March Reading Roundup
How was your reading month? Mine was pretty good, featuring a mix of political nonfiction and translated fiction from Germany and Argentina.
Refined and Elegant Things: The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon
The eggs of the spot-billed duck. Shaved ice with a sweet syrup, served in a shiny new metal bowl. A crystal rosary.…
February Reading Roundup
After a slow January, I hit my reading stride in February. We stayed in Croatia all month, with just a quick side…
Parkinson’s Law and the Pull of a Deadline
It was like a nightmare. I was entering a $100,000 essay contest, and it was deadline day, with plenty of work still…
Greece as Europe’s Borderland
Greece seems to be synonymous with “crisis” these days. The debt crisis, the migrant crisis, or just the “Greek crisis”, as if…
January Reading Roundup
Better late than never! Here’s my reading roundup for January. It was a month in which I did a lot of travelling, driving from…
Road Stories Show a Different Side of America
Reading Hounded: Stories From the American Road by British journalist Alan Emmins gives a vital insight into the little-seen sights of everyday…
The Power of Words: The Great Passage by Shion Miura
The Great Passage by Shion Miura is a novel about a group of editors compiling a dictionary. If you’re looking for a…
Stories of Racism and Retail Hell: Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Race and capitalism in America should be fertile ground for literary fiction. This year’s Black Friday shopping frenzy brought the usual bout…