When she needs to get out of a rut, over a hump or otherwise inspired, Chicago-based freelance journalist Britt Julious turns to books.
“Matilda” by Roald Dahl, which she continues to read on a near-annual basis, encouraged the 27-year-old Oak Park native to embrace her innate sense of justice.
“I was very outspoken as a little kid,” Julious says, “I still am.”
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Meanwhile, Joyce Carol Oates’ 2001 novella “Beasts” — an indictment of the academic hierarchies and intellectualism students are supposed to admire — came at “exactly the right moment” during Julious’ freshman year at DePaul University. (“Plus, ‘beasts’ — I’ve always liked that noun.”)
The living room of her Ukrainian Village apartment houses many titles by boundary-pushing women writers: Marguerite Duras, Francoise Sagan, Toni Morrison and Colette.
“As a freelancer trying to a make a name for yourself — you know, stand out from the crowd, be successful, buy food — it can be hard. Reading is what I do for personal motivation.”