Classics Considered

I’m supposed to be doing other things this morning, but I was feeling rebellious and decided to write a blog note since it has been far too long.

I have my nose in a bunch of different books right now and enjoying all of them. My focus this week is Waiting for the Fear by Oguz Atay, a series of Turkish short stories from the 1970s. Atay is kind of like Kafka (for once, the comparison rings true!) but he is also his own unique blend of humour, paranoia, and social critique. I also picked up The Art of Disagreeing by Pastor Gavin Ortlund, which is a tiny book with big tips for staying sane (and civil) in these contentious times.

In a couple days, my review of Mrs Bridge will be going live on YouTube. I adored this novel—a mid-century, slice-of-life story about a woman who has everything in life, yet is missing something important – something beyond wealth, comfort, and prestige. It was simple yet exquisite. It’s inspired me to start writing again, too.

In other news, I rebooted my bookstagram account (@marianhreads) and started a Substack blog, which is an empty husk at the moment but hopefully full of good things to come.

I don’t plan to quit WordPress but rather to expand my “platforms” to reach more people. What I was thinking of doing is reposting some of my best/favorite reviews on Substack, and maybe some new posts as well. In other words, there will be significant overlap with this WP blog, so don’t feel like you have to follow both (though more subscribers on Substack are of course highly welcome :)).

Since blogging has fallen by the wayside, and I have been feeling I need to write more, I might try to adopt some kind of loose posting schedule. At least once a week would be a good start!