#lifewriting

I published a very personal post titled "Why I write" on my anxieties as an amateur writer yesterday. The subtitle is "Why my writing is useless in the age of LLMs, and why I won’t let that stop me."
#Writing #Blogging

www.thefreudiancouch.com/2026/02/why-...

When I finished Ann Patchett’s The Dutch House late one night, I reflected on the central theme of the book. It was surely not an account of the Dutch people, for the novel is set in Philadelphia and New York City.
#BookSky #BooReview #ReadingAsEscape

Jim Roberts' debut novel And Your Byrd Can Sing is releasing tomorrow. I was lucky to read a pre-pub ARC of the book and wrote a review. www.thefreudiancouch.com/2026/01/and-...
#BookSky #Review

I loved this book. But it did take me six months of reading only this to get through.

“I’ve killed three men, but I’m not a murderer”

I really loved the book, despite it being my first Souther Gothic novel.

Pre-pub review of And Your Byrd Can Sing by Jim Roberts, published by @silentclamorpress.bsky.social www.thefreudiancouch.com/2026/01/and-...

#BookSky #Books

It is very hard to review a book titled "On Writing Well", especially as an amateur writer. I'm already breaking many of Zinsser's non-negotiable rules. I started without the best hook. I used a passive verb. I used "very". I haven't spent any time rewriting.
#Booksky #Writing

Partway through On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction by William Zinsser. I can't speak highly of how useful it is. But, it also feels very American. "Get to the point already!" Sure, but come on, man! How about I am allowed to break the rules sometimes?
#booksky #writing #books

##booksky

My 2025 in books

Goodreads tells me that I read 16 books this year. Though this is not a lot, I am pleased that I found time to read. I am even more pleased that I found time to write about most of these books.

#GoodreadsYearinBooks

Abraham Verghese's The Covenant of Water, set in Kerala, is a humungous novel. It takes us through an emotional and hopeful journey.
thefreudiancouch.com/2025/12/cove...
#books #bookreviews #bookstagram #IndianLiterature #kerala

"It is easy to be devoted when being devoted is your only job. It is hard to do two things well at once."

I reflect on my misadventures with coffee across continents, and my acceptance of absurdity.

☕️ Read the full post here: www.thefreudiancouch.com/2025/12/coff...

#CoffeeLovers #CoffeeTalk

I don't review movies. But I watched Tere Ishk Me, and wrote about it. I ended up talking about Love in the Time of Cholera, A Clockwork Orange, my own journey with movies, and the state of movie criticism www.thefreudiancouch.com/2025/12/arti...
#TereIshkMein #Dhanush #movie #Bollywood

"Harold and Claudia are liberal from afar. Which means that in theory, they support equality, are open to people making their own choices, and try not to be racist. But.." From the archives, a review of Nadine Gordimer's The House Gun. www.thefreudiancouch.com/2021/12/revi...
#books #bookreviews

My review of Rajasree Variyar's The Daughters of Madurai. The book works in parts, but also feels like an outsider's perspective when it doesn't. thefreudiancouch.com/2025/10/daug...
#books #BookTwitter #BookReview #IndianLiterature #blogging

Stopped just short of calling Crime and Punishment a must-read—Dostoevsky probably wouldn't approve of me telling you what to do. But it's one of the best books I've ever read. Here's why ↓
www.thefreudiancouch.com/2014/07/thou...
#Books #Classics #Review #LiteraryCriticism

What does it mean to be gifted at something you're not sure you love?
Read the full story: www.thefreudiancouch.com/2017/08/the-...
#ShortStory #IndianLiterature #Bharatanatyam #ComingOfAge #TheFreudianCouch

New post: On my love for libraries and lessons from a German refugee's attempt to enter America during WWII.
www.thefreudiancouch.com/2025/10/libr...
#libraries #books #archives #blogging