we talk about her…

    • ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      The End of Life as We Know It What if a great catastrophe were to bring about the end of life as we know it? What would be the thing that you missed most…

    • Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      What does it mean to truly love someone, human or otherwise? In Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton tells the enchanting story of an orphaned leveret who unexpectedly becomes part of her life. But beneath the…

    • Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      What does postwar Oxford look like through the eyes of a woman determined to make her own way? In this conversation, Kate Westbury talks about The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, her heroine…

    • ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      What is love if you barely know the person you love? In O, Juliet, Robin Maxwell retells Shakespeare’s famous tragedy as a sweeping romance, and while I found myself captivated by the beautiful prose…

    Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

    Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

    As a woman without children, I felt many times that I have no voice in the matter, either way. But I have friends with children who are very happy, and childfree friends who are…

    • Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      As a woman without children, I felt many times that I have no voice in the matter, either way. But I have friends with children who are very happy, and childfree friends who are…

    • No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      The Light on Farallon Island is a Gothic story about disappearance, reinvention, and the impossibility of leaving the past behind. But its remote island setting made me think of something stranger than ghosts: the…

    • You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      When a reader becomes accustomed to devouring novels over the course of hours, it becomes something of an expectation that every book which sounds promising will have the same effect. When we come across…

    • A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      Have you ever felt a little out of place when telling someone that your idea of a vacation is curling up in bed with a paperback? Have you ever had the sensation that few…

    • Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Before writing Into the Light, Carstens spent time as an au pair in Paris—a chapter of her life that would become part of the story she tells. In this interview, we talk about her…

    • ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      The End of Life as We Know It What if a great catastrophe were to bring about the end of life as we know it? What would be the thing that you missed most…

    • Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      What does it mean to truly love someone, human or otherwise? In Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton tells the enchanting story of an orphaned leveret who unexpectedly becomes part of her life. But beneath the…

    • Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      What does postwar Oxford look like through the eyes of a woman determined to make her own way? In this conversation, Kate Westbury talks about The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, her heroine…

    • ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      What is love if you barely know the person you love? In O, Juliet, Robin Maxwell retells Shakespeare’s famous tragedy as a sweeping romance, and while I found myself captivated by the beautiful prose…

    No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

    No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

    The Light on Farallon Island is a Gothic story about disappearance, reinvention, and the impossibility of leaving the past behind. But its remote island setting made me think of something stranger than ghosts: the…

    • Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      As a woman without children, I felt many times that I have no voice in the matter, either way. But I have friends with children who are very happy, and childfree friends who are…

    • No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      The Light on Farallon Island is a Gothic story about disappearance, reinvention, and the impossibility of leaving the past behind. But its remote island setting made me think of something stranger than ghosts: the…

    • You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      When a reader becomes accustomed to devouring novels over the course of hours, it becomes something of an expectation that every book which sounds promising will have the same effect. When we come across…

    • A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      Have you ever felt a little out of place when telling someone that your idea of a vacation is curling up in bed with a paperback? Have you ever had the sensation that few…

    • Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Before writing Into the Light, Carstens spent time as an au pair in Paris—a chapter of her life that would become part of the story she tells. In this interview, we talk about her…

    • ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      The End of Life as We Know It What if a great catastrophe were to bring about the end of life as we know it? What would be the thing that you missed most…

    • Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      What does it mean to truly love someone, human or otherwise? In Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton tells the enchanting story of an orphaned leveret who unexpectedly becomes part of her life. But beneath the…

    • Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      What does postwar Oxford look like through the eyes of a woman determined to make her own way? In this conversation, Kate Westbury talks about The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, her heroine…

    • ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      What is love if you barely know the person you love? In O, Juliet, Robin Maxwell retells Shakespeare’s famous tragedy as a sweeping romance, and while I found myself captivated by the beautiful prose…

    You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

    You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

    When a reader becomes accustomed to devouring novels over the course of hours, it becomes something of an expectation that every book which sounds promising will have the same effect. When we come across…

    • Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      As a woman without children, I felt many times that I have no voice in the matter, either way. But I have friends with children who are very happy, and childfree friends who are…

    • No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      The Light on Farallon Island is a Gothic story about disappearance, reinvention, and the impossibility of leaving the past behind. But its remote island setting made me think of something stranger than ghosts: the…

    • You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      When a reader becomes accustomed to devouring novels over the course of hours, it becomes something of an expectation that every book which sounds promising will have the same effect. When we come across…

    • A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      Have you ever felt a little out of place when telling someone that your idea of a vacation is curling up in bed with a paperback? Have you ever had the sensation that few…

    • Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Before writing Into the Light, Carstens spent time as an au pair in Paris—a chapter of her life that would become part of the story she tells. In this interview, we talk about her…

    • ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      The End of Life as We Know It What if a great catastrophe were to bring about the end of life as we know it? What would be the thing that you missed most…

    • Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      What does it mean to truly love someone, human or otherwise? In Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton tells the enchanting story of an orphaned leveret who unexpectedly becomes part of her life. But beneath the…

    • Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      What does postwar Oxford look like through the eyes of a woman determined to make her own way? In this conversation, Kate Westbury talks about The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, her heroine…

    • ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      What is love if you barely know the person you love? In O, Juliet, Robin Maxwell retells Shakespeare’s famous tragedy as a sweeping romance, and while I found myself captivated by the beautiful prose…

    A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

    A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

    Have you ever felt a little out of place when telling someone that your idea of a vacation is curling up in bed with a paperback? Have you ever had the sensation that few…

    • Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      As a woman without children, I felt many times that I have no voice in the matter, either way. But I have friends with children who are very happy, and childfree friends who are…

    • No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      The Light on Farallon Island is a Gothic story about disappearance, reinvention, and the impossibility of leaving the past behind. But its remote island setting made me think of something stranger than ghosts: the…

    • You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      When a reader becomes accustomed to devouring novels over the course of hours, it becomes something of an expectation that every book which sounds promising will have the same effect. When we come across…

    • A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      Have you ever felt a little out of place when telling someone that your idea of a vacation is curling up in bed with a paperback? Have you ever had the sensation that few…

    • Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Before writing Into the Light, Carstens spent time as an au pair in Paris—a chapter of her life that would become part of the story she tells. In this interview, we talk about her…

    • ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      The End of Life as We Know It What if a great catastrophe were to bring about the end of life as we know it? What would be the thing that you missed most…

    • Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      What does it mean to truly love someone, human or otherwise? In Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton tells the enchanting story of an orphaned leveret who unexpectedly becomes part of her life. But beneath the…

    • Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      What does postwar Oxford look like through the eyes of a woman determined to make her own way? In this conversation, Kate Westbury talks about The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, her heroine…

    • ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      What is love if you barely know the person you love? In O, Juliet, Robin Maxwell retells Shakespeare’s famous tragedy as a sweeping romance, and while I found myself captivated by the beautiful prose…

    Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

    Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

    Before writing Into the Light, Carstens spent time as an au pair in Paris—a chapter of her life that would become part of the story she tells. In this interview, we talk about her…

    • Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      As a woman without children, I felt many times that I have no voice in the matter, either way. But I have friends with children who are very happy, and childfree friends who are…

    • No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      The Light on Farallon Island is a Gothic story about disappearance, reinvention, and the impossibility of leaving the past behind. But its remote island setting made me think of something stranger than ghosts: the…

    • You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      When a reader becomes accustomed to devouring novels over the course of hours, it becomes something of an expectation that every book which sounds promising will have the same effect. When we come across…

    • A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      Have you ever felt a little out of place when telling someone that your idea of a vacation is curling up in bed with a paperback? Have you ever had the sensation that few…

    • Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Before writing Into the Light, Carstens spent time as an au pair in Paris—a chapter of her life that would become part of the story she tells. In this interview, we talk about her…

    • ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      The End of Life as We Know It What if a great catastrophe were to bring about the end of life as we know it? What would be the thing that you missed most…

    • Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      What does it mean to truly love someone, human or otherwise? In Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton tells the enchanting story of an orphaned leveret who unexpectedly becomes part of her life. But beneath the…

    • Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      What does postwar Oxford look like through the eyes of a woman determined to make her own way? In this conversation, Kate Westbury talks about The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, her heroine…

    • ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      What is love if you barely know the person you love? In O, Juliet, Robin Maxwell retells Shakespeare’s famous tragedy as a sweeping romance, and while I found myself captivated by the beautiful prose…

    ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

    ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

    The End of Life as We Know It What if a great catastrophe were to bring about the end of life as we know it? What would be the thing that you missed most…

    • Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      As a woman without children, I felt many times that I have no voice in the matter, either way. But I have friends with children who are very happy, and childfree friends who are…

    • No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      The Light on Farallon Island is a Gothic story about disappearance, reinvention, and the impossibility of leaving the past behind. But its remote island setting made me think of something stranger than ghosts: the…

    • You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      When a reader becomes accustomed to devouring novels over the course of hours, it becomes something of an expectation that every book which sounds promising will have the same effect. When we come across…

    • A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      Have you ever felt a little out of place when telling someone that your idea of a vacation is curling up in bed with a paperback? Have you ever had the sensation that few…

    • Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Before writing Into the Light, Carstens spent time as an au pair in Paris—a chapter of her life that would become part of the story she tells. In this interview, we talk about her…

    • ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      The End of Life as We Know It What if a great catastrophe were to bring about the end of life as we know it? What would be the thing that you missed most…

    • Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      What does it mean to truly love someone, human or otherwise? In Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton tells the enchanting story of an orphaned leveret who unexpectedly becomes part of her life. But beneath the…

    • Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      What does postwar Oxford look like through the eyes of a woman determined to make her own way? In this conversation, Kate Westbury talks about The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, her heroine…

    • ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      What is love if you barely know the person you love? In O, Juliet, Robin Maxwell retells Shakespeare’s famous tragedy as a sweeping romance, and while I found myself captivated by the beautiful prose…

    Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

    Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

    What does it mean to truly love someone, human or otherwise? In Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton tells the enchanting story of an orphaned leveret who unexpectedly becomes part of her life. But beneath the…

    • Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      As a woman without children, I felt many times that I have no voice in the matter, either way. But I have friends with children who are very happy, and childfree friends who are…

    • No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      The Light on Farallon Island is a Gothic story about disappearance, reinvention, and the impossibility of leaving the past behind. But its remote island setting made me think of something stranger than ghosts: the…

    • You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      When a reader becomes accustomed to devouring novels over the course of hours, it becomes something of an expectation that every book which sounds promising will have the same effect. When we come across…

    • A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      Have you ever felt a little out of place when telling someone that your idea of a vacation is curling up in bed with a paperback? Have you ever had the sensation that few…

    • Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Before writing Into the Light, Carstens spent time as an au pair in Paris—a chapter of her life that would become part of the story she tells. In this interview, we talk about her…

    • ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      The End of Life as We Know It What if a great catastrophe were to bring about the end of life as we know it? What would be the thing that you missed most…

    • Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      What does it mean to truly love someone, human or otherwise? In Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton tells the enchanting story of an orphaned leveret who unexpectedly becomes part of her life. But beneath the…

    • Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      What does postwar Oxford look like through the eyes of a woman determined to make her own way? In this conversation, Kate Westbury talks about The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, her heroine…

    • ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      What is love if you barely know the person you love? In O, Juliet, Robin Maxwell retells Shakespeare’s famous tragedy as a sweeping romance, and while I found myself captivated by the beautiful prose…

    Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

    Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

    What does postwar Oxford look like through the eyes of a woman determined to make her own way? In this conversation, Kate Westbury talks about The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, her heroine…

    • Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      Hello Baby: The Women in the Chatroom

      As a woman without children, I felt many times that I have no voice in the matter, either way. But I have friends with children who are very happy, and childfree friends who are…

    • No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      No One Disappears on an Island: Thoughts on Remote Literary Settings

      The Light on Farallon Island is a Gothic story about disappearance, reinvention, and the impossibility of leaving the past behind. But its remote island setting made me think of something stranger than ghosts: the…

    • You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      You Don’t Actually Have to Finish the Book

      When a reader becomes accustomed to devouring novels over the course of hours, it becomes something of an expectation that every book which sounds promising will have the same effect. When we come across…

    • A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      A Well-Read Woman is Not a Snob

      Have you ever felt a little out of place when telling someone that your idea of a vacation is curling up in bed with a paperback? Have you ever had the sensation that few…

    • Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Tea with Deborah Svec-Carstens, Author of Toward the Light: A Year in Paris

      Before writing Into the Light, Carstens spent time as an au pair in Paris—a chapter of her life that would become part of the story she tells. In this interview, we talk about her…

    • ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel

      The End of Life as We Know It What if a great catastrophe were to bring about the end of life as we know it? What would be the thing that you missed most…

    • Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      Raising Hare: A Hare Full of Love

      What does it mean to truly love someone, human or otherwise? In Raising Hare, Chloe Dalton tells the enchanting story of an orphaned leveret who unexpectedly becomes part of her life. But beneath the…

    • Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      Tea with Kate Westbury, Author of ‘The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies’

      What does postwar Oxford look like through the eyes of a woman determined to make her own way? In this conversation, Kate Westbury talks about The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies, her heroine…

    • ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

      What is love if you barely know the person you love? In O, Juliet, Robin Maxwell retells Shakespeare’s famous tragedy as a sweeping romance, and while I found myself captivated by the beautiful prose…

    ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

    ‘O, Juliet’ by Robin Maxwell

    What is love if you barely know the person you love? In O, Juliet, Robin Maxwell retells Shakespeare’s famous tragedy as a sweeping romance, and while I found myself captivated by the beautiful prose…