No sparkle, no outburst. In Kafka’s world, nothing seeks to shine. No embellishment, no spectacle, no flamboyant lyricism. And yet, his name has become an adjective, Kafkaesque. That alone says how deeply his quiet yet persistent voice has marked world literature and art. Reading Kafka is entering a text that doesn’t seek attention, but acts…
This is your first book. You love it. You believe in it. And it’s not just blind affection — a trusted relative or even your editor has confirmed its merit. You’ve done everything by the book: a captivating cover, a compelling title, and an enticing back-cover blurb. These elements are essential. They draw the reader…
Some revolutions don’t knock. They slip quietly into our daily lives, unnoticed at first, until we can no longer live without them. In 1979, Sony introduced a device with an almost unremarkable name: the Walkman. But behind this modest word lay a quiet metamorphosis. For the first time, music broke free from living rooms, records,…
Why am I getting immersed in this novel, but not the other one?It’s a question many readers (and writers) ask themselves. Some stories grip us completely—we feel part of the world, emotionally attached to the characters, worried for their fate, moved to tears. Other stories, while enjoyable, remain distant. We finish them, smile, and forget…
For millennia, humanity has been captivated by a profound question: what is the connection between our physical body and what we might call the essence of our being, our mind, our consciousness? This enigma dates back to ancient Greek philosophy, where thinkers offered divergent views. Plato conceived the soul as an immaterial and immortal entity,…
A painting, motionless for over five centuries, still captivates all who gaze upon it. Its mystery lies not only in technique or history but in the deep unease it provokes. Why do we feel as if the Mona Lisa is watching us? Why does her smile seem to shift? Why does she appear to be…
What if your reality was nothing more than a dream carefully planted in your mind? What if your most cherished memories weren’t really yours, just thoughts, slipped in without your knowledge? Released in 2010, Inception, directed by Christopher Nolan, masterfully blurs the line between dream and waking life, memory and manipulation, the intimate and the…
Type “Harry Potter,” “Robert Langdon,” or “Daenerys Targaryen” into any search engine, and you’ll find countless pages detailing their beliefs, values, flaws, and life stories, as if they were real people. I’m not talking about the actors, Daniel Radcliffe, Tom Hanks, or Emilia Clarke, but the fictional characters they brought to life. These characters, born…
My doctor says it’s okay to exercise, but when it becomes a strain, you better quit. Mohamed Ali : Man, your doctor don’t know what he’s talking about. That’s what you want to do, strain. You want to run into the pains. You want to run until your throat feels like sandpaper. You want to…
We like to believe that our emotions, thoughts, and behaviors stem from rational and observable mechanisms. But what happens when invisible forces, hidden from conscious awareness, prove to be the true architects of our well-being? In the 18th century, Franz Anton Mesmer, a controversial figure at the intersection of science and mysticism, challenged this assumption…