Sublime
An inspiration engine for ideas
“Easiest job in America,” we were told.
Julie Otsuka • The Buddha in the Attic
Trout’s story reminds me of the time my late great-aunt Emma Vonnegut said she hated the Chinese. Her late son-in-law Kerfuit Stewart, who used to own Stewart’s Book Store in Louisville, Kentucky, admonished her that it was wicked to hate that many people all at once.
Kurt Vonnegut • Timequake
Father grinned and winked at his visitor. Joe Kane decided that the man who confronted him was mildly insane but harmless.
Paul Negri • Great Short Short Stories: Quick Reads by Great Writers: Willa Cather, Stephen Crane, Daniel Defoe, Thomas Hardy, Franz Kafka, Rudyard Kipling, Jack London, ... more (Dover Thrift Editions: Short Stories)
truculent
Richard Powers • The Overstory: A Novel
Tell the Truth
Jeffrey Zaslow • The Last Lecture
As Ben Wofford recounts in an engaging Rolling Stone profile, Schlappig, who was twenty-five at the time, “is one of the biggest stars among an elite group of obsessive flyers whose mission is to outwit the airlines. They’re self-styled competitors with a singular objective: fly for free, as much as they can, without getting caught.”
James K. A. Smith • On the Road with Saint Augustine: A Real-World Spirituality for Restless Hearts
He’s Sih Hsuin Ma now—his old self turned inside out, like a jaunty, reversible jacket.
Richard Powers • The Overstory: A Novel
In 2020, Avital Balwit had won a Rhodes Scholarship and turned it down, first to run Carrick Flynn’s congressional campaign and then to give away FTX’s money.