Currently reading: Evensong by Stewart O’Nan, one of the best writers (in my humble opinion)
#books #evensong #stewartonan #bookstadon #reading
michelle
Writer. Reader. Over-thinker. Human Rights-er.
@RobertoArchimboldi@kolektiva.social I’ve actually never read Bolaño! But that certainly does feel like a very dynamic reading experience. I might have to make a library request!
Oh I saw everyone as absolutely insufferable and immature this time. A series of bad choices and people that I’d avoid in real life. It is a cast of unlikable characters (except for Jasper, the dog) but the book still manages to capture and keep me engaged the entire time!
Oh I saw everyone as absolutely insufferable and immature this time. A series of bad choices and people that I’d avoid in real life. It is a cast of unlikable characters (except for Jasper, the dog) but the book still manages to capture and keep me engaged the entire time!
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…”
My mum gave me Rebecca when I was eleven. We went to the library together, and she plucked it directly from the shelf. She told me it had been her favorite book at that age, and that was reason enough for me to love it too. But it didn’t take long for Rebecca to claim me for itself, inducting me into the shadowy world of gothic literature.
Manderley and its long drives, the cold, gray sea crashing beyond the trees, the housekeeper with her secrets, the second Mrs. de Winter with her silence. It all rooted itself deep inside me in ways I’m still unraveling.
At eleven, I read it as a kind of preparation for the life I hadn’t yet lived, and for the woman I hoped to become. Like the narrator, I longed to be a woman in black satin and pearls but was an awkward girl that didn’t like to be looked at. I didn’t fully understand the novel then and how could I? I knew there was a glamorous dead wife I wished to emulate, and a timid new wife I more closely resembled. I knew something terrible had happened in the time between them. But it was the mood I understood. The fog. The feeling of not being enough.
Reading it again now, I see Rebecca differently. I see it as a novel about power and the slow violence of erasing yourself inside your own story. The narrator folds herself smaller and smaller, hoping to disturb nothing, to replace no one. She doesn’t even want to change the dinner menu. Once, I understood that. I, too, would have left things untouched out of fear of upsetting anyone.
Now, many years later, I no longer see myself in the timid narrator. Her insecurities, once so familiar, now feel like someone that I used to know. That’s the strange magic of rereading: the story stays the same, but somehow, everything else changes.
#rebecca #daphnedumaurier #bookstadon #books #alwaysreading
My mum gave me Rebecca when I was eleven. We went to the library together, and she plucked it directly from the shelf. She told me it had been her favorite book at that age, and that was reason enough for me to love it too. But it didn’t take long for Rebecca to claim me for itself, inducting me into the shadowy world of gothic literature.
Manderley and its long drives, the cold, gray sea crashing beyond the trees, the housekeeper with her secrets, the second Mrs. de Winter with her silence. It all rooted itself deep inside me in ways I’m still unraveling.
At eleven, I read it as a kind of preparation for the life I hadn’t yet lived, and for the woman I hoped to become. Like the narrator, I longed to be a woman in black satin and pearls but was an awkward girl that didn’t like to be looked at. I didn’t fully understand the novel then and how could I? I knew there was a glamorous dead wife I wished to emulate, and a timid new wife I more closely resembled. I knew something terrible had happened in the time between them. But it was the mood I understood. The fog. The feeling of not being enough.
Reading it again now, I see Rebecca differently. I see it as a novel about power and the slow violence of erasing yourself inside your own story. The narrator folds herself smaller and smaller, hoping to disturb nothing, to replace no one. She doesn’t even want to change the dinner menu. Once, I understood that. I, too, would have left things untouched out of fear of upsetting anyone.
Now, many years later, I no longer see myself in the timid narrator. Her insecurities, once so familiar, now feel like someone that I used to know. That’s the strange magic of rereading: the story stays the same, but somehow, everything else changes.
#rebecca #daphnedumaurier #bookstadon #books #alwaysreading
This week’s reading list 📚
#bookstadon #books #rougestreet #thebookofdisappearance #readingcommunity
#bookstadon #books #rougestreet #thebookofdisappearance #readingcommunity
@mink_stole@kolektiva.social so glad that I asked users here—I’ve gotten so much advice on this! And totally agree, was just in the IG loop and not just trying to find a new space to talk about the things I love! A work in progress :)
@mink_stole@kolektiva.social ooooooooo!! Thank you so much for that! I didn’t know about it
I’ve always been fascinated by beauty and cosmetic procedures—maybe precisely because I was raised by a mum who didn’t let me wear makeup or paint my nails until I was 16 or 17. Our attitudes toward beauty couldn’t be more different. And now, of course, I live in one of the most beauty-obsessed cities in the world, where the beauty arms race is very much a way of life. The irony isn't lost on me.
I also love body horror books and films, but I get frustrated by their predictable endings: the inevitable monster at the end. It feels like a missed opportunity as there’s so much more to explore about beauty, and the systems that shape it.
I really enjoyed this book because it almoooooost got there. Yes, it follows the familiar arc: girl enters starts beauty treatments and... transforms into something monstrous. But unlike The Substance (which, let’s be honest, was just plain ridiculous), Natural Beauty says something more profound.
The story follows a young Chinese-American woman who, after a family tragedy, takes a job at an exclusive wellness and beauty spa. She starts to use the beauty products. Her features shift toward Eurocentric ideals until she is no longer recognizable even to herself.
Reading this book brought up a lot of questions: What do we sacrifice in pursuit of beauty? Our sense of self? Our lineage? What does it mean to be worthy in a culture obsessed with youth, thinness, and flawlessness? What lurks beneath the glossy surface? What actually drives our desire to feel beautiful? It is really what we want?
Living in a city where beauty is inescapable, I know my perspective is probably a little warped. But I still think I’m allowed to ask: What’s the real horror here? Is it the procedures themselves, the women who want them, the colonial beauty standards driving them? The algorithm, media, men?
Or has this trope been right all along….
Are we the monsters?
#bookstadon #huang #books
I also love body horror books and films, but I get frustrated by their predictable endings: the inevitable monster at the end. It feels like a missed opportunity as there’s so much more to explore about beauty, and the systems that shape it.
I really enjoyed this book because it almoooooost got there. Yes, it follows the familiar arc: girl enters starts beauty treatments and... transforms into something monstrous. But unlike The Substance (which, let’s be honest, was just plain ridiculous), Natural Beauty says something more profound.
The story follows a young Chinese-American woman who, after a family tragedy, takes a job at an exclusive wellness and beauty spa. She starts to use the beauty products. Her features shift toward Eurocentric ideals until she is no longer recognizable even to herself.
Reading this book brought up a lot of questions: What do we sacrifice in pursuit of beauty? Our sense of self? Our lineage? What does it mean to be worthy in a culture obsessed with youth, thinness, and flawlessness? What lurks beneath the glossy surface? What actually drives our desire to feel beautiful? It is really what we want?
Living in a city where beauty is inescapable, I know my perspective is probably a little warped. But I still think I’m allowed to ask: What’s the real horror here? Is it the procedures themselves, the women who want them, the colonial beauty standards driving them? The algorithm, media, men?
Or has this trope been right all along….
Are we the monsters?
#bookstadon #huang #books
Agree!
@RobertoArchimboldi@kolektiva.social thanks so much for the tips!! I’ve been trying my best to bring people over here—so much fresher!
@khleedril@cyberplace.social a different culture :) thank you for the tip!
@RobertoArchimboldi@kolektiva.social ah I see! I hadn’t even realized that! I guess I’m just looking for people to chat about book with—I’ll try the alt text route again (I think you let me know about this when i was brand new here!)
@Stillegedanken@mastodon.social what I really like about IG is that people comment and conversations about books start—it’s been a little difficult here! I’m not looking for a big following (I’m tiny on IG) just new people to chat with!
I am trying to make my way from IG to PixelFed in a more permanent fashion but am finding that community building is way harder here. Is it because we are all in between the two apps?
Anyway, this is one of the best books that I’ve read recently. Such a refreshing voice guiding us through such a heavy topic! I’m nervous to write what it’s about (gov eyes and stuff) but I do highly recommend it!
I’d also like to point out that whoever designed the cover (those eyebrows! that eyeliner!) speaks to my soul. I was compelled to recreate the look which is why I adorned this image with my makeup 💄
#books #bookstadon #librarybooks
Anyway, this is one of the best books that I’ve read recently. Such a refreshing voice guiding us through such a heavy topic! I’m nervous to write what it’s about (gov eyes and stuff) but I do highly recommend it!
I’d also like to point out that whoever designed the cover (those eyebrows! that eyeliner!) speaks to my soul. I was compelled to recreate the look which is why I adorned this image with my makeup 💄
#books #bookstadon #librarybooks
@Natassaad I think so
@Natassaad you gotta read it!
@Natassaad maybe I gotta ask questions? Idk. My efforts at community building here aren’t going so well!
Hi Tessa! Welcome!
Woohoo!!
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