I'm currently reading When the Museum is Closed by Emi Yagi; translated by Yuki Tejima. Rika is hired to speak Latin with a statue of Venus. They fall in love. "There she stood. A goddess. In the octagonal room nimbly curving her full figure." Out in January from Soft Skull Press.

Saturday evening.

Pink!

Celery stalking on Pine Street.

The current NYRBWomen25 read together is Machines in the Head: Selected Stories by Anna Kavan. "Palace of Sleep" First sentence: "The wind was blowing like mad in the hospital garden." #NYRBWomen25

#ClipOfTheDay: “When the time of your life is a time of earthquakes.” In this PBS NewsHour interview, Arthur Sze reads from his latest collection, Into the Hush, and talks about his life and work. Sze has been named the twenty-fifth poet laureate of the United States. at.pw.org/SzeNewsHour

We don’t want thunder; we want rum

Coming in January from Sara Levine the author of Treasure Island!!! The Hitch about a woman who tries to exorcise the spirit of a dead corgi from her young nephew.

I'm absolutely thrilled that Arthur Sze is the new U.S. Poet Laureate!

László lounging in the sun.

Sunday evening.

Out on Tuesday September 16th Pickles, Illustrated!

Sunday morning.

Today's most excellent book mail! The Wax Child by Olga Ravn; translated by Martin Aitken. "I am a child shaped in beeswax. I am made like a doll the size of a human forearm. They have given me hair and fingernail parings from the person who is to suffer." Out from New Directions on 9.30.

🎉 Announcing the 2025 @nationalbook.bsky.social Fiction Longlist! Congratulations to all and a mighty high five to the judges for all their hard work! Titles are in alt text.

🎉 Announcing the 2025 @nationalbook.bsky.social Longlist in Nonfiction! Congratulations to all and a high five to the judges for all their hard work! Titles are in alt text.

🎉 Announcing the 2025 @nationalbook.bsky.social Longlist in Poetry. Congratulations to all! Titles are in alt text.

Tuesday evening.

Looking for a great nonfiction read? Here are two books out today that I highly recommend! Dark Renaissance - Marlowe! Living in the Present with John Prine- a big hearted celebration of Tom Piazza's friendship with the legendary musician John Prine.

🎉🍾Congratulations to @jasondiamond.bsky.social on his excellent debut novel Kaplan's Plot! A big hearted Chicago novel of mothers, sons, family, and long buried secrets. Stop by your local independent bookstore/neighborhood library and treat yourself to one of my favorite books of 2025!

🎉📚Announcing the finalists for the 2025 @nationalbook.bsky.social in Translated Literature! Congratulations to all and a mighty high five to the judges! Titles are in alt text.

Sunday evening.

Sunday lunchtime With My Dear You: Stories by Rachel Khong. I'm absolutely loving this collection! Forthcoming from @aaknopf.bsky.social in April 2026.

Saturday evening.

Saturday galley mail! All are landing in early 2026. Titles are in alt text.

Congratulations to George Saunders recipient of the 2025 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters! @nationalbook.bsky.social

Wednesday galley mail! A copy of Coyote: The Dramatic Lives of Sam Shepard coming from @scribnerbooks.bsky.social on November 4.

Next summer!

Now up in the @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social women read together The Stone Door by Leonora Carrington.

Onto September! A short story a day. Featuring stories from these collections and a few others. Titles are in alt text.

My Sunday evening walk to the bus stop was made immensely better because a bunny hopped across my path! Sorry no bunny photo just sky and a tree.

Weekends long, short, or nonexistent are perfect for short stories! Check out a few recent collections that I recommend. Titles are in alt text. islandbooks.com/book/9780812...

Pigeon pal.

Sunday morning.

Saturday evening.

Saturday lunchtime reading with Fear Less by Tracy K. Smith. In the first chapter Smith talks about using poetry to connect with people of different backgrounds across the United States. Part of the @wwnorton.com Shorts series Fear Less is out November 18. islandbooks.com/book/9781324...

A rave for two forthcoming books from New Directions! In Unfit a mother has lost custody of her two children dark and unforgettable! In On the Calculation of V. III Tara meets others who are stuck on November 18. If you haven't read the previous two pick them up! islandbooks.com/book/9780811...

Two absolute legends!

🎉 Announcing the finalists for the 2025 Kirkus Award! Congratulations to all! 🎉

🎉 The Kirkus Prize longlist will be announced tomorrow!

Lunchtime reading with The Autobiography of H. Lan Thao Lam by Lana Lin forthcoming from @dorothyproject.bsky.social next month. islandbooks.com/book/9781948...

Tuesday morning.

Hot! Hot! Hot! Monday evening.

Lunchtime reading with God and Sex by Jon Raymond. A climate disaster, an affair, and a deal with God are the focus in this twisty novel about a spiritual writer named Arthur Zinn. Highly recommended! islandbooks.com/book/9781668...

One week until #spinsterseptember!

Lunchtime reading with Things that Disappear by Jenny Erpenbeck; translated by Kurt Beals. I'm really enjoying this collection of short essays. Due out in October from New Directions.

I am but ill qualified

László on Sunday.

Lunchtime reading with All That Dies in April by Mariana Travacio; translated by Will Morningstar and Samantha Schee. out in September from @worldedbooks.bsky.social. #WITMonth