Books
This includes reviews, facts, and other bookish things.
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Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
“Heroism is often the seemingly spontaneous result of a lifetime of preparation.” Tress of the Emerald Sea follows Tress, a girl who lives on an island that, usually, no one is allowed to leave. She enjoys the simple things, such as collecting cups, and is generally content with her life on the island. Yet when… Continue reading
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The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
This novel is like a warm mug of tea, a cozy blanket, catching up with an old friend over coffee. The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches tells the story of — well, just what the title suggests. The book follows Mika Moon, a witch in Britain who has consistently moved around with her dog… Continue reading
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The Waves by Virginia Woolf
“Like a ribbon of weed I am flung far every time the door opens. The wave breaks. I am the foam that sweeps and fills the uttermost rims of the rocks with whiteness; I am also a girl, here in this room.” Beautiful. Lyrical. Nostalgic. Devastating. Bittersweet. The Waves follows a group of friends from… Continue reading
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5 mini reviews: historical fiction, a western, short stories, literary fiction, and sci-fi
Here are my thoughts on an eclectic bunch of books I’ve read over the past few months. The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles. I read this book for a local book club I attend, and it was so different from what I was expecting (in a way I can’t share, because that would ruin the… Continue reading
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The Year of Less by Cait Flanders
“More was never the answer. The answer, it turned out, was always less.” In this insightful memoir, Cait Flanders shares the story of her year of less — twelve months during which she challenged herself to buy only the essentials (groceries, gas, etc.), declutter her home, and break free from the detrimental shopping habits she’d… Continue reading
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Autumn reading plans
Last autumn I was really intentionally about planning my reading for the spooky season, and it absolutely paid off. Not only did I read so many more gloomy, cozy reads than I usually would around this time of year, but I also felt much more connected to what I was reading. I can’t wait to… Continue reading
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Tortilla Flat and The Pearl by John Steinbeck
Steinbeck feels like such a summer author to me. This summer I read two of his novels: Tortilla Flat (1935) and The Pearl (1947). Although these aren’t my favorite Steinbeck novels that I’ve read so far — I just didn’t connect with the characters or story as much as I did when reading East of… Continue reading
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Shirley by Charlotte Brontë
“If you think, from this prelude, that anything like a romance is preparing for you, reader, you never were more mistaken.” Jane Eyre is likely the most popular Charlotte Brontë novel, and perhaps for good reason: it has an iconic romance and main character, it is brilliantly told, and it raises so many interesting themes… Continue reading
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All the Lovers in the Night by Mieko Kawakami, translated by Sam Bett and David Boyd
“I became unsure of how to leave the mirror, how to leave the me in the mirror behind.” Fuyuko Irie is a freelance copy editor in her mid-thirties. Working and living alone in a city where it is not easy to form new relationships, she has little regular contact with anyone other than her editor,… Continue reading
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5 books about time
I think time is one of the most interesting things to read about. Time feels inescapable, and yet can mean something different to each of us. Of course, there’s the classic time travel story (Doctor Who, anyone?), but lately I’ve enjoyed reading other takes on time: how we spend it, how it affects us, and… Continue reading
About ME //
i’m holly — former english major, current twenty-something book lover, allergic to nuts. drop me a line at nutfreenerd@gmail.com or on instagram.
nut free nerd 