iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

Recent arrivals: the major novels of German author Wolfgang Koeppen, a late modernist known for a fragmented style heavy on shifting perspectives and stream-of-consciousness techniques. A few years ago I read Pigeons on the Grass (1951), a solid, early critique of social amnesia.

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Forgot to mention “Rabbit Resurrected” in the list of uncollected stories I’ll be reading.

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I’m in need of getting my nerve endings tickled.

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Not included: “The Enema Bandit and the Cosmic Buzzer,” “The Piano and the Pantechnicon,” “The Fifth Column (week 11)” & “Brief Interviews with Hideous Men # 16”. I’ll get to the Harry Ransom Center one of these days.

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Next up: The Complete Fiction of David Foster Wallace, including the uncollected stories “The Planet Trillaphon As It Stands In Relation to The Bad Thing,” “Other Math,” “Solomon Silverfish,” “Crash of 69,” “Order and Flux in Northampton,” segment of “The Flexicon” & “All That”.

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Easter weekend purchases… Joy Williams has a new collection of short stories! Curious about the new Lerner all-male triangle of fatherhood and rivalry. My boy Kraszna’s acceptance speech. Mishima’s “gang of highly philosophical teenage boys.” Sampling Middlemarch’s prelude left me gasping for air.

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I had not seen this piece. Thanks for sharing. We have some work ahead of us, Kim. We need to inject some serious amount of Bessette into the algorithm to make the rest of her work available in English!

Can’t wait for Twenty Minutes of Silence. Hopefully the rest of her work will get translated, too.

Thank you, Kim! I can’t wait for that Bessette book, too. I hope her other novels will follow.

Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 04/04/2026

In a recent episode of the podcast The Mookse and the Gripes I referred to Hélène Bessette’s outstanding novel Lili is Crying (1953) as “Clarice Lispector on acid, Hilda Hilst on mushrooms, and Ann Quin on molly.” 👀 If you enjoy experimental literature, don’t miss this one.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 02/04/2026

It was a pleasure talking to both of you. Had a wonderful time. Thanks again for having me.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

They’ve published 50 so far. About 7-8 in the pipeline. Such an incredible catalog.

I thought they did that for redesigns, except for the 4 ones that I have. Those only came out with the jacket.

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I haven’t read most of these, James. Thinking about turning it into a reading project for next year.

The band they have been doing for the second run, except for the 4 titles on the top row. Those came out only in that format.

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I’m 6’1”, with long arms and long legs. 😏

Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

McNally Editions... Gotta catch ‘em all!

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Thank you, Frances! This is, hands down, my favorite DD.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 01/03/2026

I upgraded my old copy of Don DeLillo’s Cosmopolis (his best work, imo) with a signed one. A masterful novel about a single day in the life of a young Manhattanite billionaire riding in the back of a stretch limo on his way to get the perfect haircut. Outrageous and unrivaled.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Years ago, while dining with Michael Silverblatt, Orhan Pamuk came up as a topic. He said, “You know, I was supposed to have dinner with him tonight.” “Why didn’t you?” I asked. “I had already made plans with you,” he said. “You’re nuts!” I yelled. Dear Michael, I will miss you.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

I thought about including that one as well, but I re-read it recently. Thanks for the suggestion.

Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 13/02/2026

So excited about this reading project. 2026 will be The Year of the Faustian Bargain for me and these are the books I’ll read, except my own novel (it’s in the picture because it features a Faustian bargain, a topic I’m passionate about and one I hope to revisit someday).

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 12/02/2026

This 3rd volume, as you may remember, consists of 2 parts. Each one represents exactly half of the book. With the first one I struggled a bit because there are about 300 pages of pure gossip and became somewhat tedious, but he redeemed himself on the second half. I still thought it was so worth it.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

😂 I struggled a bit with the first half of the book, but I’ve been told that volume 4 is outstanding. Won’t find out until January of next year. Just push through.

Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

It doesn’t until page 421. The fist 100 pages are slow, and then you’ll get over 300 pages of pure gossip (I’m not exaggerating). The second part of the novel is where he shines.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Done with The Guermantes Way. Another jewel, although not as beautiful as volumes 1 and 2, but the 47 pages (425-471) in which the Narrator describes his grandmother falling ill and eventually passing contain some of the most beautiful and heartbreaking passages I’ve ever read.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

Oh. That’s. A good thing. Love when that happens. That little, 60-page Jaeggy book renewed my interest in Keats (haven’t read any of his poetry in 2 decades!) and Marcel Schwob, too, whom I adore.

Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 08/02/2026

I knew about De Quincey, just didn’t get to him. It was a masterful biographical sketch by Fleur Jaeggy in this book that led me to the sudden interest in De Quincey. I’ll check out the book you mentioned. Not familiar with Dillon’s work yet.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 07/02/2026

I know I’m rather late to the Thomas De Quincey party, but I’ve arrived.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 03/01/2026

“Stellar” doesn’t even begin to describe today’s book mail. Finally, John Cowper Powys is in my house. I know a new edition of A Glastonbury Romance is coming out fairly soon, but I couldn’t resist owning the one featuring Jan Provoost’s work on the cover.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Both of those publishers had impressive catalogs! ☹️

Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

In January of 2024 I read Swann’s Way and since then I set out to read one volume of In Search of Lost Time every January, so it’s time for The Guermantes Way. While reading Proust I like to picture everything as if it belonged in an impressionist painting, which makes it even more beautiful.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

There are 10 in total translated into English. 3 I bought, the other 7 I borrowed from the public library. I’ve sampled quite a bit and it reads beautifully.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

You mean the entire La Comédie humaine? You are one brave man!

Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 31/12/2025

Of course! Trying to decide on a couple of authors to tackle next year. I’m so excited.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Thank you, Radz. That book was recently translated as The Hills Reply, which I just got.

Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Thanks, Jacqui! So excited about discovering his work.

Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Can’t wait. I just got my hands on everything of his that has been translated into English. You know what that means…

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

‘Tis the season of Norwegian arrivals. I’ve been told that Tarjei Vesaas only wrote masterpieces. Looking forward to reading his work in 2026.

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

I’m done with the first 2. Starting The Water Statues tonight!

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Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 24/12/2025

It is a great tome. I almost want to turn it into a reading project and tackle all the novels mentioned in it.

Luis Panini @luispanini.bsky.social · 21/12/2025

The Benefactor, Death Kit, The Volcano Lover, In America.