I did a trip to Tyler Cowen’s #1 travel destination (southern Utah plus the North Rim.) In my view, the best travel destination is the one you do at the perfect time in your life. Read Conrad’s story “Youth”. In recent months I reread a few novels by Nabakov (Pale Fire and Ada), and got […]

I read another Gene Wolfe trilogy, this one about ancient Greece. Not as good as the three “Sun” series, but still enjoyable. Stefan Zweig’s The World of Yesterday was another highlight, a brilliant work of social science masquerading as a memoir. Benjamin Moser’s The Upside Down World is an excellent study of Dutch painting, and […]

The highlight of my fourth quarter was books, not films. I hugely enjoyed a long string of Gene Wolfe novels (the 4-part Book of the Long Sun and the 3-part Book of the Short Sun.). In general, I don’t read much sci-fi. For recent writers, I lean toward people like Sebald, Pamuk, Bolano, Marias, Knausgaard, […]

This past quarter I went on a Hal Hartley binge—interesting director. I also read Chateaubriand’s autobiography (1300 pages, up to 1815), which I loved. Saw the Succession TV series, which has all the strengths and weaknesses of other “quality” TV series. Works best as a black comedy—can be cringeworthy when the writers start taking themselves […]

Before getting into my film list, a few comments: 1. I strongly recommend Michael Powell’s autobiography. Highly entertaining. I also recommend the book “Alone”, by Norman Douglas. Why isn’t this guy more famous? 2. I did a podcast with Russell Hogg and Jasper Sharp. I was a bit disappointed with my own remarks, as I […]