Reading Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain. Subjects: entropy, degeneration (physical, social, moral), and the phenomenology of time. Set in a Swiss sanatorium with a cosmopolitan clientele, before the First World War; Mann's heavy-handed metaphor for a 'sick Europe'. Narration proceeds at an absolutely glacial pace, appropriate to a door-stopper of ( Read more... )

OK, I'm in.

Books I am currently reading: The Legacy, by Kirsten Tranter. Coming-of-age / mysterious disappearance / unreliable memory / university friendships. Strongly reminiscent of other contemporary novels I've enjoyed with similar themes -- Andrea Goldsmith's Reunion, Donna Tartt's The Secret History. But perhaps not as good? Time will tell ( Read more... )

Very, very excited to discover today that my favourite imprint, Persephone (which re-publishes forgotten classics by women writers), has an online presence in the form of the Persephone PostFor lovers of the Omega workshops, books, textile design, English landscapes, urban history ( Read more... )

A very happy New Year to you and yours ( Read more... )