books
TagSeptember Memo: Dark Academia
I first heard about the Dark Academia aesthetic about two years ago and for once, I was sad that I’m not a teenager in this day and age (mostly I’m extremely grateful to have grown up pre-social media and before all kinds of standards became absolutely ridiculous). I would have been ALL OVER this subculture in my teens – I mean: Reading! Tweed blazers! The Dead Poets Society!
On Recommending Books
“Oh, you like books, tell me, what should I read?” is among my least favourite questions in the world. It’s not that I don’t like to recommend books per se – I do, I like doing almost anything book-related and it’s also rather flattering when people see you as some sort of a book whisperer who can pick the right one for them. But that’s exactly the problem: recommending books is a bit like working with vulnerable animals – very tricky and also a huge responsibility. What if I mess up?
Best of 2019: Science Fiction & Fantasy
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Yes, I’m aware. It’s almost the end of February, not the time you’d generally expect a best-of list for the previous year to appear. But as discussed, I’m blogging when I want to (and when I can), so end-February it is. If you’re a regula..
Best of 2019: Fiction
While my non-fiction year was stellar and I also got through a lot of brilliant SFF (list to come), I was somewhat underwhelmed by fiction in 2019. It’s not that the fiction I read was bad, but few things really stood out. Partly, it’s my own fault: I think ..
Best of 2019: Non-Fiction
As repeatedly promised, I will recap my reading year and I will do it in several instalments, as there’s a lot I’d like to highlight. It was an especially good year for non-fiction: I tried to edit this list further, but it got too painful – I already had to..
8 Books I Read in October
This was a somewhat weird reading month for me, I picked up several rather random books in addition to a couple that I have been on my must-read list. No regrets, though, I enjoyed everything I read and it’s good to occasionally stray from one’s default mode..
9 Books I Read in September
I’m very happy with my September reading, despite not quite having reached neither the quantitative nor qualitative highs of August. That would have been too much to expect in any case: I don’t often read 17 books in a month, out of which three are five-star..
16 + 1 Books I Read in August
So yeah, August was a good reading month for me – work was quiet and I spent some time alone in Brussels, which always facilitates reading. I did well on almost every front I consider important: I read books that have been on my list for a long time, I read ..
On How I Read
Let me tell you right away that this is going to be a boring post. I have already shared with you my best tips on how to get more reading done, I’ve got nothing else to give on that front. But I’ve been asked – many times – how I, personally, read. When exac..
Call Me by Your Name: Peaches, Tan-lines and Desire
Last year, I missed the right moment to read André Aciman’s Call Me by Your Name: it is meant to be read in a heatwave and ideally while longing for someone exquisite. If the latter state of mind is not available, just a heatwave will do, but I waited too lo..