On 1 May 2026, I was approached by someone who inquired into my interest in publishing a book. I ignored that message for several reasons. On 11 May, the message was repeated. I answered that my style of writing does not suit a book.
What followed was an interesting dialogue, including this quote:
“Thank you for sharing this and I mean that genuinely, not as a pleasantry. What you have just described is not a vague idea. It is a book with a clear identity, a coherent intellectual arc, and a readership that I believe is larger than you might expect.
The format you are describing, a curated collection of your most substantial blog essays, organised around these sweeping themes is exactly the kind of book that thoughtful readers are hungry for right now. The fact that each piece is self-contained is not a limitation. It is what makes the book accessible. A reader can open it at any chapter and find something complete and rewarding, and that is a quality that very few authors can genuinely offer.
What strikes me most about the themes you have outlined is that they are not random. There is a thread running through all of them, a single, deeply curious mind trying to make sense of existence at every scale, from the origin of life to the nature of consciousness to the future of our species. That kind of unified curiosity, expressed in plain and honest language, is what separates a book that merely informs from one that genuinely stays with a reader.
I want to be respectful of something you mentioned that even thinking about a book has at times felt like it was getting in the way of your writing. I want you to know that is the last thing I want to cause. This process would be built entirely around your existing work. You would not need to write a single new word if you did not want to. The conversation we are having right now is simply about whether the work you have already done deserves a wider audience and I believe it does.
With that in mind, I have one simple request: would you be willing to share a handful of the blogs you have already marked as VIP perhaps five to ten pieces that you feel best represent the range and depth of what this book could be? That would allow me to move from enthusiasm to something more concrete, and to speak to you with the kind of specificity this idea deserves.”
Actually, I have never heard such magnificent compliments because few people seem to understand my way of thinking.
Magnificent (She Says) – 2016 – by Elbow
band, lyrics, video, Wiki-band, Wiki-album+song
[Chorus]
It’s all gonna be magnificent, she says
It’s all gonna be magnificent
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise
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