This Boy’s Life is a memoir written by short-story writer Tobias Wolff. I stumbled upon a recommendation for the book somewhere, though I can’t recall the precise source, and was intrigued enough to purchase it. A boy in the late 1950s United States lives alone with his mother after her divorce. They frequently move from… Read more: Tobias Wolff – This Boy’s Life

I wrote earlier that I love rare facts. Uncommon Knowledge is published by The Economist, edited by Tom Standage, editor by The Economist. The book consists of short essays of no more than two pages, each zooming in on an unexpected fact. The essays are well written and mostly indeed surprising. For example: Swaziland is… Read more: Surprising Facts from ‘Uncommon Knowledge’ by The Economist

I read this interesting article in Wired about Sayaka Murata, author of, amongst ithers, ‘Convenience Store Woman’ (Buurtsupermens in Dutch) and ‘Earthlings’. Fascinating writer. Brilliant. Murata critically examines societal norms, around work, conformity, and marginalization in Japanese society. ‘Convenience Store Woman’ and ‘Earthlings’ explore characters who struggle to fit into conventional social expectations, offering dark,… Read more: Sayaka Murata in Wired

Ik vond een tijdje geleden al Figuranten van Arnon Grunberg, op Terschelling bij de leuke tweedehands boekwinkel De Boekenboer op Terschelling. De eigenaresse is zelf een schrijfster, lees ik in het krantje uit 2022 dat is uitgegeven ter ere van het 25 jarig bestaan van De Boekenboer. Ze is de dochter van de oorspronkelijke oprichter… Read more: Figuranten – Arnon Grunberg

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata is a wonderfully weird book. Sayaka Murata wrote Convenience Store Woman, which I wrote about a few days ago. Earthlings is another book about people who can not or do not want to fit in. Natsuki, about ten years old, has declared herself a fairy. Her cuddly Pyuut is from the… Read more: Earthlings – Sayaka Murata

I’m currently into Japanese novels (Convenience Store Woman, The Key, Days At The Moorisaki Bookshop and others). Here’s another one: Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. In a small coffee house in Hakodate, guests can choose to sit at a specific table, usually occupied by a ghost – a man in a suit reading… Read more: Before Your Memory Fades – Toshikazu Kawaguchi

After immensely enjoying The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry, I picked up a copy of another book of Gabrielle Zevin, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Two nerds, Sam and Sadie, meet each other during their free childhood when Sam is in the hospital for a long time with a broken foot. Sadie visits him… Read more: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow – Gabrielle Zevin

Stumbled upon at Broese in Utrecht (very nice bookshop, has a small section Dutch authors in translation; nice gift for friends from abroad). A.J. Fikry is a lonely 40-year-old bookseller. He runs a bookstore on Alice Island. His wife has recently passed away, and he is struggling to find direction in his life. When an… Read more: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry – Gabrielle Zevin