at 1st the only sunny books i could think of were Klara and the Sun (sad), Dry (traumatising) and The God of Small Things (sad & traumatic but sooo beautiful - these r all great books but this 1 is leagues ahead)
i started typing this hoping i would have some cheerier recs by the time i got to this point but i think that’s it.. that’s all i have in me…… it seems i simply associate the sun with soul-crushing devastation
May 12, 2024
Related Recs
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I just finished reading “I will greet the sun again” by Khashayar J. Khabushani. Such a beautiful layered book about a young queer iranian boy growing up in LA with his family In the 90’s/00’s. Some of the reviews say it’s devastating and beautiful. It really is. I left it with knots in my stomach and a real want for freedom. What are some of your recommendations?
Mar 27, 2025
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the goldfinch - donna tartt
- my favourite novel of all time. it puts my sorry ass into perspective
the setting sun - osamu dazai
- a pi.fyi rec !! pretty prose… waiting for the cryfest
regarding the pain of others - susan sontag
- there is feeling pain yourself and then there is the empathy of watching someone in pain and trying to imagine that pain on to yourself. basically no matter how hard you try, it’s never done justice from our privileged position of not being in pain. thinking abojt this in regards to the shared images of the Palestinian and Sudanese genocide
Feb 25, 2024
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just finished reading this after sitting on my bookshelf for 10+ years. one of my favorite reads this year although re: your criteria, it may be a little bit depressing but in a chill nothing matters type of way. Confusing at parts (which is kinda fun) and would consider rereading
Jul 15, 2024
Top Recs from @nikau
Feb 1, 2024
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romanticise ur blunders & ur missteps, bc that is just part of being a creature. if u saw a duckling fall flat on its face and scramble 2 its feet u wouldn't judge the freakin duckling, u would think it was the cutest thing ever. because it is. we r just organisms in big ungainly bodies, and that is part of our charm. tripping over ur own feet is maybe the most adorable thing u can do. like awwhh u tripped on the pavement </333
this extends 2 social interactions 2. messaging exes that u miss them, making a joke that doesn't land, mishearing/not knowing/forgetting something, etc??!!?! SO SWEET. genuinely such wonderful & important & adorable things 2 do.
i think this is maybe the best thing i've ever managed 2 train my brain 2 do. it isn't foolproof but it makes life a lot gentler.
Feb 5, 2024
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just about everything that happens to you will be interesting to your future self/your descendants/archaeologists. immortalise your to do lists, shopping lists, packing lists, things that loved ones say, things that strangers say, the phrases you hear that would make a good band name. brainstorm what to do on the weekend, list your cravings, the songs stuck in your head, transcribe birdsong, etc. i track my periods & my finances in my journal. sometimes if i really want to take a photo of something i'll restrain myself and draw it in my journal instead. sometimes i take notes for uni in there, or draft sewing patterns, or sketch when im bored. journals are self-portraits!!!!!!!
Apr 21, 2024