Category: Books
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Reading to stay
Reading is a form of permanence. Some books pass, others stay… and subtly change us. In this section I write about readings that leave a trace: fiction, essays, poetry. Without pretending to cover everything, just to share what deserves to be thought about beyond the last page. Reading is also a way of looking at the world with more…
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Kingsbridge | Nostalgia Can Also Be Built
«"Because it will be beautiful." Tom Builder in The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett. Humans have never quite accepted the idea of disappearing. That's why they had children, wrote books, painted portraits, carved names in stone, and erected monuments. The pharaohs built pyramids to bargain with eternity, the Roman emperors left arches where victory…
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The Odyssey (2026) | Black and White
“"Woman, that word you used truly hurts me! Who moved my bed? It would be difficult even for an expert, unless a god himself came and, if he wished, could easily move it somewhere else. But no living man, however young and strong, could move it from there easily…"
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António Lobo Antunes | What Remains After Things
“We are very large, very long houses. It’s as if we only lived in one or two rooms. Sometimes, out of fear or blindness, we don’t open our doors.” António Lobo Antunes. The death of António Lobo Antunes is not just the disappearance of a writer. It is the silencing of one of the most singular voices that…
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It's Not Midnight for Those Who Want It | The Threshold of Ruins
“"Dying is when there's extra space at the table, pushing the chairs aside to disguise it; you can feel the discomfort of the absence because the leftmost picture and the farthest sideboard, especially the leftmost picture and the hole where the first nail didn't fit, are visible; people talk about it in a way..."
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Mercy | The Last School
“I’m drawn to the small things, the simple things, the ones that don’t make noise or take up space. They’re more faithful, I hold onto them better, and they don’t slip away so quickly.” Lídia Jorge There are books that tell what happens. Others tell how one feels what happens. Mercy belongs to this second category. It’s not just a novel about old age…
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Douro Oxheart Tomato Book Wins Important International Award | Like someone returning home
“Man’s true homeland is childhood.” Rainer Maria Rilke. It is not known for certain whether the phrase I used to frame this post is actually from the author I associate it with, but perhaps that doesn't even matter. Attributed to Rilke, this idea has the brilliance of truths that need no proof: that childhood is more…
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The Book of Iberian Wines | The Wine Raft
“"It is impossible to have overindulged in red wine, read too many books, or possess too much ammunition." Rudyard Kipling. In our relentless pursuit of experiences that elevate the table and celebrate our traditions, we have come across a work that promises to win the hearts and palates of all wine lovers. "The Book of Iberian Wines — A Guide…"