Pooja

|She’s like poetry. Like prose and love letters and lyrics, cascading down the center of a page.|

[dark-romantics]

[thebearsfrombeartown]

no one writes human beings like fredrik backman

[feminescu]

i am not my mother and i am not my father but a third worse thing

[floridakilo]

their daughter

[moonyackertarg]

“Multiple times he has tried writing his thoughts about Marianne down on paper in an effort to make sense of them. He’s moved by a desire to describe in words exactly how she looks and speaks. Her hair and clothing. The copy of Swann’s Way she reads at lunchtime in the school cafeteria, with a dark French painting on the cover and a mint-coloured spine. Her long fingers turning the pages. She’s not leading the same kind of life as other people. She acts so worldly at times, making him feel ignorant, but then she can be so naive. He wants to understand how her mind works… He writes these things down, long run-on sentences with too many dependent clauses, sometimes connected with breathless semicolons, as if he wants to recreate a precise copy of Marianne in print, as if he can preserve her completely for future review.” ― Sally Rooney, Normal People

[exitwound]

I always am about to go to sleep at a beautiful 11pm and then something happens to me

[thedustyshehnai]

I wish I could describe how this book made me feel. It’s almost astronomical, the array of emotions and feelings that emerged straight from the soul as I flipped each page. The detail, the love, the uncertainty - to describe it with the fewest words, it’s magnificently unpredictable.

The characters, each one of them, inscribed something deep within my spirit. The love and bonding between Marie-Laure and her father, Etienne and his demons, and Werner and his sister, Frederick and his birds, and his powerful resentment towards something wrong - his power. Madam Manec with her peach jams and the big pot where she carried all the love. The big museum with its exhibits, all those herbarium sheets and fossils, and the curse of a diamond that was equivalent to eight Eiffel Towers that should've been thrown out into the deep trenches of the oceans long ago, but only an insane would throw eight Eiffel Towers into the unknown. Papa, with his crafty hands, built the whole of Paris with his bare hands. Marie-Laure is so unaware of what everything around her looks like, yet she hears the very minor details. Jutta, the little girl who had a mind of her own, who had words of her own, and her elder brother, who was nothing by himself, who really lived under the shadows of others, had a heart so weak to resent, too weak to fight, that the heart decided to do what everyone else was doing - a heart scared of rebellion. Frau Elena served the abandoned children till her very last breath, showering those nameless breathing corpses with so much love. Von Rumpel and his war - his war with the world, his quest to find the cursed diamond, his greed, his unfathomable hatred, his desire and passion for war and victory, his dying body, his quest for immortality that the diamond is rumored to confer on anyone who possesses it, his selfish greed, his undying fear of the unknown,and, his trembling fear of death.

The depths that this particular book touched are unmatchable. It feels like loose sand slipping through your fingers, and the helplessness that comes with it - the haunting beauty of the magnificent pain of separation, of lost identities, and of lost people. It’s remarkable. Anthony Doerr, you are a genius.

[stuckinapril]

I love being alone <- girl who has known nothing but loneliness her entire life and so has no choice but to take comfort in it

[noeliaedelweis-com]

Happy birthday to my favorite fictional hero 🧡

[abbeymp3]

who do you think they are to each other? / it took me twelve years to find my friend / he was just this kid in my head for such a long time, and I think I just missed him / you dream in a language I can’t understand / you make my life so much bigger, and I just wonder if I do the same for you / this is where I ended up. this is where I’m supposed to be / I just wanted to see you one more time / I didn’t know liking your husband would hurt this much / maybe we were a bird and the branch it decided to rest on one day / who you are is someone who leaves / to arthur, you are someone who stays / if this is already a past life, who do you think we are to each other in the next?

[unknowntomyselfsblog]

[anneclover-deactivated20250123]

2022 Re(ading)cap #1

Category is: less than 300 pages, East Asian authors, books that feel like a warm hug.

Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982 by Cho Nam-joo (5★) is a novel detailing the experience of being a woman in South Korea through a retelling of the life of Kim Jiyoung, but women everywhere could see a piece of themselves in her. The solidarity between Jiyoung and other women who all share the common struggle of living while sexism affects their every day stands out to me and gives me a deep desire for these kinds of relationships in my own life.

Covenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (5★) will challenge the reader on what is normal, if you haven't challenged it already. Keiko, who is content in her life as a single convenience store worker, has that life disrupted by a coworker and must decide whether to follow the "sensible" path which those in her life want for her (finding a career and a relationships) or to continue on with the life she was happy with in the first place. As someone also not interested in romance, this book was deeply comforting and relatable to me. A must-read for all the misfits out there.

Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi (4.25★) is anything but cold. In fact, every character and lesson this book contains is like a warm hug (or cup of coffee) jumping off the page. In the book, a cafe in Tokyo allows patrons to travel back in time so long as they follow the rules. Before the Coffee Gets Cold features detailed vignettes of four characters who take advantage of this fantastic ability to wrap up loose ends from other parts of their lives. Although each chapter centers a very specific scenario and person, the wisdom the characters gain feel like something each reader could embrace in their own life.

[sanguinacciodolce]

“It’s time to forgive my hands for being hands. I’m going to hate myself a little less tomorrow. I’m going to hate myself a little less tomorrow.”

— I.B. Vyache, Excerpt 07.01.21

[mssingothrside]

"Rangrang, our existence is meaningful to someone. don't dismiss yourself easily. for some people, you're their ultimate solution, a magical remedy, that can cure everything. they will like this world more because of you."

[diartjello]

This series has made me realize how lucky I am to have my friends by my side. It has reminded me that having friends with whom you can celebrate and share your sorrows is a precious treasure that we must cherish.

I miss the days of going to classes, stealing glances at my crush from across the room, grabbing a bite to eat after school, experiencing mental breakdowns during exams, and bidding farewell to my friends before heading home. Those were such wonderful memories, and they came flooding back to me while watching this series.

Now that it's come to an end, I can't help but feel emotional. My entire life flashed before my eyes, reminiscing about my youth and longing for it once again. I wish I could turn back time. :>

This drama has reminded me why I love writing so much, not just stories but also songs. I aspire to create stories and songs that recalls people's happiest and most unforgettable moments when they watch or listen to them.

I know it's just a story, but for a brief period, the series became my temporary home. It has inspired me to be creative and embrace life to the fullest.

I will definitely miss this drama.

[yourmoonandstar]

[movingtoanewblogsoon-deactivate]

Lurang defending Zaizai against the theft accusations. All of them searching through the trash for the missing money to prove Zaizai's innocence. Gu Ran, Lurang and Guan Fang standing up to the seniors for Zaizai and Jiang Jia. Zaizai introducing them as her best friends in her video diary and wishing they'll all be friends forever. Them being worried about Guan Fang, wanting to protect him and not judging him when learning the truth about his past. Them eating together at Grandma Guan's restaurant all the time. Guan Fang asking Jiang Jia to check on Gu Ran. Jiang Jia taking care of a sick Gu Ran. Guan Fang making Gu Ran sleep at his house to not leave him alone. Gu Ran opening up with Jiang Jia and Lurang about his loneliness every time his parents leave him by himself. Guan Fang and Gu Ran bothering Lurang to visit them, and Gu Ran being so sure he would come. Lurang buying medicine for both Gu Ran and Zaizai. Lurang being forced to stay the night. The boys sending the girls pictures of their sleepover. Gu Ran feeling happy about being taken care of. Them going on trips together. Celebrating each other's birthdays. Taking group photos together. Lurang coming back to attend the graduation ceremony with them. Them being there for Guan Fang and taking care of him when his grandma had to be taken to the hospital. Them watching sunrises, sunsets, fireworks and snow together. Wishing each other's a happy new year. Keeping in touch even when they study in diffent cities or countries. Being overjoyed about finally reuniting. Sharing everything with each other, no matter if joy or sorrow. Them truly being best friends for life, just as Zaizai wished.

[dramaism]

I wish that all bad things will stay away from Jiaxu. I wish that someone can be with him. I wish that person is me. I wish Sang Zhi will always be happy and healthy, and so will I.

Hidden Love 偷偷藏不住 (2023)