"One gets a feeling of almost reading a diary," he told me recently.
To read a diary by a court lady of the 10th century is still a moving experience, because she described with such honesty and intensity her deepest feelings that the modern-day reader forgets the chasm of history and changed social customs separating her world from today's.
"I read a diary entry that said sometimes instead of a food tray, you get a brown paper bag.
She adds: "I don't have people coming up to me at the law school saying, 'Oh, that was an interesting post.' It seems silly but it's almost like they think they're reading a secret diary of mine and they're not supposed to talk about it".
The heavily redacted 1,000+ page data dump reads like a diary of federal judges scolding intelligence agencies for overreaching their authority.
Rather than a twisted, nightmarish vision, Britain's Hardest Grafter reads like a diary of the average working day for millions of British people.
Her Instagram reads like a diary of all the best bits of being young: partying, pashing, napping, hanging out, road-tripping.
Elsewhere, there are also a few sections that read more like a diary of Mason's fascinating assignments than scenes from a global revolution.
Qureshi began reading a page of Malala's diary to her young pupils every day in her class, and encouraged them to begin writing their own.
I've not finished it yet as I'm also reading The Diary of a Nobody by George and Weedon Grossmith.
