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keight's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes I think there is an order you need to read books by certain authors; maybe the chronological sequence gives you a context of their development that helps you progress with them, but other times a truly excellent later work will make you interested to read less mature works than if you had started there. And after reading Ongoingness, I think I should have waited to read 300 Arguments, because for me Ongoingness was probably the set up I needed. These books have very different intentions, but Sarah Manguso uses a similar writing approach of short, aphoristic entries. Read more on my booklog
rebeccalm's review against another edition
5.0
I just found this book at the bookstore yesterday, and I spent all morning reading it. I loved this book! It is a short and easy read, but so many profound thoughts are presented. I was drawn to this book because I also keep a daily diary, and I was intrigued by the author's need to capture everything that she's ever experienced and turn them into words on paper. The book conveys the author's growth through life and the changing of her circumstances, and as a result her different needs and desires concerning memories and the act of remembering. It's truly insightful and thought provoking.
smalefowles's review against another edition
5.0
Oh, this was such a tiny perfect gem.
My dearest friend is a diary-keeper and just became a new mother, and this book represents her "now," as she said. It does provide a remarkable portrait of new motherhood, in a non-cliche manner.
It also just describes a specific and intriguing way to be alive. I guess I haven't been very thoughtful lately, and it was nice to be pulled inside someone else's ruminations.
My dearest friend is a diary-keeper and just became a new mother, and this book represents her "now," as she said. It does provide a remarkable portrait of new motherhood, in a non-cliche manner.
It also just describes a specific and intriguing way to be alive. I guess I haven't been very thoughtful lately, and it was nice to be pulled inside someone else's ruminations.
mooboogoo's review against another edition
5.0
exactly what i needed, read it in one sitting. paired great with drinkable cooking wine. a little bleak and hopeful at the same time.
Plus, I've never read such a perfect description of the urgency and mundanity of journalling in my early twenties: "I didn't think I'd survive the afternoon without spending four hours on the bus back to college thinking and writing about what had happened during my trip. My memory was too full. It was an emergency. I had to empty the reservoir right away. Nothing had happened, but I still needed four hours to get it into the notebook." (p.23)
Plus, I've never read such a perfect description of the urgency and mundanity of journalling in my early twenties: "I didn't think I'd survive the afternoon without spending four hours on the bus back to college thinking and writing about what had happened during my trip. My memory was too full. It was an emergency. I had to empty the reservoir right away. Nothing had happened, but I still needed four hours to get it into the notebook." (p.23)
nick_jenkins's review against another edition
4.0
"Perhaps all anxiety might derive from a fixation on moments--an inability to accept life as ongoing."
thegracexu's review against another edition
reflective
2.0
Can’t help but agree with NYT - feels like a sophisticated literary selfie
paigeemery's review against another edition
5.0
For just a moment, with great effort, I could imagine my will as a force that would not disappear but redistribute when I died, and that all life contained the same force, and that I needn't worry about my impending death because the great responsibility of my life was to contain the force for a while and then relinquish it.
I devoured this book like a soft, warm cookie, and while I can't relate to the parts about motherhood I can relate to the desperate struggle to pay close attention to the moments without taking myself out of them.
I devoured this book like a soft, warm cookie, and while I can't relate to the parts about motherhood I can relate to the desperate struggle to pay close attention to the moments without taking myself out of them.