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Immanentize the Empathy

Tag: Paris Review

December 2022 Reading List

John Winkelman

This was another great month for reading, though the list is short. But such is necessarily the case for Dostoevsky December.

And this rounds out the list for the year. 120 books or journals, and 252 pieces of short prose. Not bad at all.

Books and Journals

  1. Fyodor Dostoevsky (Larissa Volokhonsky and Richard Pevear, translators), Crime and Punishment [2022.12.18]
  2. Poetry #221.3 [2022.12.19]
  3. The Paris Review #242 [2022.12.21]

Short Prose

  1. Avigayl Sharp, “Uncontrollable, Irrelevant”, The Paris Review #242 [2022.12.19]
  2. Addie E. Citchens, “A Good Samaritan”, The Paris Review #242 [2022.12.19]
  3. Mieko Kanai (Polly Barton, translator), “Tap Water”, The Paris Review #242 [2022.12.20]
  4. Sophie Madeline Dess, “Zalmanovs”, The Paris Review #242 [2022.12.21]
  5. Tom Drury, “Where Does This Live?”, The Paris Review #242 [2022.12.21]
  6. Isabella Hammad, “Gertrude”, The Paris Review #242 [2022.12.21]
  7. Lauren C. Teffeau, “Sing! & Remember”, Dreamforge #1 [2022.12.24]
  8. Jane Lindskold, “Born From Memory”, Dreamforge #1 [2022.12.24]
  9. Jean Martin, “I Am Not As Young As I Was”, Dreamforge #1 [2022.12.29]
  10. Paul Dellinger, “Con Man”, Dreamforge #1 [2022.12.29]
  11. Chris Sumberg, “Anthropomorphile”, Dreamforge #1 [2022.12.29]
  12. Scot Noel, “Walker in Leaves”, Dreamforge #1 [2022.12.29]
  13. Dr. Eric Leif Davin, “The Prophetic Vision of Stephen Vincent Benet”, Dreamforge #1 [2022.12.30]
  14. Tom Sheehan, “The Old Man Who Hid Music”, Dreamforge #1 [2022.12.30]

Merry Christmas, and All That

John Winkelman

I am typing this on my new Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 3 Chromebook, which I purchased to replace my aging ASUS Chromebook, which was good while it was good, but now is old enough that Google stopped pushing updates, and every month it was noticeably slower. Like with any new technology upgrade, it is fun and exciting for the moment, but at the end of the day it is a Chromebook, and I will use it mostly for writing, either creative work or blog posts like this one.

I picked up a couple of new books, VeloCities: Stories, and Dark Factory, both by Kathe Koja, who will be the Creative Guest of Honor at ConFusion 2023 in a few weeks.

In reading news, with Crime and Punishment completed I next finished the remaining volumes from my now-cancelled subscriptions to Poetry Magazine and The Paris Review. Now I am meandering my way through my backlog of issues of Pulphouse and Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet.

Not much to report on the writing front. My brain is mush from end-of-year burnout and also from a case of The Crud, which hit me a little over a week ago. I just bought a new fountain pen from Dryden Designs, with a fine nib. So far, I like it. We will see how the writing goes throughout the next few days.

The Year is Winding Down

John Winkelman

As we reach the midpoint of December I feel, for the 22nd year in a row, a profound sense of relief that I no longer work in retail. When the owners of a store yowl, from their expensive house in an expensive neighborhood, that the workers making barely more than minimum wage need to work both smarter AND harder, I begin to understand why the plans for home-made guillotines are proliferating across the internet.

Anyway.

Two new journal arrived at the house this week. On the left is the latest issue of The Boston Review. On the right is the latest issue of The Paris Review. Both are the last issues I will see of these publications, as I have let both subscriptions lapse. Despite my earlier misgivings I am sticking to my guns, and from now on will only purchase books intentionally, rather than subscribing to a dozen periodicals and catalogs and letting the arrivals sit unread for years at a time.

It’s also cheaper that way, which is always a concern.

In reading news, I am well over halfway through Crime and Punishment, and still expect to complete it before Christmas.

In writing news, other than journaling, I haven’t written anything since the end of November. Too many things going on all at once.

I think I am about due for another Great Simplification, the first since January of 2013. Ten years is probably slightly too long to go between Simplifications, but for the past several years I have been both happy and content, and haven’t felt the need to change things significantly. I am still happy and content, but entropy is making itself felt in several areas of my life, and in order to focus on those areas I need to let some other things in my life recede into the background.

So it goes, as always.

October 2022 Reading List

John Winkelman

This was the month I finally made it to the bottom of my stack of back issues of The Paris Review. It was a wondrous, wild ride full of some of the best writing I have experienced in my adult life, but I feel a sense of relief now that I am done.

This was also the month in which I passed 200 pieces of short prose read, which means 2022, for all its chaos and uncertainty, was a stellar year for reading.

Books and Journals

  1. The Paris Review #236 [2022.10.01]
  2. The Paris Review #237 [2022.10.04]
  3. The Paris Review #238 [2022.10.06]
  4. The Paris Review #239 [2022.10.09]
  5. The Paris Review #240 [2022.10.12]
  6. The Paris Review #241 [2022.10.13]
  7. Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #31 [2022.10.15]
  8. Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #32 [2022.10.18]
  9. Lady Churchiill’s Rosebud Wristlet #33 [2022.10.22]
  10. Marissa Lingen, Monstrous Bonds [2022.10.25]
  11. Jim Harrison, The Search for the Genuine [2022.10.28]
  12. Poetry #221.2 {2022.10.30}

Short Prose

  1. Yohanca Delgado, “The Little Widow from the Capital”, The Paris Review #236 [2022.10.01]
  2. Peyton Burgess, “A Supernatural Landscape of Love And Grief Not Unlike Your Own”, The Paris Review #236 [2022.10.01]
  3. Maxim Osipov (Boris Dralyuk, translator), “Sventa”, The Paris Review #236 [2022.10.01]
  4. Kenan Orhan, “The Beyoglu Municipality Waste Management Orchestra”, The Paris Review #237 [2022.10.02]
  5. Joy Katz, “Tennis is the Opposite of Death: A Proof”, The Paris Review #237 [2022.10.03]
  6. Vladimir Nabokov (Tatyana Gershkovich, translator), “A Monologue”, The Paris Review #237 [2022.10.03]
  7. Adania Shibli (Nora Parr, translator), “Mathematics, under Which Is Love, Whose Bed Is Language”, The Paris Review #237 [2022.10.03]
  8. Christina Wood, “A Summer Party”, The Paris Review #237 [2022.10.03]
  9. Lydia Conklin, “Rainbow Rainbow”, The Paris Review #237 [2022.10.03]
  10. Camille Bordas, “The Lottery in Almeria”, The Paris Review #237 [2022.10.04]
  11. Anuk Arudpragasam, “So Many Different Worlds”, The Paris Review #237 [2022.10.04]
  12. McKenzie, “We All Fall Down”, The Paris Review #238 [2022.10.05]
  13. Annie Baker, “Infinite Life (excerpt)”, The Paris Review #238 [2022.10.05]
  14. Caleb Crain, “Walks”, The Paris Review #238 [2022.10.06]
  15. Lawrence Jackson, “Letter from Lafayette Square”, The Paris Review #238 [2022.10.06]
  16. Chetna Maroo, “Brothers and Sisters”, The Paris Review #238 [2022.10.07]
  17. Emmanuel Carrére, “Exhaling”, The Paris Review #238 [2022.10.07]
  18. Sterling HolyWhiteMountain, “This Then Is a Song, We Are Singing”, The Paris Review #238 [2022.10.07]
  19. Lakiesha Carr, “Tomorrows,” The Paris Review #239 [2022.10.07]
  20. Will Arbery, “from Corsicana“, The Paris Review #239 [2022.10.08]
  21. Zach Williams, “Trial Run”, The Paris Review #239 [2022.10.08]
  22. Ishion Hutchinson, “Woman Sweeping”, The Paris Review #239 [2022.10.08]
  23. Kathran Scanlan, “Backsliders”, The Paris Review #239 [2022.10.09]
  24. Annie Ernaux (Alison L. Strayer, translator), “Diary, 1988”, The Paris Review #239 [2022.10.09]
  25. Paul Dalla Rosa, “I Feel It”, The Paris Review #239 [2022.10.09]
  26. Harriet Clark, “Descent”, The Paris Review #240 [2022.10.10]
  27. Esther Yi, “Moon”, The Paris Review #240 [2022.10.10]
  28. Rachel B. Glaser, “Ira & the Whale”, The Paris Review #240 [2022.10.10]
  29. Leonard Cohen, “Begin Again”, The Paris Review #240 [2022.10.10]
  30. Dan Bevacqua, “Riccardo”, The Paris Review #240 [2022.10.10]
  31. Robert Glück, “About Ed”, The Paris Review #240 [2022.10.10]
  32. Matthew Shen Goodman, “Lording”, The Paris Review #240 [2022.10.11]
  33. Darryl Pinckney, “For Snow Queens”, The Paris Review #240 [2022.10.11]
  34. Emma Cline, “Pleasant Glen”, The Paris Review #240 [2022.10.12]
  35. Nancy Lemann, “Diary of Remorse”, The Paris Review #241 [2022.10.12]
  36. Michelle de Kretser, “Winter Term”, The Paris Review #241 [2022.10.12]
  37. Sam Pink, “The Ceremony”, The Paris Review #241 [2022.10.12]
  38. Maya Binyam, “Do You Belong to Anybody?”, The Paris Review #241 [2022.10.12]
  39. Katherine Dunn, “The Education of Mrs. R.”, The Paris Review #241 [2022.10.12]
  40. Christian Kracht, “The Gold Coast”, The Paris Review #241 [2022.10.13]
  41. Jessy Randall, “You Don’t Even Have a Rabbit”, Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet #31 [2022.10.13]
  42. Goldie Goldbloom, “Never Eat Crow”, LCRW #31 [2022.10.13]
  43. Kathleen Jennings, “Skull and Hyssop”, LCRW #31 [2022.10.13]
  44. Owen King, “The Curator”, LCRW #31 [2022.10.15]
  45. Sarah Micklem, “The Necromancer of Lynka”, LCRW #31 [2022.10.15]
  46. Henry Wessells, “The Beast Unknown to Heraldry”, LCRW #32 [2022.10.16]
  47. Alyc Helms, “The Blood Carousel”, LCRW #32 [2022.10.16]
  48. Kodiak Julian, “Marrying the Sea”, LCRW #32 [2022.10.17]
  49. Joe M. McDermott, “Everything Is Haunted”, LCRW #32 [2022.10.17]
  50. Henry Lien, “The Shadow You Cast Is Me”, LCRW #32 [2022.10.17]
  51. Joanna Ruocco, “Auburn”, LCRW #32 [2022.10.17]
  52. Dylan Horrocks, “The Square of Mirrors”, LCRW #32 [2022.10.18]
  53. Nicole Kimberling, “Sleek Fat Albinos in Spring”, LCRW #32 [2022.10.18]
  54. Jade Sylvan, “Sun Circles”, LCRW #32 [2022.10.18]
  55. Carmen Maria Machado, “I Bury Myself”, LCRW #33 [2022.10.18]
  56. Christopher Brown, “Winter in the Feral City”, LCRW #33 [2022.10.18]
  57. Alena McNamara, “Starling Road”, LCRW #33 [2022.10.18]
  58. Giselle Leeb, “Ape Songs”, LCRW #33 [2022.10.18]
  59. Michelle Vider, “For Me, Seek the Sun”, LCRW #33 [2022.10.18]
  60. Deborah Walker, “Medea”, LCRW #33 [2022.10.20]
  61. D.K. McCutchen, “Jellyfish Dreaming”, LCRW #33 [2022.10.20]
  62. Sofia Samatar, “Request for an Extension on the Clarity“, LCRW #33 [2022.10.21]
  63. Nicole Kimberling, “Cook Like a Hobo”, LCRW #33 [2022.10.22]
  64. M. E. Garber, “Putting Down Roots”, LCRW #33 [2022.10.22]
  65. Eric Gregory, “The March Wind”, LCRW #33 [2022.10.22]
  66. Marissa Lingen, “Shrapnel From My Cousin’s Kaiju Battle: $229 Plus Shipping”, Monstrous Bonds [2022.10.25]
  67. Marissa Lingen, “Accountable Monsters”, Monstrous Bonds [2022.10.25]
  68. Marissa Lingen, “The River Horse Who Almost Ate Me, And His Lawyer”, Monstrous Bonds [2022.10.25]
  69. Marissa Lingen, “The Swarm of Giant Gnats I Sent After Kent, My Assistant Manager”, Monstrous Bonds [2022.10.25]
  70. Marissa Lingen, “After the Monster”, Monstrous Bonds [2022.10.25]

Still Kinda Cold Out

John Winkelman

Rumor has it that this winter will be long and cold, thanks to a weaker El Nino system out west. It isn’t apparent at the moment, as this whole week, the middle of October, was in the sixties and seventies during the day, with one night warm enough to sleep with the bedroom window open a crack. Still, even in the sunniest of afternoons, standing in the shadows reminds me that the days are indeed shorter than the nights.

Several new books arrived at the house in the past week.

First up is Planet On3, recently released by superb artist (and my good friend!) Ryan Lee.  He has been working on it for some time, and the character designs go back to doodles he has been working on for many years, so I am overjoyed to see this book in print.

Next is Look Again: A Memoir, by Elizabeth A. Trembley. I met Trembley years ago at at the informal open studio hosted by poet Jack Ridl. When Caffeinated Press was still around, I published some of her artwork in The 3288 Review. I knew she was drawing comics, but we fell out of touch and I didn’t know she was working on a book until Jack announced that Look Again had just been released.

Next is the new issue of Salvage which will join the small stack of unread issues which I will get to probably sometime in the spring of 2023.

Next, fresh from a successful Kickstarter campaign, is That Which Cannot Be Undone: An Ohio Horror Anthology, which arrived just in time for the Halloween season.

In reading news, at long last I have reached the end of my stack of The Paris Review. As I mentioned last week, reading so much literature in a compressed time-span can lead to some interesting coincidences. The most recent instance was with issue #239, which contained an excerpt from the journals of Annie Ernaux, who just won the Nobel Prize in Literature.

I had never before read Ernaux, and indeed was barely aware of her existence before the Nobel, so to read these journal entries (which were exquisite, by the way, and exquisitely translated from the French by Alison L. Strayer) so recently after having heard of her Nobel win, felt kind of like the universe was telling me something; like I was, to crib from John Constantine, riding the synchronicity highway.

Relatedly, Ernaux’s journal excerpts, which I believe were pulled from her book Getting Lost, reminded me of Emmanuelle Pagano‘s beautiful Trysting, which I read several years ago.

Now that I am done with The Paris Review (barring a possible last issue which might appear at the end of the year), I have moved on to my small stack of Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, a small magazine of genre fiction published by Small Beer Press. So far, a couple of issues in, the stories and poems are delightful! I might even renew my subscription to LCRW after I clean out my back-log of other unread periodicals.

In writing news, NaNoWriMo looms on the horizon, and I have yet to complete, or even seriously start, my preliminary notes. The next two weeks will pass quickly.

 

Kinda Cold Out

John Winkelman

Woke up one morning, and there was frost on the porch roof and the windshields of nearby cars. That hasn’t happened in a while.

This was an excellent week for the acquisition of books, and Pepper would like to share with you this list.

First up, from my soon-to-end subscription to Two Lines Press, is João Gilberto Noll‘s Hugs and Cuddles, which looks like it will be a great read.

Next is Marissa Lingen‘s chapbook of short stories, Monstrous Bonds. I met Marissa at ConFusion back in 2015, and have enjoyed her fiction, poetry and book reviews for several years.

Next is Duncan Hannah‘s memoir 20th Century Boy. As I wrote back in August, I had not heard of Hannah until reading excerpts from this book in The Paris Review, and when I searched for more info discovered that he had died this past June. How’s that for timing?

Next is Jim C. Hines‘ newest entry in the Janitors of the Post-Apocalypse series, Terminal Peace. I see Jim every year at ConFusion, so I hope to run into him again and, with a little luck, get this book signed.

Last but not least, and fresh from a successful Kickstarter campaign, is Michael J. Sullivan‘s Fairlane, the sequel to Nolyn and the second book of the Rise and Fall series.

In reading news, I have two more issues of The Paris Review left on my stack, and should be finished with them in short order.

In writing news, I have completed nothing cohesive, but am making good progress on the worldbuilding for my NaNoWriMo project. So even if I don’t write 50,000 words in November, I will have a good base to finish the book, no matter how long it takes.

September 2022 Reading List

John Winkelman

Despite the craziness of my schedule, this was a pretty good month for reading. I passed 100 volumes read for the year, and 150 pieces of short prose. I have even managed to retain most of what I have read, which is a bonus.

Books and Journals

  1. Mario Levrero, Empty Words [2022.09.04]
  2. The Paris Review #230 [2022.09.06]
  3. The Paris Review #231 [2022.09.11]
  4. T L Greylock and Bryce O’Connor, Shadows of Ivory [2022.09.13]
  5. Sara M. Harvey, The Convent of the Pure [2022.09.16]
  6. The Paris Review #232 [2022.09.16]
  7. Sara M. Harvey, Labyrinth of the Dead [2022.09.16]
  8. Marguerite Duras (Kazim Ali, translator), Abahn Sabana David [2022.09.18]
  9. The Paris Review #233 [2022.09.21]
  10. The Paris Review #234 [2022.09.25]
  11. The Paris Review #235 [2022.09.29]
  12. Poetry #221.1, October 2022 [2022.09.29]

Short Prose

  1. Anuk Arudpragasam, “Last Rites”, The Paris Review #230 [2022.09.01]
  2. Diane Williams, “Garden Magic”, The Paris Review #230 [2022.09.02]
  3. Leigh Newman, “Howl Palace”, The Paris Review #230 [2022.09.02]
  4. William Styron, “From an Unfinished Novel”, The Paris Review #230 [2022.09.03]
  5. Olivia Clare, “Women and Men Made of Them”, The Paris Review #230 [2022.09.05]
  6. Matthew Baker, “Why Visit America”, The Paris Review #230 [2022.09.06]
  7. Emma Cline, “The Nanny”, The Paris Review #231 [2022.09.06]
  8. Willa C. Richards, “Failure to Thrive”, The Paris Review #231 [2022.09.07]
  9. Fernanda Melchor (Sophie Hughes, translator), “They Called Her the Witch”, The Paris Review #231 [2022.09.09]
  10. Kathryn Scanlan, “Yet You Turn to the Man”, The Paris Review #231 [2022.09.11]
  11. Taylor Koekkoek, “Dirtnap”, The Paris Review #231 [2022.09.11]
  12. Molly McCully Brown, “If You Are Permanently Lost”, The Paris Review #231 [2022.09.11]
  13. Clare Sestanovich, “By Design”, The Paris Review #232 [2022.09.12]
  14. Beth Nguyen, “Apparent”, The Paris Review #232 [2022.09.13]
  15. Jesse Ball, “Diary of a Country Mouse”, The Paris Review #232 [2022.09.13]
  16. Senaa Ahmad, “Let’s Play Dead”, The Paris Review #232 [2022.09.14]
  17. Rebecca Makkai, “A Story for Your Daughters, a Story for Your Sons”, The Paris Review #232 [2022.09.15]
  18. Ashleigh Bryant Phillips, “An Unspoken”, The Paris Review #232 [2022.09.15]
  19. Andrew Martin, “Childhood, Boyhood, Youth”, The Paris Review #232 [2022.09.16]
  20. Sarah Manguso, “Perfection”, The Paris Review #233 [2022.09.16]
  21. Emily Hunt Kivel, “The Juggler’s Wife”, The Paris Review #233 [2022.09.19]
  22. Ottessa Moshfegh, “I Was A Public Schooler”, The Paris Review #233 [2022.09.21]
  23. Jamel Brinkley, “Witness”, The Paris Review #233 [2022.09.21]
  24. Amy Silverberg, “The Duplex”, The Paris Review #233 [2022.09.21]
  25. Rabih Alameddine, “The July War”, The Paris Review #234 [2022.09.21]
  26. Shirley Hazzard, “An Unpublished Story”, The Paris Review #234 [2022.09.22]
  27. Shanteka Sigers, “A Way with Bea”, The Paris Review #234 [2022.09.22]
  28. Eloghosa Osunde, “Good Boy”, The Paris Review #234 [2022.09.24]
  29. Thomas McGuane, “Slant Six”, The Paris Review #234 [2022.09.25]
  30. Ayşegül Savaş, “Layover”, The Paris Review #234 [2022.09.25]
  31. Lydia Davis, “Six Stories”, The Paris Review #234 [2022.09.25]
  32. Patrick Barrett, “Saint Cuthbert’s Incorruptible Body”, The Paris Review #234 [2022.09.25]
  33. György Dragomán (Ottilie Mulzet, translator), “The Puppet Theater”, The Paris Review #235 [2022.09.26]
  34. Dantiel W. Moniz, “The Loss of Heaven”, The Paris Review #235 [2022.09.26]
  35. Melissa Febos, “The Mirror Test”, The Paris Review #235 [2022.09.26]
  36. Jack Livings, “River Crossing”, The Paris Review #235 [2022.09.29]
  37. Anthony Veasna So, “Maly, Maly, Maly”, The Paris Review #236 [2022.09.30]
  38. Mary Kuryla, “Hive”, The Paris Review #236 [2022.09.30]
  39. John Jeremiah Sullivan, “Uhtceare”, The Paris Revew #236 [2022.09.30]

So This is What Fall Feels Like

John Winkelman

A few days ago, after weeks of teasing, the first autumnal weather arrived here in West Michigan, heralded by rain and an abrupt drop in humidity which made the inside of my head feel like as gray and chaotic as the skies outside. While there have been summers with hotter specific days, and periods of higher humidity, I don’t remember experiencing, subjectively, such a long-lasting, uncomfortably hot-and-sticky summer as was Summer 2022.

Then again, maybe I am just getting old. I love summer, but I am ready for fall to do its thing.

The only new reading material to arrive in the past week was the latest issue of Boston Review, subtitled “The Politics of Pleasure,” which I anticipate will be a great read.

In reading news, I am concentrating on my pile of Paris Review back issues until that pile is gone. Switching between genre fiction, heavy philosophy, and literary fiction in rapid succession was doing no favors to any of these books. So Paris Review it is until I get to the end. As of today I am near the end of the Fall 2020 issue (#234) and should reach the end in short order.

And in writing news, still not much to report though I have done considerable world-building in my head. I just haven’t yet put it to paper or pixel.

August 2022 Reading List

John Winkelman

Things were kind of slow in August, reading-wise, due to a surge in burnout at the beginning of the month, and other assorted drains on my energy and attention span. I did make it through a few more issues of The Paris Review, and some interesting genre fiction as well.

Book and Journals

  1. Jennifer Pelland, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.02]
  2. The Paris Review #225 [2022.08.10]
  3. J.M. McDermott, Maze [2022.08.12]
  4. The Paris Review #226 [2022.08.18]
  5. The Paris Review #227 [2022.08.23]
  6. The Paris Review #228 [2022.08.28]
  7. Poetry Magazine #220.5 [2022.08.29]
  8. The Paris Review #229 [2022.08.31]

Short Prose

  1. Jennifer Pelland, “For the Plague Thereof Was Exceedingly Great”, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.01]
  2. Jennifer Pelland, “Big Sister/Little Sister”, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.01]
  3. Jennifer Pelland, “Immortal Sin”, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.01]
  4. Jennifer Pelland, “Flood”, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.01]
  5. Jennifer Pelland, “The Call”, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.01]
  6. Jennifer Pelland, “Captive Girl”, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.01]
  7. Jennifer Pelland, “Last Bus”, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.01]
  8. Jennifer Pelland, “The Last Stand of the Elephant Man”, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.01]
  9. Jennifer Pelland, “Songs of Lament”, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.02]
  10. Jennifer Pelland, “Firebird”, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.02]
  11. Jennifer Pelland, “Brushstrokes”, Unwelcome Bodies [2022.08.02]
  12. Wayétu Moore, “Gbessa”, The Paris Review #225 [2022.08.02]
  13. Ben Marcus, “Notes from the Fog”, The Paris Review #225 [2022.08.02]
  14. Katharine Kilalea, “OK, Mr. Field Part 3 (Winter)”, The Paris Review #225 [2022.08.08]
  15. Shruti Swamy, “A House Is a Body”, The Paris Review #225 [2022.08.09]
  16. Benjamin Nugent, “Safe Spaces”, The Paris Review #225 [2022.08.09]
  17. Ursula K. Le Guin, “Firelight”, The Paris Review #225 [2022.08.10]
  18. Rachel Khong, “The Freshening”, The Paris Review #226 [2022.08.11]
  19. Mitchell S. Jackson, “Exodus”, The Paris Review #226 [2022.08.13]
  20. Nell Freudenberger, “Rabbits”, The Paris Review #226 [2022.08.15]
  21. Diane Williams, “O Fortuna, Velut Luna”, The Paris Review #226 [2022.08.17]
  22. Venita Blackburn, “Fam”, The Paris Review #226 [2022.08.18]
  23. Pilar Fraile Amador (Heather D. Davis, translator), “Partners”, The Paris Review #226 [2022.08.18]
  24. Mary Miller, “Festival”, The Paris Review #226 [2022.08.18]
  25. Lincoln Michel, “A Feeling Artist”, The Paris Review #227 [2022.08.19]
  26. Leslie Jamison, “I Met Fear on the Hill”, The Paris Review #227 [2022.08.19]
  27. Ludmilla Petrushevskaya (Anna Friedrich, translator), “Two Sisters”, The Paris Review #227 [2022.08.22]
  28. Hernan Diaz, “The Stay”, The Paris Review #227 [2022.08.22]
  29. Kelli Jo Ford, “Hybrid Vigor”, The Paris Review #227 [2022.08.23]
  30. Peter Orner, “Ineffectual Tribute to Len”, The Paris Review #228 [2022.08.24]
  31. Isaac Bashevis Singer, “The Murderer”, The Paris Review #228 [2022.08.24]
  32. Kate Zambreno, “Four Stories”, The Paris Review #228 [2022.08.27]
  33. J. Jezewska Stevens, “Honeymoon”, The Paris Review #228 [2022.08.27]
  34. Hebe Uhart, “Coordination”, The Paris Review #228 [2022.08.27]
  35. Souvankham Thammavongsa, “The Gas Station”, The Paris Review #228 [2022.08.28]
  36. Nick Fuller Googins, “The Doors”, The Paris Review #228 [2022.08.28]
  37. Jonathan Escoffery, “Under the Ackee Tree”, The Paris Review #229 [2022.08.30]
  38. Kimberly King Parsons, “Foxes”, The Paris Review #229 [2022.08.30]
  39. Laura van den Berg, “Karolina”, The Paris Review #229 [2022.08.30]
  40. Lydia Davis, “Revising One Sentence”, The Paris Review #229 [2022.08.30]

The Weight of Shorter Days

John Winkelman

Now that I am walking to work again I notice how the length of daylight changes from day to day. This is measured by how long my shadow stretches on the ground ahead of me – and it is always ahead of me, as I walk west to work in the morning, and east back home in the afternoon. Here, almost two months after midsummer, the days are noticeably shorter every week and 17:00 no longer feels like the middle of the afternoon. In another month the nights will be longer than the days, which in theory means more time for sitting around and reading, but since I no longer spend all of my free daylight time on the trails and at the beach, I don’t expect much of anything will change.

First up is Age of Antiquity, a d20 RPG supplement from a Kickstarter I backed in June of 2020. The printing and fulfillment process immediately fell afoul of the COVID-19 lockdowns and supply chain disruption, but the team persevered and finally, almost 18 months after the original fulfillment date, I have the book in my hands, and it is beautiful. This is also something of a relic of the beginning of the lockdown in 2020, when I thought I would have time to indulge in playing some RPGs, or at least reading manuals and designing adventures. That, of course, turned out to NOT be the case, but I do have several beautiful d20 rulebooks which I otherwise would never have considered.

Next is issue 18 of Pulphouse Fiction Magazine, which was a pleasant surprise as I thought I had let my subscription lapse. Apparently there are still a couple more issues to go before I am done with this one.

In reading news, my Paris Review project continues apace. I am caught up to Winter 2019, and have about fifteen issues left, which should last me through November. Then on to something else. Maybe Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet.

I am also slowly working my way through Michael Marder’s Political Categories. I am taking this one slow, as I want to be able to discuss the concepts therein with my reading group when we eventually meet. This is not to say that I don’t retain what I read generally, but this one in particular I am treating as a class assignment for a teacher with high expectations.