NB

On the train, I read The Following Story, a short novel, chosen for that reason. The narrator says he read some Tacitus.

After that I read something about Java, for since losing my job I have written travel guides, a moronic activity whereby I earn my living, but not nearly as moronic as all those so-called literary travel writers who can't resist pouring out their precious souls over the landscapes of the entire planet, just to amaze the middle classes.

Checking Amazon, hoping to see news of a new novel, I see that instead there's Nomad's Hotel, published in February. In it:

Nooteboom gives us his unique view of the world, using his penetrative observation to show us the strangeness in places we thought we knew and the familiarity of places most of us will probably never see. A whimsical, hilarious, heartbreaking tour of the world.