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The University of Life
An occasional blog to encourage those who are considering retirement that the water is fine, and to reassure those who have already retired that it was worth it. To begin, start by clicking the book on the right.
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knowles.1
Jan 410 min read
Scrabble: The Dark Arts
As in any 1-on-1 sport, you must start by wrong-footing your opponent. Don't let them think they can read you. If they seem impatient...
172 views
0 comments
knowles.1
Nov 6, 20244 min read
Floridation
To do list: Hug partner and tell them that you love them. Check. Make espresso. Check. Turn off phone. Check. Change book club reading...
250 views
1 comment
knowles.1
Nov 24, 20234 min read
10 Notable Books of 2023
You have to start with Claire Keegan. Small Things Like These was a revelation; Foster is the kind of book that gets passed around at...
197 views
0 comments
knowles.1
Nov 20, 20233 min read
The Moment of Psycho
It happened fast. The guy next to me put his head on the table next to his laptop and stopped moving. Small head, trimmed beard, face...
128 views
5 comments
knowles.1
Feb 12, 20235 min read
June Recital
"Hi, this is [name deleted]. I am a friend of [name deleted]. I was interest in having my daughter start prison lessons." It's...
182 views
9 comments
knowles.1
Dec 15, 20225 min read
Nursery Lane
It started as a bookshop. Janette needed me out of the house, and I had too many books. What better use of my time and talent than to...
217 views
2 comments
knowles.1
Nov 15, 20222 min read
Top Ten Treehouse Books 2022
The big news here is the treehouse is being taken over by Nursery Lane Studios, which is being slowly built behind it. When the new...
171 views
0 comments
knowles.1
Apr 14, 20225 min read
Travels in Hyperreality
The Vietnamese have a wicked sense of humor. But before I get to that, you have to see some images of Da Lat's Crazy House: We actually...
143 views
3 comments
knowles.1
Mar 12, 20226 min read
Russian Trash
Vietnam gets 84% of its arms imports from Russia. To avoid sanctions, Gazprom and Rosneft have been ramping up energy production in...
196 views
8 comments
knowles.1
Feb 25, 20226 min read
Saigon Is For The Swift
They come out at dusk every evening - hundreds of swifts flying in the reddening sky. At least I think they're swifts - someone in the...
229 views
1 comment
knowles.1
Feb 4, 20229 min read
New Year's Letter
In 1940, W. H. Auden wrote a "New Year Letter" that toasts the end of "a scrambling decade," which cannot guess "in what direction lies /...
179 views
knowles.1
Nov 30, 20214 min read
Top Ten Treehouse Books 2021
Last year I was so horrified by the New York Times Christmas Book List that I offered an alternative list, which became my most-read blog...
362 views
0 comments
knowles.1
Oct 22, 20218 min read
The Trumpiness of Lake George
Seaside towns are the same the world over. Bumper cars, arcade games, neon lights, waves lapping against the shore. I love them. ...
504 views
3 comments
knowles.1
Sep 10, 20215 min read
Piano Camp
Piano Camp started inauspiciously this year. Alexa (a real three-year-old, not a pretend person) fell against a foosball machine and had...
157 views
0 comments
knowles.1
Jun 17, 20214 min read
Paris-Moscow
"All life is figure and ground." "But a wandering to find home." This immortal exchange takes place in Beckett's Murphy, where it neatly...
86 views
0 comments
knowles.1
May 4, 20213 min read
Debussy
The Preludes of Claude Debussy (1910) have always been just out of my reach. Exquisite recordings by Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli don't...
101 views
0 comments
knowles.1
Mar 20, 20214 min read
Call My Agent
Some of you know that for the past six months I've been writing a spy novel. I'm happy to say that it's now finished, and has been sent...
132 views
0 comments
knowles.1
Feb 23, 20217 min read
Memorial
This is a long introduction to an original piece of music. To skip to the music, go to the end of the blog post. My love affair with...
283 views
0 comments
knowles.1
Jan 31, 20215 min read
School without Tears
The book starts with a simple dedication: For the Pickley Wizards: Deborah, Rebecca, Jose, Sebbie, Catherine, Nicky, Isobel, Graham,...
105 views
1 comment
knowles.1
Jan 6, 20215 min read
His Last Wail
"Precious, precious, precious!" Gollum cried. "My Precious! O my Precious!" And with that, even as his eyes were lifted up to gloat...
149 views
1 comment
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