M.A.Orthofer
@maorthofer.bsky.social
π€ 642
π₯ 263
π 920
The Complete Review and its Literary Saloon. [
https://www.complete-review.com/main/main.html]
Most recent review was of the new novel by Wolf Haas, and am amused to see him in good company in this foreign-rights-attempted-sales-job for a book by another author
www.kiwi-verlag.de/verlag/right...
If this were true, I'd be all over this β but I fear they're promising more than it can deliver.
about 15 hours ago
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New review: Wolf Haas' πβπππ‘ πΆππππ’ππ‘
www.complete-review.com/reviews/aust...
due out in English 4/2026. (A finalist for the Prize of Leipzig Book Fair this spring, and longlisted (and still in the running) for the Austrian Book Prize.)
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Short Circuit - Wolf Haas
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Short Circuit by Wolf Haas.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/austria/haasw8.htm
1 day ago
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Hmmm ....
www.swissinfo.ch/eng/various/...
I'd be surprised.
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Swiss author Kracht tipped for Nobel Prize for Literature
Swiss author Christian Kracht tipped to win Nobel Prize for Literature.
https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/various/nobel-prize-for-literature-swiss-christian-kracht-among-the-favourites/90108621
3 days ago
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"Some institutions are offering βreading resilienceβ courses for students facing long texts and reading lists while others are using book jacket design as part of the assessment process."
www.thetimes.com/uk/education...
*SIGH*
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Universities teaching literature students how to cope with long novels
Critics blame GCSE English for deterring teenagers from the subject, describing the literature syllabus as boring and repetitive
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/education/article/universities-teaching-literature-students-how-to-cope-with-long-novels-8bwgscp7k
3 days ago
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
π»πππππ π'π»π£ππ€ππ ππ
4 days ago
They still have a lot of reputational damage to recover from after the ridiculous decision to award the prize to Bob Dylan in 2016. The taint lingers on.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaWV...
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Announcement of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature
YouTube video by Nobel Prize
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaWVus4DtLo&list=PLJE9rmV1-0uAcoE1c3qMTpo3qs5YUv9P9&index=4
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Grothendieck perhaps: "The most important mathematician youβve (probably) never heard of"
www.newscientist.com/article/2497...
[Β£] but he plays a role/is mentioned in two of the last three books I've covered at the CR, Cormac McCarthy's ππ‘ππππ πππππ and HervΓ© Le Tellier's πβπ ππππ ππ π‘βπ ππππ.
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The most important mathematician youβve (probably) never heard of
Alexander Grothendieck was a titan in his field, making deep connections that fuelled a revolution in mathematics, before giving it all up and disappearing. Jacob Aron explores what his work meant
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2497097-the-most-important-mathematician-youve-probably-never-heard-of/
4 days ago
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Ashley Rattner
4 days ago
Most books contain insufficient whale facts
add a skeleton here at some point
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In the mail: 2x books from Dedalus: Dara Kavanagh's πππππβππ πΈπππ‘β
www.dedalusbooks.com/our-books/bo...
and Patrick Doherty's ππ’ππ πΌπππππππ‘ π΅ππ¦
www.dedalusbooks.com/our-books/bo...
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Scorched Earth by Dara Kavanagh : Our Books :: Dedalus Books, Publishers of Literary Fiction
Dedalus is an alternative, independent publisher, founded in England in 1983. The films on our page are all related to the books we publish. Our list includes contemporary English language fiction, tr...
https://www.dedalusbooks.com/our-books/book.php?id=00000405
5 days ago
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New review: HervΓ© Le Tellier's πβπ ππππ ππ π‘βπ ππππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/ouli...
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The Name on the Wall - HervΓ© Le Tellier
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of The Name on the Wall by HervΓ© Le Tellier.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/oulipo/letellier8.htm
6 days ago
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Not exactly surprised by Merve Emre's response to the question: "Where and When Do You Read ?" but: respect/admiration/envy. An ideal I only sometimes manage to approach. (Via
@sansip.bsky.social
)
linkst.thecut.com/view/6356a9c...
6 days ago
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New review: William Boyd's πΊππππππ'π ππππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/boyd...
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Gabriel's Moon - William Boyd
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Gabriel's Moon by William Boyd.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/boydw/gabriels_moon.htm
7 days ago
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Massive Peter Waterhouse tome (1,554 pp) out in German
www.matthes-seitz-berlin.de/buch/z-ypsil...
, sounds intriguing (e.g.
www.derstandard.at/story/300000...
). Probably not coming out in translation any time soon .....
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Z Ypsilon X
Matthes & Seitz Berlin - Niemand in der Familie sprach gern ΓΌber den GroΓvater, der als Hauptschriftleiter eine zentrale Rolle in der ΓΆsterreichischen NS-Propaganda innegehabt hatte. Niemand beachtete...
https://www.matthes-seitz-berlin.de/buch/z-ypsilon-x-14013.html
7 days ago
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"On the other hand, much of the translated fiction that sells big and spreads by word of mouth is identikit pap that βpermsβ any three from the following: Japan, cats, coffee shops, locked rooms, bookstores and detectives."
@john-self.bsky.social
on re/translations
thecritic.co.uk/accost-in-tr...
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Accost in translation | John Self | The Critic Magazine
Each new rendering in English of a classic written in another language must make the case for its superiority to previous versions. Cue barbs and accusations.
https://thecritic.co.uk/accost-in-translation/
7 days ago
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Ah, Nobel prediction season .....
www.chosun.com/english/trav...
Is it the year of the male periphery writer ? (As the small print at the end of this explains (and as you guessed): "ππ©πͺπ΄ π’π³π΅πͺπ€ππ¦ π©π’π΄ π£π¦π¦π― π΅π³π’π―π΄ππ’π΅π¦π₯ π£πΊ ππ±π΄π΅π’π¨π¦ ππ°ππ’π³ ππ")
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Nobel Literature Prize Prediction: Male Periphery Writer or Black Female Author?
Nobel Literature Prize Prediction: Male Periphery Writer or Black Female Author Editors Highlight Male Periphery and Black Female Writers as Top Contenders Amid Gender Balance Debate
https://www.chosun.com/english/travel-food-en/2025/09/30/R5KBGJTMYZE4PHFVRUQZPYXIAU/
7 days ago
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Kirkdale Bookshop
8 days ago
Look what I found downstairs! Gotta love the AWS
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New review: Cormac McCarthy's ππ‘ππππ πππππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/popu...
(Practically) entirely in dialogue ! Lots of philosophizing ! Finally a McCarthy to win me over ?
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Stella Maris - Cormac McCarthy
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/popus/mccarthyc_SM.htm
9 days ago
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In the mail: always good to see another in Boiler House Press' Recovered Books-series β ARC of Sarah Campion's πππππ βπππ‘ (11/2025)
asterismbooks.com/product/make...
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Makeshift | Asterism Books
A fascinating and long-forgotten novel about the experiences of a German Jewish woman from the end of the First World War to the mid-1930s, her growing awareness of the rise of Nazism and her search f...
https://asterismbooks.com/product/makeshift-sarah-campion
10 days ago
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*Sigh*
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/u...
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Were You Assigned Full Books to Read in High School English? Tell Us.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/us/education-books-callout.html
11 days ago
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New review: "A Detective Galileo Novel" (the fifth to appear in English, but apparently the tenth in the series, *sigh*) by Higashino Keigo, πΌππ£ππ ππππ π»ππππ₯
www.complete-review.com/reviews/japa...
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Invisible Helix - Higashino Keigo
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Invisible Helix by Higashino Keigo.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/japannew/higashk8.htm
12 days ago
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"Roddy Doyle, the first former Booker prizewinner to subsequently chair the jury, said he and the other four jurors had discarded all but 31 books from the original 153 to discuss before deciding which should be on their longlist."
www.thetimes.com/culture/book...
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Booker prize chairman laments poor quality of entries
A former prizewinner heading this yearβs jury said many of the 153 novels submitted were not worth discussing as judges whittled down the list to six contenders
https://www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/booker-prize-chair-judges-shortlist-2025-j7vlx0zpl
13 days ago
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Good to see review of an Oxford University Press/Hsu-Tang Library of Classical Chinese Literature-volume in the current
@thetls.bsky.social
β of Kong Shanren's πβπ ππππβ π΅πππ π ππ πΉππ:
www.the-tls.com/literature-b...
[Β£] (Though mine
www.complete-review.com/reviews/hsu_...
is a bit more ... detailed.)
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Wartime romance
The Peach Blossom Fan by Kong Shanren is a historical drama from southern China. In prose and song, it recounts the ill-fated love affair between the
https://www.the-tls.com/literature-by-region/asian-literature/the-peach-blossom-fan-kong-shanren-more-swindles-from-the-late-ming-zhang-yingyu-book-review-frances-wood
15 days ago
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New review: the next in the planned seven-volume series, Solvej Balle's ππ π‘βπ πΆππππ’πππ‘πππ ππ ππππ’ππ (π΅πππ πΌπΌπΌ)
www.complete-review.com/reviews/dans...
β coming out in English on 18 November, appropriately enough.
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On the Calculation of Volume (Book III) - Solvej Balle
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of On the Calculation of Volume (Book III) by Solvej Balle.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/dansk/balles_OCV_III.htm
15 days ago
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Michael Jungwirth
15 days ago
Das gibt es nur in Wien. Ein groΓer Theatermacher, Claus Peymann, wird zu Grabe getragen, und das Burgtheater ehrt ihn traditionsgemÀà mit Katafalk, schwarzem Vorhang, Feuerschale
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Ron Charles
18 days ago
Judge Steven Merryday's dismissal of Trumpβs lawsuit against the NYT may be my favorite literary review of the year:
deadline.com/wp-content/u...
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https://deadline.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/gov.uscourts.flmd_.447437.5.0_1.pdf
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New review: Vicente Luis Mora's πΆπππ‘ππππ’ππππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/espa...
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Centroeuropa - Vicente Luis Mora
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Centroeuropa by Vicente Luis Mora.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/espana/moravl.htm
18 days ago
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My novel ππππππ ππ πΊπππ§ isn't exactly flying off the bookshelves (our out of the warehouse) at Amazon, but the "Customers who bought this item also bought"-trio suggests its readership is very discerning, with excellent taste.
www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/...
20 days ago
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Different times: the 1950s housewife narrating Marlen Haushofer's πΎππππππ ππ‘ππππ on spending some quality-time with her fifteen-year-old son β translating Homer, as one does.
20 days ago
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New review: Marlen Haushofer's πΎππππππ ππ‘ππππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/aust...
(Out in the US; UK ed. coming 1/2026.)
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Killing Stella - Marlen Haushofer
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Killing Stella by Marlen Haushofer.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/austria/haushoferm3.htm
20 days ago
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Katy Derbyshire
21 days ago
I π this so much. Clemens J. Setz is such a fascinating thinker:
www.theguardian.com/books/2025/s...
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To understand how AI will reconfigure humanity, try this German fairytale | Clemens J Setz
Artificial intelligence will replace creativity with something closer to magical wishing. The challenge for future generations will be dealing with the feeling of emptiness that leaves us with
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/sep/16/ai-artificial-intelligence-fairytale-fisherman?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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Pascal Quignard looks as surprised as anyone that he won this year's prix Jean Monnet de littΓ©rature europΓ©enne (beating out books by Josef Winkler and Mircea CΔrtΔrescu).
litteratures-europeennes.com/les-prix-lit...
21 days ago
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New review: Alain Mabanckou's π·ππππππ π€ππ‘β π‘βπ π·πππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/cong...
(US ed. coming out ... tomorrow; it's came out in the UK earlier this year.)
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Dealing with the Dead - Alain Mabanckou
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Dealing with the Dead by Alain Mabanckou.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/congo/mabancka8.htm
22 days ago
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New review: Yun Ko-eun's novel, π΄ππ‘ ππ πΉπππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/kore...
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Art on Fire - Yun Ko-eun
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Art on Fire by Yun Ko-eun.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/korea/yun_ko_eun2.htm
24 days ago
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In the mail: pleased to see another translation from Swahili, by
@jaybossrubin.bsky.social
β Esther Karin Mngodo's πβπ πππ‘πππ π ππ ππππ ππ£π’πππ πππ ππ‘βππ ππ‘πππππ , from
@hangingloosepress.bsky.social
www.hangingloosepress.com/book/witness...
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Witness of Nina Mvungi and Other Stories - Hanging Loose Press
Winner of the 2025 Loose Translation Award, a collaboration between CUNY Queens and Hanging Loose Press.
https://www.hangingloosepress.com/book/witness-of-nina-mvungi-and-other-stories/
24 days ago
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This is so sad
english.radio.cz/hundreds-que...
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Hundreds queue overnight in Prague for Dan Brownβs long-awaited novel
Hundreds of fans waited overnight in Prague for the release of Dan Brownβs new novel The Secret of All Secrets, a story that is partly set in the Czech capital.
https://english.radio.cz/hundreds-queue-overnight-prague-dan-browns-long-awaited-novel-8862234
24 days ago
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In the mail: nice to see Siegfried Kracauer's πΊπππ π‘ππ coming out in English translation, from
@nyrb-imprints.bsky.social
www.nyrb.com/products/gin...
(Read this and his other novel, πΊππππ, in the yellow st (
@suhrkamp.de
) editions, way back in the day.)
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Ginster
When World War I breaks out, a young architecture student in Munich does everything in his power to avoid being enlisted into the German military in this perceptive, wickedly humorous novel by a promi...
https://www.nyrb.com/products/ginster
25 days ago
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New review: Lydia Davis goes πΌππ‘π π‘βπ πππππ in the
@yalepress.bsky.social
"Why I Write"-series
www.complete-review.com/reviews/davi...
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Into the Weeds - Lydia Davis
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Into the Weeds by Lydia Davis.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/davisl/into_the_weeds.htm
26 days ago
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Longlist for (US) National Book Award for Translated Literature announced
www.nationalbook.org/2025-nationa...
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2025 National Book Awards Longlist for Translated Literature
The ten contenders for the National Book Award for Translated Literature
https://www.nationalbook.org/2025-national-book-awards-longlist-for-translated-literature/
28 days ago
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New review: Tsujihara Noboru's πππ π‘πππ π πΎπβπππ’
www.complete-review.com/reviews/japa...
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Mistress Koharu - Tsujihara Noboru
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Mistress Koharu by Tsujihara Noboru.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/japannew/tsujiharan.htm
28 days ago
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New review: πΆβππππ π πππππ ππ π πΉππππβ πΎππ¦: π»ππ€ π½π’πππ‘β πΊππ’π‘πππ'π π΅πππ ππ π½πππ πΌππ‘ππππ’πππ πΈπ’ππππ π‘π πΆβππππ π ππππ‘ππ¦, by Pauline Yu
www.complete-review.com/reviews/book...
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Chinese Songs in a French Key: How Judith Gautier's Book of Jade Introduced Europe to Chinese Poetry - Pauline Yu
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Chinese Songs in a French Key by Pauline Yu.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/books/book_of_jade.htm
about 1 month ago
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In the mail: good start to the week with a trio of arrivals, incl. Yun Ko-eun's π΄ππ‘ ππ πΉπππ, coming from
@scribepub.bsky.social
scribepublications.com/books-author...
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https://scribepublications.com/books-authors/books/art-on-fire-9781964992198
about 1 month ago
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New review: Kirino Natsuo's ππ€πππππ€π
www.complete-review.com/reviews/japa...
(Already out in the UK; coming next week to the US.)
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Swallows - Kirino Natsuo
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Swallows by Kirino Natsuo.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/japannew/kirinon5.htm
about 1 month ago
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Daniel Green
about 1 month ago
The service that hosts my blog (Typepad) is shutting down, so that on or about September 25, it seems that The Reading Experience will disappear unless I can migrate it elsewhere. I've successfully exported it, but can't decide where/ if to migrate it. Suggestions?
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Gustavo FaverΓ³n Patriau's highly-regarded πππ£ππ πππππ (2019) now available in German (from Droschl:
www.droschl.com/buch/unten-l...
). Another novel by a longtime-US-resident-LatAm-author-writing-in-Spanish that hasn't been translated into English yet. (Admirably: reviewed
@modernnovel.bsky.social
)
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Unten leben β Literaturverlag Droschl
https://www.droschl.com/buch/unten-leben/
about 1 month ago
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Don't really get why this article-worthy, but did enjoy care that that was taken in the selection of the accompanying stock images
people.com/woman-livid-...
(Seriously: WTF ?)
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Woman Livid After Finding Out Her Novelist Husband Used Their Daughterβs Name in a Book He Wrote
A mother is venting her fury after discovering that her husband got the inspiration for their daughter's name from a book he wrote. The 37-year-old confessed in a post on Reddit that she got 'a little...
https://people.com/woman-livid-husband-used-daughter-name-book-11794867
about 1 month ago
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New review: Michelle de Kretser's πβππππ¦ & πππππ‘πππ
www.complete-review.com/reviews/aust...
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Theory & Practice - Michelle de Kretser
A review, and links to other information about and reviews of Theory & Practice by Michelle de Kretser.
https://www.complete-review.com/reviews/austnz/dekretser.htm
about 1 month ago
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Amen to this headline for the
@japantimes.co.jp
review of the Qudan Rie novel
www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025...
(My review:
www.complete-review.com/reviews/japa...
)
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ChatGPT controversy is the least interesting part of 'Sympathy Tower Tokyo'
In Rie Qudanβs futuristic Tokyo, AI and architects take on the prison system.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2025/08/30/books/rie-qudan-sympathy-tower-tokyo/
about 1 month ago
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reposted by
M.A.Orthofer
Daisy Rockwell
about 1 month ago
My op-ed in the
@chicagomaroon.bsky.social
on the University of Chicagoβs appalling plans to gut the humanities and possibly eliminate the South Asian studies department
chicagomaroon.com/48353/viewpo...
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Lost in Extraterrestrial Translation
The University celebrates the success of area studies alumni, all the while erasing the programs that made those careers possible.
https://chicagomaroon.com/48353/viewpoints/op-ed/lost-in-extraterrestrial-translation/
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No helpful (or other) suggestions or recommendations, *sigh*. Settled on ππππ§ππ’ππππ‘π ππππππ π‘ππππ’ππ (
www.hanser-literaturverlage.de/en/buch/jona...
) and π·ππ π»ππππΜπππππππππ (
www.hanser-literaturverlage.de/buch/dorothe...
) for now.
add a skeleton here at some point
about 1 month ago
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Apparently Cormac McCarthy's living room. Very jealous.
about 1 month ago
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((Paywalled) article link:
www.woz.ch/path-preview...
)
add a skeleton here at some point
about 1 month ago
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