The Word as Bait
wordasbait.bsky.social
The Word as Bait
@wordasbait.bsky.social
A slow reader trudging his way through great world literature.
Reposted by The Word as Bait
This week @bibliopaul.bsky.social and I are joined by translator Max Lawton to celebrate the release of Michael Lenz’s Schattenfroh from @deepvellum.bsky.social. We also open the conversation to a wider theme: the joy of reading books that resist. mookse.substack.com/p/episode-11...
Episode 114: Through a Glass, Darkly: Entering Schattenfroh and Other Books that Refuse to Yield at Once
This week we are joined by translator Max Lawton to celebrate the release of Michael Lenz’s Schattenfroh from Deep Vellum.
mookse.substack.com
September 4, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Reposted by The Word as Bait
To those who are going to read Schattenfroh when it's published in a month. I encourage you to use my visual guide, but it is not a good idea to go through it before you start reading the book. Consult it as you make progress through the novel.

theuntranslated.wordpress.com/2025/06/19/a...
A Visual Guide to Schattenfroh
I finished my 2019 review of Schattenfroh with these words: “it would be great to have an album with complete colour reproductions of all the artworks described in the novel, preferably in the orde…
theuntranslated.wordpress.com
July 19, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Absoltely thrilled that these have arrived. Thank you again to @neglectedbooks.com for putting Richardson on my radar, and for reissuing Pilgrimage! Dedicated, passionate readers like you make the world go round.

#literature #womeninliterature #pilgrimage
July 31, 2025 at 7:15 PM
A couple of weeks ago I finished my first ever read-through of Miss MacIntosh, My Darling. It cemented itself as an all-time favourite that will linger in my mind for years to come. I can’t wait for its dualities and dreamscapes to pull me back in the future.

THANK YOU @dalkeyarchive.bsky.social
July 15, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Got some gems! These four authors are particularly high on my priority list.

#literature #bookish #bookhaul #translatedliterature
June 20, 2025 at 8:58 PM
I’m reaching the end of my days as a multi-book reader. No longer can I read 3 or more complex works in parallel.

But these Latin American masterworks have served as the best peripheral companions in 2025.

(“Peripheral” is used loosely here. These each demand immense attention and reverence)
May 26, 2025 at 2:50 PM
I was officially influenced by @wastemailinglist.bsky.social

I’ve read slivers of “The 120 Days of Sodom” out of a curiosity that I imagine many readers flirt with. But it really wasn’t doing much for me outside of the shock factor.

However, Seth made a great case for this collection!
May 25, 2025 at 4:35 PM
What an incredible #independentbookstoreday. I’m so fortunate to have remarkably well-curated new and used bookstores within an hour drive from my home. Wonderful works from @dalkeyarchive.bsky.social @deepvellum.bsky.social @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social @contramundumpress.bsky.social
April 26, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by The Word as Bait
Treated myself to a copy of Les Misérables today, only to accidentally discover that I’ve been building a collection of @penguinbooksusa.bsky.social Classic Deluxe novels!

Love these editions. The art, deckled edging and French flaps raise the bar for me.
April 16, 2025 at 10:32 PM
“My mother had always wanted to die while travelling-as then she would never completely die-for every traveller dies merely by passing through a city, and none will know that landscape which he passes through in the long night.
Death is that which is caused by our partial knowledge”
April 13, 2025 at 7:36 PM
Failure to launch as far as posting consistently here…

Nevertheless, I feel compelled to share my current read: the sumptuous, spiraling “Miss Macintosh, My Darling”.

I won’t jump to any solid conclusions for another 1000 pages, but it’s so, so special.

Thank you @dalkeyarchive.bsky.social
March 20, 2025 at 2:40 AM
Well, I’m as spoiled as they come.

What an incredible surprise to receive a hardcover copy of William Gass’ “The Tunnel” under the tree this year 😵

And right after @leafbyleaf.bsky.social posts his 10-hour review special, too!
December 27, 2024 at 1:36 PM
Reposted by The Word as Bait
NEWS: Venerable small press Fum d’Estampa joins the Deep Vellum family in 2025, and we couldn't be more excited!

Check out the full press release on our website:

www.deepvellum.org/news/deep-ve...
Deep Vellum Welcomes Fum d'Estampa! — Deep Vellum
Deep Vellum Publishing could not be more thrilled to announce that we have acquired Fum d’Estampa, a British small press founded by translator and book designer Douglas Suttle...
www.deepvellum.org
December 20, 2024 at 3:55 PM
@dalkeyarchive.bsky.social @wastemailinglist.bsky.social and anyone else invested in book content like this: please share this incredible work!

This surely deserves the same level of attention as his Gravity’s Rainbow video, if not more.

youtu.be/HYOR62TCvVw?...
The Tunnel by William H. Gass
YouTube video by Leaf by Leaf
youtu.be
December 20, 2024 at 1:33 PM
He’s at it again, this time taking on #JaneAusten for the first time!

If this just becomes a @leafbyleaf.bsky.social fan account, I might just be okay with that!

youtu.be/X2kVDacPwmQ?...
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
YouTube video by Leaf by Leaf
youtu.be
December 13, 2024 at 8:15 PM
I recently finished #TheEmpusium, my second #Tokarczuk novel. Her biting prose and distinct, oddball protagonists cement her as an all-time favourite already.

But now my Tokarczukian pursuits have lead me to The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington (#NYRB)

Share your thoughts if you’ve read it!
December 7, 2024 at 5:58 PM
The #bookish corners of Blue Sky really need to hit the ground running with @leafbyleaf.bsky.social’s content.

So, here’s just one entry in what’s sure to be a stacked month of videos! youtu.be/R0b-5-YkuGA?...

#literature #books #bookreviews
Suttree by Cormac McCarthy
YouTube video by Leaf by Leaf
youtu.be
December 6, 2024 at 4:22 PM