The inquisitive one woke up in the morning and went “brr . . .” with the lips, something the i.o. had never done before. The inquisitive one rubbed the eyes. But to the inquisitive one’s amazement, there were no eyes! There was only smooth skin where the eyes used to be! “Wise Ant!” cried the inquisitive one. “Bring me the...
The inquisitive one was running. Up ahead, moving in the same direction as the i.o., was a woman with a baby carriage and six dogs. The i.o. imagined the worst-case scenario, which was in fact quite likely: getting tangled up in all six of the leashes, flailing about and knocking the baby carriage over, and all the chaos which would...
The boss called the inquisitive one. “Good morning,” said the boss. “I have important news to share with you. Starting in August, you will be required to come to the company office two days a week. One of those days must be Tuesday. You can choose the other day. You can also choose to come in more than two days...
The inquisitive one was talking to an insurance customer service representative on the phone. At the end of the call, the rep asked the i.o. to take a short survey regarding the service received today. “Sure, I’ll take a survey” said the inquisitive one. “Surveys are fun!” The inquisitive one listened to an automated voice give the survey. The i.o....
The inquisitive one arrived at the appointed restaurant at the appointed time. The date had already arrived and was sitting at a quaint wooden table adorned with a little candle. “Hello, nice to meet you!” said the inquisitive one, sitting down at the table. “Greetings,” said the date. “Would you like to order a drink?” said the i.o., picking up...
“Caffeine is bad for you,” said the doctor to the inquisitive one. “Do not drink it.” “Loud colors are obnoxious in clothing,” said the friend to the inquisitive one. “Wear black.” “Running is bad for you,” said the neighbor to the inquisitive one. “You will end up hurting yourself more than helping yourself.” “Work on this soul-sucking project,” said the...
The inquisitive one sat down and wrote a poem. It went like this: !!!!!!!!!??????,,,,,,, ,,,,,,???????!!!!!!!!! !!!!,,,,?,,,,,!!!!,,,? ??????,,!,!,!,!,!,!!!! Satisfied, the inquisitive one smiled and went out for a run. The next day, the i.o. reread the poem and frowned. It was not quite right. So the i.o. edited the poem. It now went like this: !……..??????,,,,, ,,,,???????……..! !…,,,,?,,,!!!!,,,? ??????,,.,…,.,!!!! Satisfied, the...
It was already mid-January, but the inquisitive one figured, better late than never. Sitting down at the kitchen table with a pencil and pad of paper, the i.o. started writing: 1. I will run to Mars and back, passing through the rings of Saturn on the way. 2. Whenever I notice something blue, I will turn my face upwards and...
The inquisitive one was running at dusk, without a flashlight. It became very dark, and the inquisitive one was falling . . . falling . . . thud. The thud was the inquisitive one’s hat, which had fallen off during the fall, slamming into dirt. The inquisitive one landed quite nimbly, considering the depth and darkness of the pit. “Help!”...
The inquisitive one was on a date with a tall person originally from Puerto Rico. They talked about their book reading, their exercise routines, and their work lives. Then suddenly, the date said something that surprised the i.o. “I have a request,” said the date. “I’ve read Liza’s blog. Liza writes about you fairly regularly. You must tell Liza not...
The inquisitive one takes so many pills that it is hard to keep track of them all. So the inquisitive one bought one of those Sunday thru Saturday, am and pm, pill boxes. Every Sunday morning, the inquisitive one fills the Sunday thru Saturday, am and pm, pill box. The inquisitive one does this very carefully, as a screw-up could...
The inquisitive one woke up determined to solve the mystery of whether the i.o.’s house was in the U.S. or Canada. “I can do this,” the i.o. said, sitting up in bed, and frowning at the nearby maple syrup and hockey gear. “I can solve this mystery!” At that moment, the wise ant was sauntering in through a crack in...
The inquisitive one, purportedly now in Canada, opened the front door to the house and walked inside. Everything appeared to be where the inquisitive one had left it, before departing to storm the U.S. Capitol. The open box of Halloween costume supplies was still sitting in the middle of the living room. Butterflies were flitting around, per usual. “You’re alive!”...
The inquisitive one licked the lips in anticipation. Someone on the dating app had messaged the inquisitive one saying they would be glad to take the i.o. out of the country! What a grand first date—to travel to another country! Considering that the inquisitive one was wanted by the FBI, and had been hiding out in Liza’s closet for months,...
The inquisitive one was bored. The inquisitive one was really, really bored. I’m talking about hit-your-head-against-a-board bored. “It’s time to start dating again!” said the inquisitive one, in a sudden brain flash. “That should spice things up a bit!” So the i.o. charged up a phone that was lying around and got to work. Where do you work? I’M BETWEEN...
****BREAKING NEWS**** WASHINGTON—The inquisitive one, who stormed the U.S. Capitol in early January, has escaped from prison. Prison authorities say this occurred late Saturday night or early Sunday morning. A guard found the inquisitive one’s cell empty at 5am Sunday morning. A hole was discovered in the corner of the cell, hidden underneath a blanket that had been given to...
“Good day,” said the attorney, while entering the small meeting room in the prison. “It’s not!” cried the inquisitive one, who was chained to the table. “Surely your mother did not name you ‘The Inquisitive One?'” “Surely your mother did not let you leave home in that wretched old suit?” (The inquisitive one was in an uncharacteristically bad mood. Which...
Your phone rang. You looked down at the screen. It said, “The Inquisitive One.” “Hi, how are you?” you said, with a smile. “I’M IN PRISON!!!!” the inquisitive one shouted. “YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!!!!” “I’m sorry to hear that,” you said, with a frown. “WILL YOU COME POST TWO MILLION DOLLARS FOR MY BAIL????” “Your bail is two million...
A wise ant was living in the inquisitive one’s house. (The wise ant was living there full time, now that it was winter.) “Interesting about all those people storming the U.S. Capitol building,” remarked the wise ant. The inquisitive one was just waking up from a weeklong fest of alternately sleeping and listening to a podcast about how to care...
The inquisitive one’s personality, unbeknownst to the inquisitive one, according to my sources, has changed since the pandemic hit the United States. (My sources are mainly butterflies.) According to the butterflies who live in the inquisitive one’s house, and who occasionally escape out of doors to bring me secret reports, the inquisitive one used to be neat and tidy. Everything...
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- Book Previews (294)
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- Tales (73)
Books previewed
Stuart: A Life Backwards Alexander Masters
The Girls / The Guest Emma Cline
Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs Kerry Howley
The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Gogol
I’m Glad My Mom Died Jennette McCurdy
Unlearn Your Pain Howard Schubiner with Michael Betzold
The Way Out Alan Gordon with Alon Ziv
The Best Minds Jonathan Rosen
Monsters Claire Dederer
Spare Prince Harry
As I Lay Dying William Faulkner
Rebuilt Michael Chorost
Losing Music John Cotter
Kokoro Natsume Sōseki
Party Going / Living / Loving Henry Green
Chatter Ethan Kross
Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald
Stay True Hua Hsu
The Invisible Kingdom Meghan O’Rourke
How to Be Perfect Michael Schur
Orfeo Richard Powers
Unwinding Anxiety Judson Brewer
The Confidence Men Margalit Fox
Liberation Day George Saunders
Pandora’s Jar Natalie Haynes
Night of the Living Rez Morgan Talty
The Journalist and the Murderer Janet Malcolm
Mislaid Nell Zink
Exercised Daniel E. Lieberman
Lapvona Ottessa Moshfegh
Empire of Pain Patrick Radden Keefe
Furious Hours Casey Cep
First Person Singular Haruki Murakami
Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro
Dead Souls Sam Riviere
The Pale King David Foster Wallace
Lightning Flowers Katherine E. Standefer
Beautiful World, Where Are You / Normal People / Conversations With Friends Sally Rooney
Swan Dive Georgina Pazcoguin
A Passage North Anuk Arudpragasam
Lucky Jim Kingsley Amis
Projections Karl Deisseroth
The Indian Lawyer James Welch
Atomic Habits James Clear
The History of Philosophy A. C. Grayling
Dusk, Night, Dawn Anne Lamott
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick
Nothing to See Here Kevin Wilson
Change Damon Centola
Homeland Elegies Ayad Akhtar
Becoming Attached Robert Karen
Piranesi Susanna Clarke
Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes
Solitary Albert Woodfox
Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo
Enlightenment by Trial and Error Jay Michaelson
Death in Her Hands Ottessa Moshfegh
The Cooking Gene Michael W. Twitty
The First Bad Man Miranda July
Upheaval Jared Diamond
A Journal of the Plague Year Daniel Defoe
Creatures Crissy Van Meter
Indelicacy Amina Cain
Say What You Mean Oren Jay Sofer
Habits of a Happy Brain Loretta Graziano Breuning
Bad Behavior, This Is Pleasure Mary Gaitskill
The Brother Gardeners Andrea Wulf
Severance Ling Ma
How to Be an Antiracist Ibram X. Kendi
The Museum of Modern Love Heather Rose
Why I Write George Orwell
The Woman Destroyed Simone de Beauvoir
Educated Tara Westover
The Gift Hafiz
The Collected Schizophrenias Esmé Weijun Wang
Your Duck Is My Duck Deborah Eisenberg
Sapiens Yuval Noah Harari
Milkman Anna Burns
Under the Banner of Heaven Jon Krakauer
Waiting for Bojangles Olivier Bourdeaut
A Mind Unraveled Kurt Eichenwald
Eugénie Grandet Honoré de Balzac
The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
The Bookshop Penelope Fitzgerald
Digital Minimalism Cal Newport
The Sisters Brothers Patrick deWitt
Dare to Lead Brené Brown
My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh
Almost Everything Anne Lamott
Born to Run Christopher McDougall, Bruce Springsteen
The Ladies’ Paradise Émile Zola
The World Beyond Your Head Matthew B. Crawford
All the Birds, Singing Evie Wyld
Barracoon Zora Neale Hurston
Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury
JavaScript & jQuery Jon Duckett
Home Fire Kamila Shamsie
The Weather Detective Peter Wohlleben
Play It As It Lays Joan Didion
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Mark Manson
Convenience Store Woman Sayaka Murata
Perfect Me Heather Widdows
Sorry to Disrupt the Peace Patty Yumi Cottrell
Why Buddhism Is True Robert Wright
What Is Real? Adam Becker
Kudos Rachel Cusk
The Days of Abandonment Elena Ferrante
F*cked Corinne Fisher & Krystyna Hutchinson
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine Alan Lightman
Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace
A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf
The Girls / The Guest Emma Cline
Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs Kerry Howley
The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Gogol
I’m Glad My Mom Died Jennette McCurdy
Unlearn Your Pain Howard Schubiner with Michael Betzold
The Way Out Alan Gordon with Alon Ziv
The Best Minds Jonathan Rosen
Monsters Claire Dederer
Spare Prince Harry
As I Lay Dying William Faulkner
Rebuilt Michael Chorost
Losing Music John Cotter
Kokoro Natsume Sōseki
Party Going / Living / Loving Henry Green
Chatter Ethan Kross
Tender Is the Night F. Scott Fitzgerald
Stay True Hua Hsu
The Invisible Kingdom Meghan O’Rourke
How to Be Perfect Michael Schur
Orfeo Richard Powers
Unwinding Anxiety Judson Brewer
The Confidence Men Margalit Fox
Liberation Day George Saunders
Pandora’s Jar Natalie Haynes
Night of the Living Rez Morgan Talty
The Journalist and the Murderer Janet Malcolm
Mislaid Nell Zink
Exercised Daniel E. Lieberman
Lapvona Ottessa Moshfegh
Empire of Pain Patrick Radden Keefe
Furious Hours Casey Cep
First Person Singular Haruki Murakami
Klara and the Sun Kazuo Ishiguro
Dead Souls Sam Riviere
The Pale King David Foster Wallace
Lightning Flowers Katherine E. Standefer
Beautiful World, Where Are You / Normal People / Conversations With Friends Sally Rooney
Swan Dive Georgina Pazcoguin
A Passage North Anuk Arudpragasam
Lucky Jim Kingsley Amis
Projections Karl Deisseroth
The Indian Lawyer James Welch
Atomic Habits James Clear
The History of Philosophy A. C. Grayling
Dusk, Night, Dawn Anne Lamott
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Philip K. Dick
Nothing to See Here Kevin Wilson
Change Damon Centola
Homeland Elegies Ayad Akhtar
Becoming Attached Robert Karen
Piranesi Susanna Clarke
Don Quixote Miguel de Cervantes
Solitary Albert Woodfox
Girl, Woman, Other Bernardine Evaristo
Enlightenment by Trial and Error Jay Michaelson
Death in Her Hands Ottessa Moshfegh
The Cooking Gene Michael W. Twitty
The First Bad Man Miranda July
Upheaval Jared Diamond
A Journal of the Plague Year Daniel Defoe
Creatures Crissy Van Meter
Indelicacy Amina Cain
Say What You Mean Oren Jay Sofer
Habits of a Happy Brain Loretta Graziano Breuning
Bad Behavior, This Is Pleasure Mary Gaitskill
The Brother Gardeners Andrea Wulf
Severance Ling Ma
How to Be an Antiracist Ibram X. Kendi
The Museum of Modern Love Heather Rose
Why I Write George Orwell
The Woman Destroyed Simone de Beauvoir
Educated Tara Westover
The Gift Hafiz
The Collected Schizophrenias Esmé Weijun Wang
Your Duck Is My Duck Deborah Eisenberg
Sapiens Yuval Noah Harari
Milkman Anna Burns
Under the Banner of Heaven Jon Krakauer
Waiting for Bojangles Olivier Bourdeaut
A Mind Unraveled Kurt Eichenwald
Eugénie Grandet Honoré de Balzac
The Body Keeps the Score Bessel van der Kolk, M.D.
The Bookshop Penelope Fitzgerald
Digital Minimalism Cal Newport
The Sisters Brothers Patrick deWitt
Dare to Lead Brené Brown
My Year of Rest and Relaxation Ottessa Moshfegh
Almost Everything Anne Lamott
Born to Run Christopher McDougall, Bruce Springsteen
The Ladies’ Paradise Émile Zola
The World Beyond Your Head Matthew B. Crawford
All the Birds, Singing Evie Wyld
Barracoon Zora Neale Hurston
Dandelion Wine Ray Bradbury
JavaScript & jQuery Jon Duckett
Home Fire Kamila Shamsie
The Weather Detective Peter Wohlleben
Play It As It Lays Joan Didion
The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Mark Manson
Convenience Store Woman Sayaka Murata
Perfect Me Heather Widdows
Sorry to Disrupt the Peace Patty Yumi Cottrell
Why Buddhism Is True Robert Wright
What Is Real? Adam Becker
Kudos Rachel Cusk
The Days of Abandonment Elena Ferrante
F*cked Corinne Fisher & Krystyna Hutchinson
Searching for Stars on an Island in Maine Alan Lightman
Wide Sargasso Sea Jean Rhys
Infinite Jest David Foster Wallace
A Room of One’s Own Virginia Woolf
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