“This is a work of fiction. Still, given an infinite number of possible worlds, it must be true on one of them. And if a story set in an infinite number of possible worlds is true in one of them, then it must be true in all of them. So maybe, it’s not as fictional as we think.” “This is… Read more
I love this picture of two men reading poetry. It looks like they are really getting into the poem, doesn’t it? Read more
So very true: I don’t care where I live, so long as there’s a roof to keep the rain off my books, and high-speed Internet access. – Eliezer Yudkowsky, American machine learning researcher, writer, blogger, and advocate for friendly artificial intelligence. Read more
“All worthy work is open to interpretations the author did not intend. Art isn’t your pet — it’s your kid. It grows up and talks back to you.” – Joss Whedon, American screenwriter, film and television director, film and television producer, comic book author and composer Read more
What a way to start the week! My package from Amazon showed up (and that’s a whole ‘nother story – they get a rare “F” in customer service on this one) and I can’t wait to start this one: I’ll Never Write My Memoirs by Grace Jones Legendary influential performer Grace Jones offers a revealing account of her spectacular career and… Read more
“My two favourite things in life are libraries and bicycles. They both move people forward without wasting anything. The perfect day: riding a bike to the library.” – Peter Golkin It’s funny – this quote is in all sorts of search engines and quote lists, but I can’t find anything about Golkin! Read more
More great new books this week! First up, Killers by Howie Carr: Whitey Bulger is gone from Boston, but Bench McCarthy is here to take his place. Bench McCarthy is a thug’s thug, a hitman, an underworld jack-of-all-trades running his own mob out of Winter Hill in Somerville while simultaneously handling “wet work” for Sally Curto, a half-demented, totally obscene… Read more
“A bit of trash now and then is good for the severest reader. It provides the necessary roughage in the literary diet.” – Phyllis McGinley, children’s author Read more
As soon as I heard the story behind My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family’s Nazi Past by Jennifer Teege and Nikola Sellmair, I knew I wanted to read the book: When Jennifer Teege, a German-Nigerian woman, happened to pluck a library book from the shelf, she had no idea that her life would be irrevocably… Read more
“My daughter is seven, and some of the other second-grade parents complain that their children don’t read for pleasure. When I visit their homes, the children’s rooms are crammed with expensive books, but the parent’s rooms are empty. Those children do not see their parents reading, as I did every day of my childhood. By contrast, when I walk into… Read more