I’m back!
Just got back from my trip around the Caribbean and my month away from the internet. It was a wonderful break, and I feel so much better now. I don’t even know where to begin telling you all about the…
A writer’s life
Writing burrowed itself into a chamber in my heart, building underwater castles and princesses to live in them, when I was around seven years old. This world of words has lived with me now for over two decades, present and…
On Scandinavian literature
The darkness looming over the Scandinavian Countries has crossed the sea and reached Great Britain and the US. With shows such as The Killing and The Bridge reaching international success and Borgen winning a BAFTA award, New Danish Drama has…
When you expect to love being bored
Something I try to stay away from as an author are cliches. You know, those phrases and plot "twists" and character traits that have all been done before? So much that everyone can recognize them in an instant. Cliches have…
Sophie Blackall at the Brooklyn Public Library
Like any nosy New Yorker, I first encountered Sophie Blackall on the subway. I most often ride the F line, and found myself pleasantly surprised one day by the depth of feeling in the illustrations above me. Blackall is a…
Why reading is social rather than solitary
Although reading is termed solitary, some of my best times on holiday have been when we've been sitting beside each other, each immersed in our own book. And in fact here reading becomes very social, because a laugh will make…
The worst job in the world
When Barack Obama was elected US President in 2008 “The Onion” ran the headline “black man given nation’s worst job”. Much as I found their take on events amusing, even being President during this period of such economic misery can’t…
The reflection of read things
The enthralling The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (1997) is what I’ll be musing about. I read the novel earlier this year and was completely taken by both the beauty of it and Roy’s writing. Its narrative is…
No internet. No phone. One month.
OK, I’m off! Bags are packed, tickets printed, taxi is booked for four thirty tomorrow morning, and several alarms have been set. I’ve got some great guest posts lined up to run during the next few weeks, but you’ll hear…