Early feminist literature, a love story and creepy Gothic novel all in one

Dnews has several librarians recommend books for hard times.

Amy Ferguson works in Colfax and is the Albion branch manager. She encourages you to read “Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Brontë. She says, “I freaking love this book and have read it multiple times over the years. It is such a great example of early feminist literature, a love story and creepy Gothic novel all in one! What more do you need?!” (Sarah Phelan-Blamires)

The Guardian features Jasper Fforde and his new book The Constant Rabbit.

The UK author is well known for his alternative history novels that take a satirical and skew-eyed look at society. He spent 12 years receiving rejection upon rejection for his manuscripts until in 2001 his debut novel, The Eyre Affair – a book that centres around a literary detective tasked with finding and returning Jane Eyre, who has disappeared from the pages of her own book – was released and rapidly became a bestseller. Since then, Fforde has been consistently building worlds that look almost but not quite like ours, with pop culture references, historical twists and social commentary throughout. (Elizabeth Flux)

What HiFi? includes Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights of a list of the '20 best pop songs to test your speakers'.

Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights (1978)
Did you know that Bush shares a birthday with Emily Brontë, author of the novel which inspired Bush's debut single? Bush wrote the song aged just 18, after watching a BBC adaptation of Wuthering Heights.
Twinkling keys, chimes, and Bush's ethereal soprano stylings aside, what's remarkable here is that Bush recorded her vocal in a single take – and even through the most agile and revealing of systems, it is flawless. Apparently, engineer Jon Kelly later regretted not placing the electric guitar solo louder in the mix. Have a listen; see if you agree. (Becky Scarrott)

The New York Times explains how to solve a crossword puzzle (!).

Letter E, for example, might come to mind if you’re bookish: the “Brooding beau in ‘Wuthering Heights’…” is HEATHCLIFF. That’s 10 letters you can write into your grid: H goes in the 107th spot, E in 123, A in 77, T in 1, and so on. Since the black squares indicate word spaces, you’re already putting down some roots in your solve, like that second H at 137, which is now the middle letter of a three-letter word. (Caitlin Lovinger)

The Wall Street Journal reviews Character: The History of a Cultural Obsession by Marjorie Garber and Charlotte Brontë is mentioned among other well-known people who 'fell for' phrenology.