i actually haven’t read any of his work from this decade yet, but based on his other stuff i’m assuming that his time is a mother collection is beautiful and has important things to say about queerness, war & diaspora. or daniel mason’s novel north woods - an epistolary eulogy for ecosystems we’ll never get back, with suCH beautiful imagery and interwoven symbolism. it verbalised a lot of my grief & longing & frustration, which i think are feelings i share with just about everyone
Jul 15, 2024
Related Recs
this is a book adaptation of Vuong's poem of the same name and it is so damn good. its a beautiful reflection on the authors life as a gay, Vietnamese-American living in America, dealing with the difficulties of growing up, falling in love, dealing with the consequences of the war in Vietnam, and loss, all written as a letter to Vuong's mother, who will never be able to read it.
another rec, if you're even remotely invested in environmental writing, I really recommend you read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin W. Kimmerer. my favorite book of all time. it is a mix of indigenous and scientific perspectives and its done so beautifully
May 13, 2024
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this read ripped my heart out and put it back into my chest one size bigger
Jan 24, 2024
😃
This one isnt that long but it took me months because some of the grief and experiences he writes about are so raw and his writing would leave me so breathless I would have to keep taking breaks and have to set the book down for a few days. Never read anything so heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time.
Jul 1, 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