Matthew, you have one of the most expansive of reading lists. I learn so much about the books I haven't read (I'm mostly a reader of poetry, nonfiction, memoir, and biography). So thank you!
I’m very sorry to hear about the vile comments in private. That’s cowardly. It’s hard, frankly, to roll out the welcome mat to late-comers to the anti-Trump movement. A lot of people have been hurt by Trump- and MAGA culture, which produced him, not the other way around. And those lot of people had been shouting from the rooftops, smashing the fire alarms, semaphoring to all the ships at sea, and riding from village to village to warn of the immense danger this man represents, not just to civility, but to government and democracy itself. It’s hard.
Matt, as ever your generosity shines through. Thank you so much for not one but two extremely kind mentions for our humble offerings. Take care my friend.
Matthew, firstly I feel saddened by the fact that you have had to read any hateful messages regarding your last essay. I found to be quite literally gut wrenching in its honesty as well as blatantly obvious regarding the message you were sending... good grief, we are all human, and to be capable of finding faith that past errors are simply that in another shows not only empathy but a deep humanity too. I am truly sorry, I guess there will always be those that are less forgiving...
Thank you so much for your generous spirit in sharing my last essay. And thank you again for recommending The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert which I have been hesitating over buying for ages! It is now on my 'definitely' list!
Oh gosh Matthew. I had wondered what kind of backlash you may have received. Just because. Because it seems, so many people cannot help themselves in poking a knife! Why? I just don't get it. I hope they feel better and fade back into their irrelevant, unimportant caves. I never commented as I'm not from the US, but as a human, I so appreciated your honesty.
Love your post today. So much to value there. I really love the sound of Theo of Golden!
"The Sixth Extinction" and "James" - both reads for me in the past couple of years. The first, a fascinating read where I learned and thought of the current world and its inhabitants differently. The second, a book I enjoyed but thought it over-hyped. By that I mean, I think there was social pressure to make it be a companion to "Adventures of Huck Finn" instead of allowing the book to stand as its own voice and representative of a life from a black writer's voice. Everett wrote a good book, but its existence feels a bit diminished because its social comparison is to a book written a century earlier.
There is so much good stuff in these Commonplace posts! I just ordered Theo of Golden. I have had Master and Margarita and The Sixth Extinction on my shelf for a while. I’m bump those up on my TBR pile. Thank you Matthew!
I am back here, after being rather shaken by the previous piece, but I want to keep an open heart, heart at peace. I am still struggling to understand your voting choice but I do want to understand you, as I think you are good person. So I will keep reading. I do hope have seen my comment in the previous post as a civil one, coming from the wish for alignment and understanding between two humans who do not necessarily agree, but can still communicate.
I read Lathe of Heaven last year and while it’s not my favorite LeGuin, it’s a book that’s lingered and that I find myself thinking about now and then —and telling people about.
Matthew, you have one of the most expansive of reading lists. I learn so much about the books I haven't read (I'm mostly a reader of poetry, nonfiction, memoir, and biography). So thank you!
I’m very sorry to hear about the vile comments in private. That’s cowardly. It’s hard, frankly, to roll out the welcome mat to late-comers to the anti-Trump movement. A lot of people have been hurt by Trump- and MAGA culture, which produced him, not the other way around. And those lot of people had been shouting from the rooftops, smashing the fire alarms, semaphoring to all the ships at sea, and riding from village to village to warn of the immense danger this man represents, not just to civility, but to government and democracy itself. It’s hard.
Thanks for the mention
Very kind of you
Thank you Matthew, that's kind and greatly appreciated.
I love this piece on slow reading. Thank you for the share.
Matt, as ever your generosity shines through. Thank you so much for not one but two extremely kind mentions for our humble offerings. Take care my friend.
Matthew, firstly I feel saddened by the fact that you have had to read any hateful messages regarding your last essay. I found to be quite literally gut wrenching in its honesty as well as blatantly obvious regarding the message you were sending... good grief, we are all human, and to be capable of finding faith that past errors are simply that in another shows not only empathy but a deep humanity too. I am truly sorry, I guess there will always be those that are less forgiving...
Thank you so much for your generous spirit in sharing my last essay. And thank you again for recommending The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History by Elizabeth Kolbert which I have been hesitating over buying for ages! It is now on my 'definitely' list!
You have great recs. excited to try out Jazz on the Beach! Thanks.
Oh gosh Matthew. I had wondered what kind of backlash you may have received. Just because. Because it seems, so many people cannot help themselves in poking a knife! Why? I just don't get it. I hope they feel better and fade back into their irrelevant, unimportant caves. I never commented as I'm not from the US, but as a human, I so appreciated your honesty.
Love your post today. So much to value there. I really love the sound of Theo of Golden!
"The Sixth Extinction" and "James" - both reads for me in the past couple of years. The first, a fascinating read where I learned and thought of the current world and its inhabitants differently. The second, a book I enjoyed but thought it over-hyped. By that I mean, I think there was social pressure to make it be a companion to "Adventures of Huck Finn" instead of allowing the book to stand as its own voice and representative of a life from a black writer's voice. Everett wrote a good book, but its existence feels a bit diminished because its social comparison is to a book written a century earlier.
There is so much good stuff in these Commonplace posts! I just ordered Theo of Golden. I have had Master and Margarita and The Sixth Extinction on my shelf for a while. I’m bump those up on my TBR pile. Thank you Matthew!
So many good reads!
Lots of good stuff here, obviously. I’m only commenting to express my fondness for The Magpie.
How I loved Theo of Golden and the brilliant writing of first-time author
I am back here, after being rather shaken by the previous piece, but I want to keep an open heart, heart at peace. I am still struggling to understand your voting choice but I do want to understand you, as I think you are good person. So I will keep reading. I do hope have seen my comment in the previous post as a civil one, coming from the wish for alignment and understanding between two humans who do not necessarily agree, but can still communicate.
Theo of Golden sounds like my kind of story.
I read Lathe of Heaven last year and while it’s not my favorite LeGuin, it’s a book that’s lingered and that I find myself thinking about now and then —and telling people about.