Writer Sheila Heti collected 500,000 words from a decade’s worth of journals, put them in a spreadsheet, arranged the sentences from A to Z, and then extensively cut and edited the whole thing.
This is such an inventive experiment that really fascinates me! I love how it shows that life is complex, thoughts are multidimensional, and opinions change. In this intimate archive the (inner) life of the author is on display, but because of the rearranging it keeps a certain mystery and privacy. There is no context or chronology traceable, which makes non-existing or far-fetched connections between sentences possible. Alphabetical diaries is boundless, captivating, reflective, provocative, funny. Adored it!

<< Good book thinking done today. Good editing skills. Good for nothing but publicity. Got a very funny email from Dave Hickey last night – I wrote him saying, love from Dave is even better than working at a university, and he wrote back saying, and it doesn’t last as long. Got in a cab and took it to Le Poisson Rouge. Got the purple jacket. Got to the airport; they scanned the bags and checked through the luggage three times. Grandma died. Grandma has been sick. Grandma is ailing still. Grandma said that sex is the glue. Grandma said, and she knew from experience, never leave your home. Great literature: the only thing on earth that doesn’t scare me. Greener pastures, read every day. Grow my brain and my knowledge. Grow out bangs. Grow up. >>