every day i get my heart ripped out & every day i simply just continue
These are not books, lumps of lifeless paper, but minds alive on the shelves.
- Gilbert Hignet
hello from british columbia 🗻 i’ve already found myself in several bookstores, even in whistler. here’s one i haven’t heard of but purchased anyway because it sounded so good ➡️ having and being had by eula bliss i’ve been in BC for a few days now and it’s felt so good to be away. i missed it here so much — i got to visit family i haven’t seen in over ten years and it felt so bittersweet. it’s a bit sad i’m not here seeing my nana since that’s the only reason we used to visit but i know that these bookstores i went to are probably the same ones she would wander through and bring home books to me as a kid. i got to see snow for the first time❕❄️ and visited the mountains. i went snow tubing? which was so fun and have hiked several little trails. it really is my home away from home. all i need to really feel at home is my dog 🐕 🏷 #britishcolumbia #vancouver #havingandbeinghad #eulabliss #riverheadbooks (at Vancouver, British Columbia) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp8y_g0Pmos/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
Today I was greeted at my favorite coffee shop with a hug and it really reinforced my belief that baristas are the backbone of this existence :,)
‘Women are strongest when bearing one another’s pain. We each take a little on ourselves. No one dies, and we all heal together.’
Kiersten White, The Guinevere Deception (via brightbeautifulthings)
i am missing the little bookstore i used to work at so much lately
‘You can never get a cup of tea large enough
or a book long enough to suit me. ‘ C.S. Lewis
© Frances
7, 8 and 9 please?
7. What was your average Goodreads rating? Does it seem accurate?
it was 4.6 stars out of 5 which seems right! although i didn’t read much this year, i read a lot of amazing books :)
8. Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?
i didn’t read my overall goal to read 25 books (MUCH less than usual, 2020 was even worse bc i only read 8 books) but i did read mostly asian authors this year which is something i really wanted to do more of :)
9. Did you get into any new genres?
no, not really! i think the most diff thing i read this year was probably adichie’s tiny book on grief. other than that, i stuck to a lot of manga, fiction and memoirs :)
ask questions from here!
Thanks for answering! With how few books you read and your average rating, I’m curious: did you just pick up awesome books semi-accidentally, or did you wind up DNFing a lot? What’s the best one you read (or the one you think I’d enjoy most)?
i think a few things went into it!!
- since i read less, i was able to focus on the books i was reading more often and i made better choices on what i felt like reading. i did dnf a few things because i simply didn’t want to read them. i only kept reading things i was enjoying
- i also read a lot of books that i’ve been meaning to read for awhile (a secret history, song of achilles, a little life, norwegian wood, etc.) so i was looking forward to these reads! they’re all pretty popular so i had high hopes going into them and wasn’t really disappointed (maybe a lil with norwegian wood lol)
- i read a lot of manga which i genuinely never rate poorly so that could be why my rating is so high. i gave like every manga i read this year 4/5 stars just cuz i love it so much lol
- i did stumble upon a new fav tho! Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner was my favorite book this year and i bought it on a whim, knowing nothing about it besides the fact it was written by the lead of Japanese Breakfast. it was perfect timing for me to read that book too! a little bit of everything tbh :)
Very early morning or very late night... either way, cozy reading with Chekhov and my favorite tea <3
🎵 Chopin, Mazurkas - Performed by Vladimir Ashkenazy
What were your top five books of the year?
i'm in the middle of a book that could possibly be included in this but as for things i've finished this year, here are some of my favs (IN NO ORDER)
- Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
- Gallant by V.E. Schwab (comes out March 2022!)
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
- A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (not quite done with this one yet but the writing is absolutely beautiful)
ask questions from here!
7, 8 and 9 please?
7. What was your average Goodreads rating? Does it seem accurate?
it was 4.6 stars out of 5 which seems right! although i didn't read much this year, i read a lot of amazing books :)
8. Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?
i didn't read my overall goal to read 25 books (MUCH less than usual, 2020 was even worse bc i only read 8 books) but i did read mostly asian authors this year which is something i really wanted to do more of :)
9. Did you get into any new genres?
no, not really! i think the most diff thing i read this year was probably adichie's tiny book on grief. other than that, i stuck to a lot of manga, fiction and memoirs :)
ask questions from here!
if u ask me to go to the park and just swing on swings with u there is 98% chance i will say yes and swing for 5 hours do not test me
young adulthood is extremely lonely but also wildly freeing. i’ve gotten coffee at three different cafes today
"Love is the only force that allows us to hold one another close beyond the grave. That is why knowing how to love each other is also a way of knowing how to die."
— bell hooks, All About Love: New Visions
working in a bookstore is both a blessing and a curse 💔
end-of-year book ask
- How many books did you read this year?
- Did you reread anything? What?
- What were your top five books of the year?
- Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?
- What genre did you read the most of?
- Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?
- What was your average Goodreads rating? Does it seem accurate?
- Did you meet any of your reading goals? Which ones?
- Did you get into any new genres?
- What was your favorite new release of the year?
- What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?
- Any books that disappointed you?
- What were your least favorite books of the year?
- What books do you want to finish before the year is over?
- Did you read any books that were nominated for or won awards this year (Booker, Women’s Prize, National Book Award, Pulitzer, Hugo, etc.)? What did you think of them?
- What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?
- Did any books surprise you with how good they were?
- How many books did you buy?
- Did you use your library?
- What was your most anticipated release? Did it meet your expectations?
- Did you participate in or watch any booklr, booktube, or book twitter drama?
- What’s the longest book you read?
- What’s the fastest time it took you to read a book?
- Did you DNF anything? Why?
- What reading goals do you have for next year?
Does such a thing as 'the fatal flaw,'
That showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature?
I used to think it didn't. Now I think it does.
And I think that mine is this:
A morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs
~Donna Tartt, The Secret History
actually i firmly believe that libraries are some of the most sacred and necessary pillars of a community. they often offer as much solace as a church, care resources and shelter as a community center, knowledge miles beyond what most schools can afford and spaces for community to cultivate at any age. i’m glad to fully appreciate this privilege now that they’re beginning to reopen but if you have a local library you can support and give either time money or effort towards, i see it as a great place to start in community investment