Terri
“To practice solitude is to practice being in this singular moment, not caught in the past, not carried away by the future, and most of all, not carried away by the crowd. You don't have to go to the forest. You can live with people, you can go to the grocery store, you can walk with others—and you can still enjoy silence and solitude.”
As a casual fan of Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic both entertained and enlightened me in the way only a self-help book can.
“Compassion is the capacity to understand the suffering in oneself and in the other person. If you understand your own suffering, you can help him to understand his suffering.”
This was a confusing book, in the sense that I couldn't figure out what it was trying to be. I sped-read through it only to reach the ending with little satisfaction.
Jackson is extremely skilled in creating a sense of anxiety without resorting to the obvious. Her use of pacing, unreality, and paranoia are masterful. A recurring theme in her stories is the idea of everyone being crazy except for the main character - but accusing the main character of being the crazy one. Gaslighting, essentially. Because of this, the sense of powerlessness and frustration is palpable.
Favorites included:
(short stories)
- Paranoia
- Mrs. Spencer and the Oberons
- Company for Dinner
- Gaudeamus Igitur
- The Lie
- Family Treasures
- Showdown
- Six AM is the Hour
- The Man in the Woods
(essays)
- Good Old House
- The Ghosts of Loiret
One of my favorite novels from highschool, and one of the first books I found myself getting lost in growing up.
As someone who struggles with nutrition, especially when it comes to self-control and mindfulness, I found this book to be helpful.
“What is the purpose of eating a tangerine? It is to eat the tangerine. During the time you eat a tangerine, eating that tangerine is the most important thing in your life.”
This is the book that sparked my quest for a minimal life, and as such will hold a special place for me. While I don't think I need to re-read it, I would recommend it to anyone who is new to the process of decluttering or getting organized.
Marie Kondō definitely has her quirks, but I find her likable and sweet. There's nothing preachy about her, and she does her best to express that everyone's journey with minimalism is different.
I began this book after watching the Matt Damon version of the film and was pleased with the book's ending. Highsmith provided Ripley with everything he wanted in the end, which I found satisfying. Tom Ripley is a likable villain and despite his ill intent I found myself wanting him to succeed. I find myself at a bit of a loss for words while writing this review. The book was enthralling and I was absorbed until the very end. If you're a fan of the dark academia genre, you'll enjoy this one.
I'll definitely be looking into Highsmith's other novels.
One of the most disturbing books I've read in a long time. While I'm sure there were nuances lost in translation, the creeping sense of dread wasn't one of them. This isn't a book that I would recommend to anyone unless I knew they had a strong stomach and were into real-world type horror.
This is a brief, calm memoir with a sense of humor and many nuggets of wisdom. Regardless of your pursuits, this is a good read. You don't have to be a runner or a writer to get something out of this. Would recommend.
This book is an extended version of Chapter 11 in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Or rather, Dorian Gray is a condensed version of this novel. I loved it; the aesthetic descriptions were a pleasure to read and the prose is filled with delightful vocabulary and references to so many things that I think it's worth a re-read to explore in depth. I can see why this influenced Wilde, and how it served to corrupt Dorian. There's something both inspiring and cautionary about Des Esseintes, and the reader doesn't know whether to love him or be disgusted by him.
While I don't think it's possible to truly condense the entirety of human history in a single text, this is a good start for anyone looking to fill in the gaps of their history education.
This was very different from what I was expecting, and I was pleasantly surprised. Twist after twist, and it had a great ending. Worth the read.
This is a decent beach read, entertaining enough to pass the time. However, I found irony in a story whose main character is an editor, pushing an author to write characters with more depth, when the story itself lacked it. Every character, Elisha included, was a trope without much else involved.
I came close to giving up on the book more than once, but I was curious about the ending so I stuck with it.
TW: domestic abuse, rape
I haven't seen the show, so my impression of this book is only of the book. I really enjoyed it. I found each of the characters to be relatable and likeable in some way, they each felt unique and had a distinct voice. I was not expecting any of the twists.
It's not an easy read, as it does touch upon difficult subject matter, but it was captivating enough for me to feel affected by it when I was finished.
“There are two keys to effective and true communication. The first is deep listening. The second is loving speech.”
The prose flows well, the descriptions are lovely, and I feel like there is more to discover in the story. I related to both Rachel and Margaret, and while Bisto's character disgusted me more than anything due to her childish puppydog worship of Rachel, I understood her to some extent.
One of my favorite books in the Potter series, though arguably the saddest. Lupin and Tonks are what makes this book so good, in my opinion.
I agree with many of the other reviewers. Not only was an entire text on this topic nonessential, but the author is obnoxious to the point of distraction.
This book was written as some type of universal lifestyle guide under the delusion that everyone enjoys the same level of privilege as the author. His constant navel-gazing was frustrating, to say the least.