The New Yorker Magazine

I started a subscription to the weekly New Yorker magazine, and now I have to find the discipline to keep up on those long non-fiction articles. They're always worth the effort in the end, but it takes time to plow through an issue, cover to cover.

The New Yorker fiction is fun, and I read that first. A story called "Trailhead" in the January 25th issue was one of the most beautifully written, engrossing short stories I've ever read. Believe it or not, the story is about ants. Of all things. I've never read anything quite like the way it blurs the line between non-fiction and fiction. You would think a story about an anthill would be boring, but the incredibly complex life in there has parallels with human social behavior and history. The New Yorker story is taken from a first novel called "Anthill" which was written by a biologist and is due out in the spring. I'm looking forward to reading it. If you're curious, an interview with the author, E.O. Wilson is on the New Yorker web page.