books
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Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet
“Inside the castle hovered a shadow version of him, alone, watching this full, well-lit house from the other’s emptiness. Looking through the glass, he was divided in two.” When I first learned the premise of Dinosaurs — a man moves into a new home next to a house with a glass wall, showing him his… Continue reading
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What I read in April (belatedly)
Somehow it’s already mid-May, and the reading outside season has fully begun where I live. I figured it was high time to chat about the books I read in April. Saving Time by Jenny Odell. I read Odell’s prior book How to Do Nothing a few years ago and loved it. While I didn’t enjoy… Continue reading
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My Life in France by Julia Child with Alex Prud’homme
“Upon reflection, I decided I had three main weaknesses: I was confused (evidenced by a lack of facts, an inability to coordinate my thoughts, and an inaility to verbalize my ideas); I had a lack of confidence, which caused me to back down from forcefully stated positions; and I was overly emotional at the expense… Continue reading
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Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
“A gripping psychological thriller from the Booker Prize–winning author of The Luminaries, Eleanor Catton’s Birnam Wood is Shakespearean in its drama, Austenian in its wit, and, like both influences, fascinated by what makes us who we are. A brilliantly constructed study of intentions, actions, and consequences, it is a mesmerizing, unflinching consideration of the human impulse to ensure… Continue reading
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5 books about focusing
Our ability to focus — or the lack thereof — is a major topic of conversation nowadays. From social media platforms with algorithms specifically designed to keep us scrolling to buzzing phones that hardly leave our sight, there’s so much about our surroundings that makes it hard to truly focus for more than a few… Continue reading
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Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
“Anna read and understood everything, but she found no pleasure in reading, that is to say, in following the reflection of other people’s lives. She was too eager to live herself.” What an incredible, incredible novel. I’d been intimidated by Anna Karenina for years, despite reading Tolstoy’s tome War and Peace a few summers back… Continue reading
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On slowing down and reading
Every January when I set reading goals for the new year, I tell myself that this will finally be the year when I slow down. I won’t care about how many books or pages I read. I won’t feel pressured to finish a book as fast as possible, or to rush through longer reads. Yet,… Continue reading
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Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman
“The premise of this book is that it is easier to recognize other people’s mistakes than our own.” In Thinking, Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman explores what he calls our System 1 — the intuitive, fast-moving side of our thinking — and System 2 — the slower, more logical side of our thinking. He discusses… Continue reading
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Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
“And wasn’t it sweet to be where you were and let it remind you of the past for once, despite the upset, instead of always looking on into the mechanics of the days and the trouble ahead, which might never come.” Claire Keegan’s short novel Small Things Like These is so easy to become enamored… Continue reading
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The White Album by Joan Didion
“Of course great hotels have always been social ideas, flawless mirrors to the particular societies they service.” (“In the Islands”) Published in 1979, The White Album is a collection of Didion’s essays that were previously included in magazines. These essays span a myriad of topics, from Didion’s thoughts on California, Hollywood, and Hawaii to the… Continue reading
About ME, 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 