Me too! And interesting to see the word ‘selfish’ here, as I have an article about ‘selfishness’ being a feminist issue in my drafts... it’s a pretty personal one, so I’m trying to work out when I’ll feel strong enough to publish it x
I very deliberately chose the word selfish because I don’t necessarily think of selfish as a negative thing. It felt like the right way to describe a choice I’m making which is entirely about me and my own needs - rather than doing what others think I should do, or doing it to please others. It’s an inwardly focused decision. I want to read your piece about selfishness!!
This sounds familiar! I can’t help but buy books for my husband that I think he will love. Then I end up being the one to read them, which adds an interesting mix of occasional horror and sci-fi to my usual stacks.
I recently read a book I think I remember you recommending quite a while ago - Children of Paradise. So good, and also very dark. The perfect seasonal read followed by a palate cleanser or five. 😅
Omg - I started reading Bunny by Mona Awad, which was even more surreal and violent than Children of Paradise (and twice as long!) and even though it’s objectively very good, I could not cope and had to stop half way 😂😂. I was not in the mood. Required a couple of rom coms to recover 🤣. I’ll go back to it when I’m feeling stronger 🙃
I felt similarly about Maps of our Spectacular Bodies - had to pace it slowly with plenty of breaks to counteract the emotional toll. And keen to read Julia by Sandra Newman soon but 1984 hit me hard, so I’m a bit scared to go in.
Me too! And interesting to see the word ‘selfish’ here, as I have an article about ‘selfishness’ being a feminist issue in my drafts... it’s a pretty personal one, so I’m trying to work out when I’ll feel strong enough to publish it x
I very deliberately chose the word selfish because I don’t necessarily think of selfish as a negative thing. It felt like the right way to describe a choice I’m making which is entirely about me and my own needs - rather than doing what others think I should do, or doing it to please others. It’s an inwardly focused decision. I want to read your piece about selfishness!!
My husband has said that if he wants me to read a book, he can’t recommend it to me because if he does it will languish for years in the tbr pile.😆
This sounds familiar! I can’t help but buy books for my husband that I think he will love. Then I end up being the one to read them, which adds an interesting mix of occasional horror and sci-fi to my usual stacks.
Ha! My boyfriend gave up buying me books I think - it’s been a while 😂
I recently read a book I think I remember you recommending quite a while ago - Children of Paradise. So good, and also very dark. The perfect seasonal read followed by a palate cleanser or five. 😅
Omg - I started reading Bunny by Mona Awad, which was even more surreal and violent than Children of Paradise (and twice as long!) and even though it’s objectively very good, I could not cope and had to stop half way 😂😂. I was not in the mood. Required a couple of rom coms to recover 🤣. I’ll go back to it when I’m feeling stronger 🙃
I felt similarly about Maps of our Spectacular Bodies - had to pace it slowly with plenty of breaks to counteract the emotional toll. And keen to read Julia by Sandra Newman soon but 1984 hit me hard, so I’m a bit scared to go in.
Well said! I too have never joined a book club for that exact reason.
I go through phases with my reading... a while back I only read memoirs... until I realised I'd turned into someone who only read memoirs. 😂