I believe that Helen Macdonald could be for the life sciences what Carl Sagan was for astronomy and cosmology. There is so much wonder, joy, curiosity, and passion packed into these essays, but also sorrow, nostalgia, and pain at the loss of so much life around us. The subject matter varies widely, from many species …
Hangsaman by Shirley Jackson
Jackson is the queen of subtly blurring reality and imagination into a single, unnerving gradient. This story follows Natalie, a 17 year old just starting college, and her slow descent into solipsism and possible madness. The more you read, the less sure you become of what has really happened, and what has been dreamed up …
Oops I read a bunch of books and didn’t blog about them again
Wow, it's been a while! Here are some more books I read and some thoughts on them to close out the year Agamemnon's Daughter by Ismail Kadare I blazed through this one in two sittings, extremely engaging and also strange and upsetting. I picked this originally because I decided I wanted to read books from …
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The poetry of Jorge Luis Borges
I've read his many stories off and on throughout my life, but never his poetry until this year. From reading his memorable stories, certain words and ideas have come to carry a lot of 'Borgesness' with them: Labyrinth, hexameter, tigers, algebra, chess, libraries, mirrors, coins--and this carries through to his poetry as well. This could …
Strange Hotel, by Eimear McBride
I don't know if I have ever identified so strongly with a character with who I share so little lived experiences. This was a powerful, sad, startling, sometimes funny, most times existentially upsetting, and overall extremely readable book. The story follows a woman through several brief moments during different periods in her life, each moment …

