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sydn3y3's reviews
373 reviews
Intermezzo by Sally Rooney
emotional
reflective
sad
5.0
she’s done it again of course!!! i cried at the end so its a 5 star for me!
an experiment bound almost certainly for one kind of failure or another, and yet attaining for these few hours and days to a miraculous success, a perfection of beauty, inexchangeable, meant not to be interpreted, meant only to be lived and nothing more.
live your life and love, baby!! what else is there to do
an experiment bound almost certainly for one kind of failure or another, and yet attaining for these few hours and days to a miraculous success, a perfection of beauty, inexchangeable, meant not to be interpreted, meant only to be lived and nothing more.
live your life and love, baby!! what else is there to do
The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
5.0
what is art if not a striving for human connection?!?????
i loved this so much. i have typically preferred cather’s books that focus on people living on the great plains, so i was a little worried i wouldn’t like the song of the lark as much. additionally, i struggled to get into it during the first portion of the book, which is the only part that takes place on the great plains. but i so connected with Thea’s coming-of-age in Chicago that it felt like I raced through the book, even though it took me almost a month to finish. but i think i needed that month to really sit with it properly.
the portion in arizona was beautiful.
an artist’s bildungsroman at its finest featuring romance and weird relationships and not much closure on these relationships but who cares because the point of the book is the artist! and the art! and how she learns to connect with others through her art! i love it!!
and there’s queer vibes all around! it’s palpable how much you can tell cather is basing thea’s story off of her own experiences.
and the end made me cry so 5 stars automatically lol
this line!!!:
what was any art but an effort to make a sheath, a mound in which to imprison for a moment the shining, elusive element which is life itself—life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose?
like wtf yes exactly.
i’m going to be returning to this one.
i loved this so much. i have typically preferred cather’s books that focus on people living on the great plains, so i was a little worried i wouldn’t like the song of the lark as much. additionally, i struggled to get into it during the first portion of the book, which is the only part that takes place on the great plains. but i so connected with Thea’s coming-of-age in Chicago that it felt like I raced through the book, even though it took me almost a month to finish. but i think i needed that month to really sit with it properly.
the portion in arizona was beautiful.
an artist’s bildungsroman at its finest featuring romance and weird relationships and not much closure on these relationships but who cares because the point of the book is the artist! and the art! and how she learns to connect with others through her art! i love it!!
and there’s queer vibes all around! it’s palpable how much you can tell cather is basing thea’s story off of her own experiences.
and the end made me cry so 5 stars automatically lol
this line!!!:
what was any art but an effort to make a sheath, a mound in which to imprison for a moment the shining, elusive element which is life itself—life hurrying past us and running away, too strong to stop, too sweet to lose?
like wtf yes exactly.
i’m going to be returning to this one.
Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont by Elizabeth Taylor
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.5
a good reminder to call my grandma regularly!!!
Eastbound by Maylis de Kerangal
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
3.5
quick but exciting!
loved the lake baikal content
loved the lake baikal content
Teaching a Stone to Talk: Expeditions and Encounters by Annie Dillard
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I love Dillard’s writing, but only in nonfiction forms. I tried to read a novel of hers and couldn’t do it, but i could read her ramblings about nature and life forever. I don’t think I’ll ever find anything that will top Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, but Teaching A Stone To Talk was still lovely. Some fave moments below:
The mind wants to live forever, or to learn a very good reason why not. The mind wants the world to return its love, or its awareness; the mind wants to know all the world, and all eternity, and God. The mind’s sidekick, however, will settle for two eggs over easy. The dear, stupid body is as easily satisfied as a spaniel.
What is the difference between a cathedral and a physics lab? Are they not both saying: Hello?
That is why I take walks: to keep an eye on things.
if all these passions of mine be overturned, then what will become of me? then what am i now?
this is a whole passage, forgive me: god does not demand that we give up our personal dignity, that we throw in our lot with random people, that we lose ourselves and turn from all that is not him. god needs nothing, asks nothing, and demands nothing, like the stars. it is a life with god which demands these things.
experience has taught the race that if knowledge of god is the end, then these habits of life are not the means but the condition in which the means operates. you do not have to do these things; not at all. god does not, i regret to report, give a hoot. you do not have to do these things—unless you want to know god. they work on you, not on him.
you do not have to sit outside in the dark. if, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary. but the stars neither require nor demand it.
The mind wants to live forever, or to learn a very good reason why not. The mind wants the world to return its love, or its awareness; the mind wants to know all the world, and all eternity, and God. The mind’s sidekick, however, will settle for two eggs over easy. The dear, stupid body is as easily satisfied as a spaniel.
What is the difference between a cathedral and a physics lab? Are they not both saying: Hello?
That is why I take walks: to keep an eye on things.
if all these passions of mine be overturned, then what will become of me? then what am i now?
this is a whole passage, forgive me: god does not demand that we give up our personal dignity, that we throw in our lot with random people, that we lose ourselves and turn from all that is not him. god needs nothing, asks nothing, and demands nothing, like the stars. it is a life with god which demands these things.
experience has taught the race that if knowledge of god is the end, then these habits of life are not the means but the condition in which the means operates. you do not have to do these things; not at all. god does not, i regret to report, give a hoot. you do not have to do these things—unless you want to know god. they work on you, not on him.
you do not have to sit outside in the dark. if, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find that darkness is necessary. but the stars neither require nor demand it.
Happiness, as Such by Natalia Ginzburg
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
a good quick read :) the way her prose is so spare but still so good! i want to go write a letter
Salka Valka by Halldór Laxness
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
first book i’ve read that takes place in iceland. deals with feminism, socialism, existentialism. and romance, which was heartwrenching! a girl’s coming of age and her journey with individualism vs community. the descriptions of the icelandic landscapes were beautiful
2025 update: i was just informed that there is a writing form called the Icelandic saga, which borrows a lot from oral tradition. which makes the style of Salka Valka make sooooo much sense. Bumping my 4.5 stars to 5 stars, hands down
2025 update: i was just informed that there is a writing form called the Icelandic saga, which borrows a lot from oral tradition. which makes the style of Salka Valka make sooooo much sense. Bumping my 4.5 stars to 5 stars, hands down
The Corner That Held Them by Sylvia Townsend Warner
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
i loved this. not much happens but life happens. i was laughing out loud sometimes. i can’t wait to read more from sylvia - if i liked this, what wouldn’t i like from her?? lmao
the one line i underlined:
but causation tunnels like a mole under the surface of our free will
i was kinda stumped on how the book ended - right when something big is happening?? but i guess it could’ve ended anywhere and still been the same - the goings ons of the nuns of Oby. what can i say i love reading a slice of life
not really religious at all which was funny but also nice. i feel like i could’ve gotten bored with sincere religion. this is very much about the nuns and their earthly lives, even if they are committing their lives to the lord - how do they interact? how do they as a community live their lives? how does the community change over time? good shit
the one line i underlined:
but causation tunnels like a mole under the surface of our free will
i was kinda stumped on how the book ended - right when something big is happening?? but i guess it could’ve ended anywhere and still been the same - the goings ons of the nuns of Oby. what can i say i love reading a slice of life
not really religious at all which was funny but also nice. i feel like i could’ve gotten bored with sincere religion. this is very much about the nuns and their earthly lives, even if they are committing their lives to the lord - how do they interact? how do they as a community live their lives? how does the community change over time? good shit
The Winter People by John Ehle
emotional
tense
medium-paced
5.0
a lovely, lovely story/snapshot of a small mountain community. i was wondering where this was going to go and then i was wondering how the hell it could end well and then my mouth dropped when i realized what was happening!! so well done, I’ll read anything of Ehle’s. A master at capturing our simplest of interactions and how complex they can be.