The heart surges

From time to time, 

when a piece of music no one has ever written, 

or a painting no one has ever painted, 

or something else impossible to predict, fathom, or yet describe takes place, 

a new feeling enters the world.

And then, for the millionth time in the history of feeling, 

the heart surges, and absorbs the impact."

—Nicole Krauss (The History of Love) 

Don't think about the choices that you make

Some random life lessons I learned this quarter:

Light in August by William Faulkner is an amazing book. I have had moments of intense love and hatred for Faulkner. Mostly hatred.

The boys of 1D are so far removed from me, they can never let me down. Hence why I prefer them to reality. Except when Zayn possibly cheated on his girlfriend. That was a rough moment. I guess one can't be that beautiful without a few mishaps.

All you can eat sushi is dangerous. I should not order 15 roles and 7 appetizer between four people. I will feel sick, and I will find alternative ways to get rid of said sushi.

My hair cannot last for more than a day without washing, so please learn. I do not have the hair of Beyonce.

The best way to end the quarter is most definitely to have an impromptu dance party with my roommates.

I don't know how to cook. Have I had fruit this week? No. How many eggs have I had in the last three days? Way too many. And I don't even really like eggs.

There are a lot of things I hate about Texas. But there are also a lot of things I love about Texas. Like Friday Night Lights and my best friend from high school. She is beyond the coolest.

Winter quarter be gone. Nashville here I come :)


Post title from Landfill by Daughter. According to itunes, I have listened to this song 27 times this week.

Let me be and let me live

I just snatched the window seats at Noble Tree, my favorite coffee shop in Chicago :)  Success.  The view is beautiful... I would much rather look out at snow covered streets then walk through it.

Anywhoo I've started reading Ulysses by James Joyce for one of my classes... and dang that book is dense. I feel like I'm reading an encyclopedia, but without the explanations.  But I get so much satisfaction in reading not because of Joyce's brilliance, but really because my copy of the book is so lovely.  It is a light blue hard cover with simple font.

Before you laugh at how silly I am for being obsessed with a book's appearance, check this girl out. She dressed up as her Ulysses book.  I admire her :)

That cover page is amazing. No one can argue with that.  Speaking of beautiful and simple graphic design, check out this movie poster for Never Let Me Go.  I love.

Summer Reading, the good kind :)

As I am packing for college slash staring at my overflowing suitcase that looks like it is about to eat me alive, I am trying to think if I got anything done this summer.  Not really.  I had this huge list of books I wanted to get through... didn't really happen.  But I will give you my opinion on the extremely few books I did read.

The History of Love by Nicole Krauss:  Clearly this book is about love.  Different stories are interwoven together, and the end leaves you hanging... in a good way.  I really liked it, definitely recommend it!  Her writing style is very similar to Jonathan Safran Foer, no surprised they are married. 


"Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering."  Adorbs.

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner:  Oof this one was a beast to get through.  I spent half my summer reading this.  I probably read each page five times, spending the whole reading experience in confusion.  I'm glad I read it, but I think this is the kind of book you want to take a class on or write a paper about.  Too much there for a summer read, but I'm proud of myself for getting through it :)


"I am I and you are you and I know it and you dont know it and you could do so much for me if you just would and if you just would then I could tell you and then nobody would have to know it except you and me and Darl."  What?! Now you get my frustration.

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami:  Weird book.  I am not really one for the whole supernatural thing... old men talking to cats and forests containing a whole different existence.  I don't really know the meaning of half of anything in this book, but I still loved it.  He is a great writer.


"Beyond the edge of the world there’s a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And, hovering about, there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard."

Identical by Ellen Hopkins:  Surprisingly the person who recommended As I Lay Dying also recommended this book to me... let me clarify: they are complete opposites haha!  I really liked this book though!  It is a young adult novel that is super dark and depressing.  Upon finishing you get the reaction: woah what just happened?!  And it is a really fast read.  I am talkin 400 pages in three days.  Granted the novel is written as a list of poems.

Slowness by Milan Kundera:  For those of you Unbearable Lightness of Being fans, this does not disappoint.  The writing is much more lighthearted and mocking, but just as insightful.  He makes you laugh at how pathetic humanity and you for that matter are.


"The degree of slowness is directly proportional to the intensity of memory; the degree of speed is directly proportional to the intensity of forgetting."

Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates:  Ok I am cheating here... I just started this book, but I can already tell this is gonna be a good one.  I've only read one other book by her, A Garden of Earthly Delights, which was so freakin good.  Really dark.  She is such a good writer, like you almost wanna eat the words off the page... just kidding... or am I?  Good thing Princeton rejected me because I would be her number one stalker on campus.  Then I would steal Jonathan Safran Foer's Senior Thesis that inspired Everything is Illuminated.  You think I'm joking, but I'm not.






Well if you are one of the few who read my blog and actually made it to the end of this post, I am really honored.

Reading, reading

War and Peace by Tolstoy

Franny and Zooey by Salinger

The Stranger by Camus

Norton Anthology of English Literature

Some funny better book titles :)