The Return of The Untranslated

Theodore Von Holst. Illustration from the frontispiece of the 1831 edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein.

I’ve tried several versions of my return speech, from bombastic to self-deprecatory, but all of them seemed off. I even compared my blog to Frankenstein’s monster, who I’d decided to resuscitate; hence the picture. I wanted to mention how I suddenly started getting job offers because of the content I had created here over the 6-year period, and how the stats haven’t declined much over the fallow year, and also how The Untranslated has been gaining new followers despite the farewell message hanging at the top. But all those things wouldn’t have been a sufficient reason for me to resume blogging. There’s just some things I have discovered that I’d like to share, and posting a recommendation on Twitter (“look, what an awesome book!”) wouldn’t cut it. That said, I also realise that I need an external stimulus to resume even a semblance of my past activity, no matter how token this stimulus may be, and that’s why I’ve joined Patreon. My first review after the hiatus is available there. It took me a week to write it. I do not intend to keep it and other reviews behind the lock forever, of course: everything which first appears on Patreon will be reposted here after a month with one condition: there is at least one person supporting me. If there is none, this blog dies again and for good. That’s the easiest way for me to check the real value of what I’ve been doing here. Deeds matter. Words don’t. Good to see you again, everybody.