Sanjay Sipahimalani
@sansip.bsky.social
Books, etc.
“Sometimes, I, too, sought expression. I know now that my gods grant me no more than allusion or mention”: Borges
“Sometimes, I, too, sought expression. I know now that my gods grant me no more than allusion or mention”: Borges
When a lukewarm review of a history of global capitalism mentions Marx only to bring up his unfortunate comments in ‘On the Jewish Question’, it’s hard to take the reviewer seriously.
November 25, 2025 at 10:49 AM
When a lukewarm review of a history of global capitalism mentions Marx only to bring up his unfortunate comments in ‘On the Jewish Question’, it’s hard to take the reviewer seriously.
Chekhov’s earliest stories were “childishly comical”. During the translation process, says Rosamund Bartlett, “we would just collapse in fits of giggles”.
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
‘He was just trying to earn a few kopecks’: how newly translated stories reveal Chekhov’s silly side
With daft jokes and experimental wordplay, the first comprehensive translations of his lesser-known stories show Anton Chekhov in a new light
www.theguardian.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:42 AM
Chekhov’s earliest stories were “childishly comical”. During the translation process, says Rosamund Bartlett, “we would just collapse in fits of giggles”.
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
www.theguardian.com/culture/2025...
Interesting that they specify “plot-driven”. Would have liked to discover non-plot-driven books, too.
November 24, 2025 at 3:39 AM
Interesting that they specify “plot-driven”. Would have liked to discover non-plot-driven books, too.
Welcome back, Daniyal Mueenuddin. An extract from his forthcoming ‘This Is Where the Serpent Lives’.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
“The Golden Boy,” by Daniyal Mueenuddin
Bayazid had never quite given up the fantasy he nurtured in boyhood, of discovering himself a child of some minister or prince.
www.newyorker.com
November 24, 2025 at 3:34 AM
Welcome back, Daniyal Mueenuddin. An extract from his forthcoming ‘This Is Where the Serpent Lives’.
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
“If we are to do this work of language, we have an obligation to stand in opposition to any force—including those enacted by our governments—that if left unchecked would happily decimate every principle of free expression and connection that we’ve come here to celebrate.”
the.ink/p/omar-el-ak...
the.ink/p/omar-el-ak...
Omar El Akkad's "One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This" wins the National Book Award
One of the year’s most important books gets its due, as its author calls on other writers to speak truth to power
the.ink
November 22, 2025 at 8:36 AM
“If we are to do this work of language, we have an obligation to stand in opposition to any force—including those enacted by our governments—that if left unchecked would happily decimate every principle of free expression and connection that we’ve come here to celebrate.”
the.ink/p/omar-el-ak...
the.ink/p/omar-el-ak...
Think of yourself as, ugh, a foodie? Two books that ask you to "remember the corporate and political power behind every option at the supermarket, and to be conscious of how various kinds of media are selling us certain sorts of gastronomic pleasure".
yalereview.org/article/alic...
yalereview.org/article/alic...
Alicia Kennedy: “Who Was the Foodie?”
Alicia Kennedy on Ruby Tandoh’s All Consuming , Marion Nestle’s What to Eat Now , and the evolution of the foodie
yalereview.org
November 22, 2025 at 4:34 AM
Think of yourself as, ugh, a foodie? Two books that ask you to "remember the corporate and political power behind every option at the supermarket, and to be conscious of how various kinds of media are selling us certain sorts of gastronomic pleasure".
yalereview.org/article/alic...
yalereview.org/article/alic...
“I think of it as a travelogue by someone who stopped travelling.” Anuradha Roy on her new book, ‘Called by the Hills’, an account of her life since 2000, when she and her husband moved with their dog to Ranikhet in Uttarakhand.
www.thehindu.com/books/in-con...
www.thehindu.com/books/in-con...
In conversation with Anuradha Roy on her new book Called by the Hills
Join Anuradha Roy as she reflects on her journey in 'Called by the Hills', exploring life in the Himalayas.
www.thehindu.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:29 AM
“I think of it as a travelogue by someone who stopped travelling.” Anuradha Roy on her new book, ‘Called by the Hills’, an account of her life since 2000, when she and her husband moved with their dog to Ranikhet in Uttarakhand.
www.thehindu.com/books/in-con...
www.thehindu.com/books/in-con...
Speaking Ja-pun-ese: “Older Japanese, who remember puns as a cringy nuisance, still see them as outdated. For younger users raised on text-based communication, however, these neo-dajare puns are a fresh, low-stakes way to connect.”
www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/11...
www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/11...
Old-man puns are getting a Gen Z glow-up as 'neo-dajare'
Japan's youngest generation raised on texting is embracing wordplay — and pushing old dad jokes further than ever before.
www.japantimes.co.jp
November 21, 2025 at 3:45 AM
Speaking Ja-pun-ese: “Older Japanese, who remember puns as a cringy nuisance, still see them as outdated. For younger users raised on text-based communication, however, these neo-dajare puns are a fresh, low-stakes way to connect.”
www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/11...
www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2025/11...
Stephanie Merritt, author of the marvellous Giordano Bruno series and one of the judges of the 2025 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, discusses the shortlist for "the funniest book of the year".
fivebooks.com/best-books/t...
fivebooks.com/best-books/t...
The Funniest Books of 2025
Every year, the judges of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction draw up a shortlist of books that made them laugh out loud. We asked the novelist Stephanie Merritt, one of the 2025 ...
fivebooks.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:25 AM
Stephanie Merritt, author of the marvellous Giordano Bruno series and one of the judges of the 2025 Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction, discusses the shortlist for "the funniest book of the year".
fivebooks.com/best-books/t...
fivebooks.com/best-books/t...
Diving in. Quite excited.
November 20, 2025 at 3:19 AM
Diving in. Quite excited.
What happened to these publishing houses? Has the industry been disrupted yet?
November 19, 2025 at 3:36 AM
What happened to these publishing houses? Has the industry been disrupted yet?
‘The Fence-Sitter as Friend of the Genocidal State’: a powerful and unsettling meditation by Meena Kandasamy.
granta.com/the-fence-si...
granta.com/the-fence-si...
The Fence-Sitter as Friend of the Genocidal State
‘people as seasoned sliced shredded cured meat, / people as condiment, people in a pickle, pliant’
granta.com
November 19, 2025 at 3:33 AM
‘The Fence-Sitter as Friend of the Genocidal State’: a powerful and unsettling meditation by Meena Kandasamy.
granta.com/the-fence-si...
granta.com/the-fence-si...
Sounds like they're all rehearsing the "too important to fail" argument.
November 19, 2025 at 3:30 AM
Sounds like they're all rehearsing the "too important to fail" argument.
'Libertarian' and 'eugenics': two words you never want to see together. Quinn Slobodian on how Social Darwinism is being repackaged as a belief that personal choice and genetics should determine who rises and who falls.
www.ft.com/content/23e9...
www.ft.com/content/23e9...
The irresistible rise of libertarian eugenics
Social Darwinism is making a comeback in the US — this time wrapped in the language of freedom
www.ft.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:10 AM
'Libertarian' and 'eugenics': two words you never want to see together. Quinn Slobodian on how Social Darwinism is being repackaged as a belief that personal choice and genetics should determine who rises and who falls.
www.ft.com/content/23e9...
www.ft.com/content/23e9...
“Buried within every family, perhaps, is the secret desire to self-destruct, to push intimacy to its ugliest extremes.” Liked this whimsical, wryly poignant short story by Madhuri Vijay in the New Yorker
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
“Lara’s Theme,” by Madhuri Vijay
Buried within every family, perhaps, is the secret desire to self-destruct, to push intimacy to its ugliest extremes.
www.newyorker.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:59 AM
“Buried within every family, perhaps, is the secret desire to self-destruct, to push intimacy to its ugliest extremes.” Liked this whimsical, wryly poignant short story by Madhuri Vijay in the New Yorker
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
"People always say like the world has turned into what The Onion has been doing for the last 37 years. I think it’s worse, frankly": Ben Collins, CEO of the Onion.
english.elpais.com/technology/2...
english.elpais.com/technology/2...
Ben Collins, from ‘The Onion’: ‘The powerful have a revenge fantasy, it’s the revenge of the dorks’
The CEO of the leading US satirical website explains what to do when reality is crazy, and how he is trying to buy the website of a famous conspiracy theorist
english.elpais.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:58 AM
"People always say like the world has turned into what The Onion has been doing for the last 37 years. I think it’s worse, frankly": Ben Collins, CEO of the Onion.
english.elpais.com/technology/2...
english.elpais.com/technology/2...
Wrote about Hamza Jalil Albasit’s debut novel, 'The Oracle of Hate', which reads like a wayward sibling of Salman Rushdie's 'Shame'.
www.thehindu.com/books/book-r...
www.thehindu.com/books/book-r...
Karachi noir | Review of Hamza Jalil Albasit’s debut novel, The Oracle of Hate
Explore the chaotic brilliance of Hamza Jalil Albasit’s debut novel, "The Oracle of Hate," set in Karachi's vibrant streets.
www.thehindu.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Wrote about Hamza Jalil Albasit’s debut novel, 'The Oracle of Hate', which reads like a wayward sibling of Salman Rushdie's 'Shame'.
www.thehindu.com/books/book-r...
www.thehindu.com/books/book-r...
"The way I like to teach my students about Hinduism is I write Hindu(ism)(s) because the diversity within the tradition, within the religion, can be almost unrecognisable." Historian Sravana Borkataky-Varma's pick of the best books on Hinduism.
fivebooks.com/best-books/h...
fivebooks.com/best-books/h...
Hinduism
The best books on Hinduism and Hindu traditions recommended by practitioner-scholar Sravana Borkataky-Varma
fivebooks.com
November 15, 2025 at 3:34 AM
"The way I like to teach my students about Hinduism is I write Hindu(ism)(s) because the diversity within the tradition, within the religion, can be almost unrecognisable." Historian Sravana Borkataky-Varma's pick of the best books on Hinduism.
fivebooks.com/best-books/h...
fivebooks.com/best-books/h...
How can the novel thrive in a world where narrative art is dominated by films and TV? David Szalay tells the FT that writing novels is "so much cheaper" and allows writers "to take more risks and by taking more risks be more interesting".
November 15, 2025 at 3:32 AM
How can the novel thrive in a world where narrative art is dominated by films and TV? David Szalay tells the FT that writing novels is "so much cheaper" and allows writers "to take more risks and by taking more risks be more interesting".
"Reasons of state trump basic human decency, the doctrine of 'might makes right' rationalises horrific massacres, rich oligarchs undermine democracy, and unbridled ambitions wreck the delicate balance of world order." Thucydides on the 5th century BC.
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
Review | A classic Greek history puts our current turmoil in context
Robin Waterfield’s new translation of Thucydides’ “The History of the Peloponnesian War” offers clarity but little consolation as we face upheaval and conflict.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:38 AM
"Reasons of state trump basic human decency, the doctrine of 'might makes right' rationalises horrific massacres, rich oligarchs undermine democracy, and unbridled ambitions wreck the delicate balance of world order." Thucydides on the 5th century BC.
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
www.washingtonpost.com/books/2025/1...
“Work like a dog now because in your 30s you will have back pain.” Survival notes for young artists.
www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/11/m...
www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/11/m...
‘Make a lot of bad work for as long as possible’: new book brings you top tips from artists
In Lydia Figes’s publication more than 50 successful artists share their wisdom on everything from defining success to dealing with galleries
www.theartnewspaper.com
November 13, 2025 at 5:04 AM
“Work like a dog now because in your 30s you will have back pain.” Survival notes for young artists.
www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/11/m...
www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/11/11/m...
Give the renewed interest in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein after the Guillermo del Toro film, this would be a good time to pick up Jeanette Winterson’s 2019 reboot.
November 13, 2025 at 4:38 AM
Give the renewed interest in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein after the Guillermo del Toro film, this would be a good time to pick up Jeanette Winterson’s 2019 reboot.
To paraphrase Browning, I think the reach of the Booker Prize winning title exceeded its grasp.
November 11, 2025 at 6:09 AM
To paraphrase Browning, I think the reach of the Booker Prize winning title exceeded its grasp.
“This was what the world did: press in on you with its bad-news this and so-sad that, snatch away what little time you had to see to your own affairs, fill your head with pictures you wished you’d never seen.”
- Nalini Jones, ‘The Unbroken Coast’
- Nalini Jones, ‘The Unbroken Coast’
November 11, 2025 at 3:47 AM
“This was what the world did: press in on you with its bad-news this and so-sad that, snatch away what little time you had to see to your own affairs, fill your head with pictures you wished you’d never seen.”
- Nalini Jones, ‘The Unbroken Coast’
- Nalini Jones, ‘The Unbroken Coast’
Ntsika Dapo learns from Mahmood Mamdani: the lines dividing citizen from stranger can be traced back to the way empire organised identity and labor.
africasacountry.com/2025/11/the-...
africasacountry.com/2025/11/the-...
The invention of foreigners
From indirect rule to Operation Dudula, the lines dividing citizen from stranger trace back to the way empire organized identity and labor.
africasacountry.com
November 11, 2025 at 3:46 AM
Ntsika Dapo learns from Mahmood Mamdani: the lines dividing citizen from stranger can be traced back to the way empire organised identity and labor.
africasacountry.com/2025/11/the-...
africasacountry.com/2025/11/the-...