What I Have Been Reading (2026 so far)

I’ve continued my reading streak from 2025, and I’ve been busy with a few other things as well. I have recently read:

• *The Origin Myth of the Acoma Pueblo*, as told by Edward Proctor Hunt (a Keresan speaker whose original name was Gaire);
• the Penguin translation of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca’s 1542 relación y comentarios, published under the title *Chronicle of the Narvaez Expedition* (I could and probably should have read this in the original, but I just wanted a quick overview of Cabeza de Vaca’s journey — I’ll take a deeper dive at a later date);
• *Lilavai*, a ninth-century CE Prakrit romance translated by Andrew Ollett (which was very good fun; I’ve owned a copy of the edition for several years now but only read the text in full this January);
• Tsangnyön Heruka’s *Life of Milarepa*, translated by Andrew Quintman;
• another Penguin compilation, this time of the fiction of American fantasy/horror writer Clark Ashton Smith — very much not the sort of thing I usually read but interesting and fun all the same;
• Arrian’s Anabasis Alexandrou and *Indica*, translated by Martin Hammond;

…as well as the introductions to and large chunks of the following:

• John Donne, *Complete English Poems*;
• *Cree Legends and Narratives from the West Coast of James Bay*, edited by C. Douglas Ellis (I’ve been reading the English translations but I really want to be able to read the Cree, and I’ve been making progress in that department);
• John Wesley Powell, *The Exploration of the Colorado and Its Canyons*;
• Eratosthenes and Hyginus, *Constellation Myths*;
• *The Zen Teaching of Bodhidharma*, translated by Red Pine;
• *The Penguin Book of Irish Poetry*;
• *The Cynic Philosophers, from Diogenes to Julian*;
• René Descartes, *Meditations*;
• Arthur Schopenhauer, *Essays and Aphorisms*;
• *Irish Grammar You Really Need to Know*;
• *Nāgārjuna’s Middle Way: Mūlamadhyamakakārikā*, translated with commentary by Mark Siderits and Shōryū Katsura;

…and a few other smaller bits and pieces not worth mentioning.

I seem to be keeping Penguin Random House afloat with my purchases these days. It’s just so convenient to buy e-books, and the quality of the translations and introductions is usually high (although there’s more variability than one might expect; Ilan Stavans’ introduction to the Cabeza de Vaca translation is shockingly poor).

I left Bluesky at the beginning of January, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere on here, and it’s amazing how freeing it has been. Last year, if I’d found myself with free time of an afternoon, I’d have a look at Bluesky and see what people were talking about, even if I didn’t feel like posting myself. It’s easy to get drawn in. And this simply isn’t a good use of one’s time.

I seem to have a lot more time and energy now. I used to feel the need to engage — in order to boost my profile, I suppose, or so as not to miss out on opportunities, professional or otherwise, or just to shout into the void in the hope of catharsis — but now I don’t. In the last six weeks or so I have felt happier and more alive than I had in some time. I can more easily immerse myself in the topics I’m reading about or studying without feeling distracted or overwhelmed by events that I have no stake or even very much interest in and about which I can in any case do nothing.

I’m still on Facebook — a necessity for emigrants, I’d say; keeping track of what’s going on elsewhere with friends and family is very difficult without it — but it’s such a cruddy old site that there’s simply no danger of addiction. Scroll for a minute or so and the whole feed devolves into an assortment of terrible short videos, advertisements for products I would never buy, and posts from friends that are days and often weeks old. Only occasionally will the timeline show something new and interesting.

Anyway: I seem to have a lot more time on my hands, and I’ve been using it productively. I’ve been working a lot, which is good because I’m hoping to be able to buy a house in the next couple of months. I don’t feel too stressed out about that process as of yet. I’m sure the stress will come. I’ve been working out too. And I’ve been doing a lot of language learning. I’m trying to learn three languages at once — or four, or five, sort of. This is hubristic but that’s fine: the learning is the point. I’m not expecting fluency in all or any of them. I’ll have more to say about this another time.

I may well post a couple more times this week, as I have a little bit more time than in past weeks (a few of my clients have gone on holiday), and I have more to say on a few topics. But I know that nobody really reads this blog.

A. J. West — still in Lisbon — February 2026.