Archive for literature

The Monk

Posted in Observation, Reading with tags , , , , , , , on February 9, 2026 by Jarrod Boyle

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A very literate friend of mine once described The Monk as the most boring book ever forced upon him by an educational institution. Any book that comes to take up that kind of notoriety is often contingent on timing: my friend was 19 when he encountered The Monk, and it may have become his central focus of regret in signing up to study Gothic literature.

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The Magic Mountain

Posted in Reading with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 26, 2025 by Jarrod Boyle

The internet is like having a giant bilge pipe mounted above the armchair in your lounge room with all kinds of garbage gushing out of it. There is hardly a moment to take stock and discriminate amongst the torrent of what’s raining down upon you.

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