Just read The Painted Veil--I've always liked Maugham, and I remember watching the movie when I was younger. It's one of those 20th century narratives about Europeans finding spiritual sustenance in Asia, but the writing is beautiful and the emotions very direct and moving.

Currently reading:

My friend Jon Eddy just published his debut novel--a beautiful, haunting, atmospheric work of speculative fiction about a journalist who begins to question the foundations of her society.

In case you missed it, I wrote about @kurtbaumeister.bsky.social's Twilight of the Gods for BULL, "a conscious rebuke of the Marvel superhero vision of the Norse Gods" that makes Loki into a "postmodern hero whose trickster punk identity becomes an antidote to authoritarianism."

I wrote a piece on Eric Rohmer's six Comedies and Proverbs films and how they correspond with Jane Austen's novels--each film, intentionally or not, seems to have a clear Austen novel that it reflects. I analyzed each one and noted the key connections.

aatifrashid.medium.com/the-search-f...

AWP event tonight! Come hear me and others read, Echo Park Time Travel Mart 7pm!

Nothing makes you feel old like starting a new social media profile in your 30s. How did I ever have the energy to do this?