THE ANNALS OF HAROLD

(1) — U EVER DUMP A BODY. . .? APPARENTLY: YOU’RE NOT allowed to scatter human ashes wherever you want. I kept thinking, regarding our plan, as we pulled up to Engenhoca beach, in Riberia, on the Ilha do Governador (where my mom & my grandparents & their grandparents had all grown up) : imagine you’re floating on your back in the water, enjoying the Sunday carioca sunshine, and suddenly the water...

[A: TORRENT OF NUTJOBS] — 1 WHY IS EVERYONE INSANE BUT ME? This question’s been whistling in my head like the irremediable shrill of a bem-te-vi: — . . . I’ve been with my family in Rio. . . Machado de Assis turns this question into his 1882 story, The Alienist ; — Dr. Simão Bacamarte, a psychiatrist, opens up an asylum in his small town of Itaguaí: Casa Verde, “to carry out an in-depth study of m...

THERE IS A HAND TO TURN THE TIME. . . . I BOUGHT GRAVITY’S RAINBOW 10 YEARS AGO. Suffering from an Infinite Jest addiction, I was on the prowl for anything that could fill me up the way Wallace did. . . but the book was so terror-shrouded, I couldn’t crack it open. . . what did that phrase “gravity’s rainbow” even mean!? I bought the guide book. But seeing the book required a guide book almost equ...

(1) I ONLY READ 36 BOOKS THIS YEAR. . . I AM always jealous of supreme readers : Harold Bloom read 1000 pages an hour in his heyday, — and he wasn’t munching on A Court of Thorns and Roses (2015), dude was mowing thru Clarissa (1748), yearly. Or Pico della Mirandola (1463-1494) who read Latin, Greek, Arabic, Hebrew, — and could recite the Divine Comedy forwards and back, off the top of his head. ....

IDLE HANDS. . . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

THE WAVES This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

THE MAN WITHOUT QUALITIES This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

MOMA TOP TEN This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

BRONTE VS BRONTE This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

OV COMEDY TOUR This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

ARE U HAPPY? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

MINAS GERAIS DIARY This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

HOW I REWROTE NANA'S FUNERAL This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

INFINITE JEST 2: REALITY PROBLEMS! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

RAN BACK INFINITE JEST This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

SUETONIUS IS ACTUALLY GOATED This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

ON MY SUETONIUS S**T This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

DROPPING SOME KNOWLEDGE ON U FOOLS. . . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

ON HAVING IMPREGNABLY THICK SKIN. . . This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

WROTE A CRAZY-ASS ESSAY ABT TIME VS SPACE, THE HAPSBURGS, AND BOSCH FOR BLAST 2: BOOKS USED BUT NOT ALWAYS CITED: ART IN A STATE OF SIEGE (2025), JOSEPH LEO KOERNER IMPRUDENT KING (2014), & EMPEROR (2019) GEOFFREY PARKER TERRA NOSTRA (1975) , CARLOS FUENTES PARADISE LOST (1667), JOHN MILTON DON QUIXOTE (1606), CERVANTES This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscri...

ON MANIFESTOS, PUNCH MACHINES, & HOW TO DEFEND URSELF AGAINST OLD LECHERS. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com

AUDIO OF MY TRAVELOGUE IN THE PLACES REVIEW: READ IT HERE . . . READ MORE ABT HOW I WROTE IT HERE: This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit haroldrogers.substack.com