A Theory of Dog Ears

Why do people treat their books so differently? Some people like to keep their books in near-mint condition, handling them with metaphorical gloves on and making sure that there is not a single scratch to be found on their cover. Other people, like Sophus, want to dogear the corners, doodle in the margins, and crack the spine of every book they read. In this episode, Sophus traces the origins of this book-lover battle.

Hosted and written by Sophus Helle
Sound editing by Simone Nystrup-Larsen
Edited by Andreas Lindinger Saxild

Find out more at sophushelle.com/monkeymind


Combining wit and wisdom, silliness and seriousness, the podcast Monkey Mind by Sophus Helle takes the audience on a weekly jaunt through the jungle of the mind. Each episode throws a new and unusual light on the issues of everyday life—trees, typos, taxes, and much more besides—making the audience look again at a world they thought they knew. It tells stories that are designed to make the listener chuckle, then reflect, drawn from both the host’s own life and from the deep well of history.


Sophus Helle is a writer, translator, and cultural historian. He is an expert in the Babylonian epic Gilgamesh and the ancient poet Enheduana.