books
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More Books: Second Semester Edition
As per usual, I cannot refrain from accumulating more books. Being an English major certainly doesn’t remedy this problem because I’m constantly discovering works that I’d love to add to my collection. Here are some books that managed to slip through the cracks of my willpower this past semester: After reading (and loving!) Willa Cather’s… Continue reading
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THE REST OF US JUST LIVE HERE by Patrick Ness
“Because sometimes there are problems bigger than this week’s end of the world and sometimes you just have to find the extraordinary in your ordinary life.” Congratulations, Mr. Patrick Ness: you’ve done it again. You’ve written a novel that’s managed to simultaneously make me feel sad and happy and deeply understood, a story that is… Continue reading
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MY ÁNTONIA by Willa Cather
“Whatever else was gone, Ántonia had not lost the fire of life.” My Ántonia by Willa Cather blindsided me with its brilliance. I had never heard of it or the mastermind behind it until it became assigned reading for my Cultural Diversity in American Literature class. Even reading a brief description of this novel before… Continue reading
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SLAUGHTERHOUSE FIVE by Kurt Vonnegut
“All this happened, more or less.” Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five was always one of those books that I knew about but had never actually read. I knew that it was about World War II and vaguely had something to do with aliens, but other than that I was pretty much in the dark. During my winter… Continue reading
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THE NARRATIVE OF THE LIFE OF FREDERICK DOUGLASS, AN AMERICAN SLAVE by Frederick Douglass
“You have seen how a man was made a slave; you shall see how a slave was made a man.” Out of all the novels, short stories, and poems we read in my Introduction to Literature class, I chose to write my final paper on Frederick Douglass’ memoir, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An… Continue reading
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THE SOUND AND THE FURY by William Faulkner
“Clocks slay time… time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life.” Confused? If not, there’s about a 99 percent chance that you will be upon cracking open the spine of William Faulkner’s classic novel The Sound and the Fury. I read… Continue reading
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THE STARBOARD SEA by Amber Dermont
“Bellingham Academy: everything you always wanted in a prep school and less.” Boarding schools have always been a setting that immediately intrigues and captivates me. Generally, young adult literature is criticized for its lack of adult or parental figures, primarily because it doesn’t accurately reflect life as an adolescent. Sure, teenagers may feel as though… Continue reading
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THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins
I think that many readers– myself included– fall prey to the common misconception that there are two distinct categories of literature. The first of these categories could be considered “hard literature” (I don’t know if these names already exist– I’m completely making them up on the spot). These are the texts we are often forced… Continue reading
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PERSUASION by Jane Austen
Before reading Persuasion, the only novel I had ever read by Jane Austen was Pride and Prejudice, which I adored. I actually read the two back to back, which I quickly realized was a bit of a mistake. I found there to be a distinct difference in the tones of these two novels, and I was not expecting the more… Continue reading
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ABOUT GRACE by Anthony Doerr
Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See is easily one of the best novels I have ever read. I read it during Christmastime in 2014 and absolutely gushed about my love for it in a review I wrote shortly thereafter. It’s one of those books that sticks with you long after you read it, and consequently… 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 