The first was Harry Potter. The last (up to now, at least—always on the lookout!) was Elena Ferrante.

Indeed, it could always be worse!

There was a fascinating series of Freakonomics episodes about whaling (and Moby Dick) recently: https://freakonomics.com/podcast-tag/everything-you-never-knew-about-whaling/

I still can’t figure out if I totally buy into the literary critic’s analysis of the book. But wow, whaling sounds like a sh*tshow. I’ve never in my life thought so much about whaling as when these podcasts were released 🤣

I’m just asking for a new Kindle. Mine is over 10 yrs old, and I’m soooo looking forward to an upgrade!

Never Let Me Go was such a disaster. I tried Remains of the Day, but I didn’t get far bc I was still mad about Never Let Me Go…

The narrator in an audiobook I listened to recently pronounced the “t” in “valet.” 🙈🙈

A Gentleman in Moscow. There was so much hype around it, so my expectations were really high. And that made the whole thing even more disappointing. It was the shallowest, least interesting, most unrealistic “historical” novel I’ve ever read.

A Gentleman in Moscow. There was so much hype around it, so my expectations were really high. And that made the whole thing even more disappointing. It was the shallowest, least interesting, most unrealistic “historical” novel I’ve ever read.

Thanks for sharing this. I love the Brontes’ books but just can’t seem to find my pace with Austen. Charlotte articulates the challenge beautifully (as usual).

Harry Potter