I'm reading Purgatory by Dante, and came across this passage: The sockets of their eyes were gemless rings; one who reads omo in the face of men, could easily have recognized the m. My eyes widened a bit and I thought, that can't possibly mean what I think it means. But I checked the historical …
Inferno, by Dante Alighieri
Possibly due to my lack of college education, I've for some time been under the impression that many of these very old texts are read only for education purposes, and not for enjoyment. So when I came across a copy of Inferno in a Goodwill, and looked at the first couple pages out of curiosity, …
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 …
Austerlitz, by W.G. Sebald
Another stunning novel by Sebald, and this is the first of his to approach anything like a plot. As with all of Sebald's books, the themes are on memory, and the Holocaust. Of all his books I've read so far, this one most directly addresses the two. The narrator, who as usual is a maybe/maybe …
Invitation to a Beheading, by Vladimir Nabokov
I always come back to good ol' Vlad, and this one keeps up the pattern of being awesome in unexpected ways. This book tells the story of Cincinnatus C. , a 30 year old teacher convicted of 'gnostical turpitude' and his experiences waiting around in a cell for his own execution. What struck me most …
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Jonas David 