I never get much reading done unless I’m sleeping elsewhere. Most often, I associate sleeping elsewhere with having time off, and having time off means I’m away from a computer screen. This frees up time for reading. Anja had booked a suite for my birthday at Okura, and six months after I turn 33, Covid measures are finally so mild that we actually get to do it. It’s on the sixteenth floor, overlooking the Amsterdam Centre and West Side. (Continue)

If you ever happen to find yourself in the sleepy fishing town of IJmuiden: the fish, service, atmosphere, and cheesecake in the fish restaurant De Meerplaats are all very pleasant. For my birthday, Erica Bouma gave me Jesus by rebel theologian Hans Küng. It’s a great and easy read — a recommendation for anybody interested in the history of Christianity. The Son and the Stranger is a beautiful Dutch-language documentary about Daan, a man who, after studying Hebrew in university, converted to the ultra orthodox Jewish faith. (Continue)

Essex Country by Jeff Lemire Ergens Waar Je Niet Wil Zijn (Wrong Place) by Brecht Evens Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson Lucille by Ludivic Debeurme Swallow Me Whole by Nate Powell 120 Days of Simon by Simon Gärdenfors Underwire by Jennifer Hayden The Playwright by Daren White and Eddie Campbell Any Empire by Nate Powell Lost Dogs by Jeff Lemire (Continue)