Monthly Archives: April 2026

I guess it was almost two months ago now that we did this absolutely wonderful Zoom bookclub with some IC alumni, reading Sense and Sensibility together. For me it was an especially fantastic experience, because I was leading it with my dear colleague Hugh Egan, and we would meet up beforehand to have our ownContinueContinue reading “Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen and Emma Thompson”

My friend Deidre recommended this to me, and it really is extraordinary. Chanel Miller writes so beautifully, and weaves a narrative so skillfully, it’s truly a marvel. She tells the story of her experiences as a defendant in a sexual assault trial — a process that spanned over a year, two if you count theContinueContinue reading “Know My Name, Chanel Miller”

This isn’t a book or movie review, but I just wrote it out as a facebook post and felt like I dunno, I needed to put it somewhere else too. I happened to be looking at the Reed magazine online and found, to my utter dismay, an obituary for one of my favorite professors. IContinueContinue reading “In memoriam, Roger Porter”

I read this on the train yesterday with great pleasure. An understated story about a 75 year old Nigerian woman, a retired English professor, living in the Bay Area and confronting the encroaching limits of her independence. It’s unexpectedly panoramic, weaving in brief asides from neighbors, friends, passersby that give you glimpses of their variousContinueContinue reading “Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun, Sarah Ladipo Manyika”