I've been writing (very slowly) about birds. As I read about various birds, I'm finding that they are strange, intelligent, alien creatures living their own full, social, and interesting existence, right next to us. The more I think about birds and other animals, the more I see our overwhelming waste of the beauty right in …
The Silent Angel, by Heinrich Böll
I bought this based on W.G. Sebald's recommendation, and it did not disappoint. Set in Germany, in the weeks after the war has ended, the story follows one soldier as he wanders the wreckage, looking for food, shelter and love. The writing is continuously subtle and deft, and the imagery almost always seems to be …
After Nature, by W.G. Sebald
I've never been able to 'get into' poetry before. Now I'm thinking I've just never been introduced to the good stuff, because this book has really grabbed me and made me want to seek out more like it. The book contains three prose poems, or rather, three parts. Part one is about the 16th century …
A book too good for me to handle? Some thoughts on impostor syndrome.
I recently (start of the year) had a bit of a crises of confidence, and I'm still not sure I've fully recovered. It was probably a combination of many things, but I think W.G. Sebald's books (Vertigo and The Emigrants) were a big factor. Not only because they are about memory and perception, but because …
Continue reading "A book too good for me to handle? Some thoughts on impostor syndrome."
The inner workings
Having recently read some great sci-fi for the first time in a couple years, I have some thoughts. I think my perspective has changed after the past few years of reading pretty much only literary classics. Coming back to science fiction after that, everything feels so transparent. I'm not sure if it's me, or just …
Jonas David 