
Latest communiqués
06
Aug

Revealed! Clandestine humor at The Gray Lady!
Letter No. 117: Includes ferocious teeth, a terrifying mutant predator, and much concern about language.
3 min read
18
Jul

Book report for June 2025
Letter No. 116: Includes more completed reads than usual, one book about a crow and another about horses, and impenetrable verse.
2 min read
14
Jul

Because…puffins
Letter 115: Entirely given over to some insufferably cute images from Dr Essai’s recent excursion to Iceland.
3 min read
16
Jun

Book report for May 2025
Letter No. 114: Dr Essai returns after an unplanned hiatus due to various distractions and misfortunes.
2 min read
05
May

Book report for April 2025
Letter No. 113: Five volumes completed, nine purchased. May need a bigger house.
2 min read
11
Apr

Slouching toward disaffection
Letter No. 112: Includes poetry, commentary, more than a little bitching, and the most I've ever had to say about James I.
5 min read
03
Apr

Book report for February/March 2025
Letter No. 111: Includes an apology, heavy luggage, alternative histories, and Cinnabons.
3 min read
15
Mar

This city would be perfect, just look at the math!
Letter No. 110: Includes urban planning, virtuous philosopher-kings, some snark aimed at productivity schemes, and the first-ever appearance of a colossally abundant number.
6 min read
07
Feb

Book report for January 2025
Letter No. 109: Includes spies, grifters, scenesters, and acts of literary mimesis.
2 min read
04
Feb

The sad and perplexing tale of Morgan Cornwell
Letter No. 108: Includes ancestry, battlefield surgery, and more mention of Indiana than customary.
6 min read