books
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December reading plans
It’s “stick season” as they say where I live, which means that all the leaves have fallen and the forests are like webs of bare branches. Mornings are frosty, days are short, and I’ve gone searching in my drawers for my favorite knit hat again. Downtown they’ve hung wreaths and lights from the lampposts and Continue reading
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Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
“It is the hour of the pearl–the interval between day and night when time stops and examines itself.” I’m obsessed with the atmosphere Steinbeck created in Cannery Row. It’s a sort of liminal space where thoughts, hopes, and dreams can run wild and judgment dissipates, if only for a brief while. I read this book Continue reading
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November reading plans
My October was filled with cozy, spooky reads, from Frankenstein and The Scarlet Letter to Practical Magic and everything in between. I embraced reading seasonally and loved how much more connected it made me feel to autumn. I hope to read similarly in November. November has always felt like a sort of resting period to Continue reading
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The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
“No, no–there are depths, depths! The more I go over it, the more I see in it, and the more I see in it, the more I fear. I don’t know what I don’t see–what I don’t fear!” The Turn of the Screw by Henry James is such an underrated, under-appreciated autumnal read. This book Continue reading
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On reading seasonally
This fall I’ve been making a conscious effort to read seasonally, leaning into the moody, spooky, witchy vibes that these cooler months bring. And I’ve loved it. I’ve always been a mood reader, someone who reads based on whatever feelings I’m experiencing or craving. Yet for some reason, I’ve only occasionally synched up what I’m Continue reading
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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
“She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom.” I didn’t remember much about my first time reading Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter years ago. I recalled a bit of dense writing, a picturesque Salem setting, and the piercing image of Hester standing on the scaffold, emblazoned with an embroidered “A.” I began this Continue reading
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Autumnal reading plans
Autumn is my favorite season for reading. While I love the coziness of a snowy winter and reading under the summer sun, autumn always feels like the most energetic season to me. At least where I live, the leaves are turning into their fiery autumn colors. There’s a chill in the air, but the sky Continue reading
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THE BEST BOOKS I READ IN 2021
Happy 2022! It’s been a while–just over an entire year since I last posted. But I couldn’t resist popping in for a classic “best books I read last year” list. Needless to say, 2021 was yet another tumultuous, topsy-turvy year. Thankfully, reading continued to be an incredible outlet for escape, release, comfort, and growth. I Continue reading
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The best books I read in 2020
I thought making this list would be easy. Yet this year has gone by so quickly in hindsight (and so, so slowly in the moment) that somehow I forgot just how many fantastic books I read this year. In the midst of everything that became 2020, I managed to read 70 books, several of which Continue reading
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Dear The Reivers by William Faulkner: a much-needed exhale
Dear The Reivers by William Faulkner: After finishing what ended up being my most stressful semester of school yet (third semester of law school, it was a lot), I immediately knew what book I needed to pick up: you, the unread Faulkner book that had been waiting for me on my shelf for months. I’ve 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 