You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
funny
informative
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
While I enjoyed her other book a bit more than this one, I still found this one to be excellent. The author’s writing style is not going to be for everyone, but there were so many great lines and reasons to take pause my reading.
felt like the whole book was leading up to something big but really nothing happened at all. Definitely relatable in the feeling of having to carry on with regular life in a world falling into chaos. i find myself thinking of certain lines like “these people want immortality but can’t wait 10 minutes for a cup of coffee”
The format of this book is unique in that I haven't read something like it before that I can remember. Short scenes and commentary that are sometimes non-sequiturs but create a full picture of a mood or experience. A small chubby book that feels good in your hands. I'd like to read her other book now, Dept. of Speculation.
"My brother told me once that he missed drugs because they made the world stop calling to him." pg. 5
"The moon will be fine, I think. No one's worrying about the moon." pg. 7
"He's met someone maybe. But he doesn't think it's going to work out. She's too different from him. It takes me a while to figure out they haven't even been on a date yet. 'You don't want to date someone like you, do you?' I ask him. Henry laughs, 'God, no.'
In the first class I ever took with Sylvia, she told us about assortative mating. Meaning like with like--depressive with depressive. The problem with assortative mating, she said, is that it feels perfectly correct when you do it. Like a key fitting into a lock and opening a door. The question being: Is this really the room you want to spend your life in?" pg. 12
"My # 1 fear is the acceleration of days. No such thing supposedly, but I swear I can feel it." pg. 18
"A few days later, I yelled at him for losing his new lunch box, and he turned to me and said, Are you sure you're my mother? Sometimes you don't seem like a good enough person.
He was just a kid, so I let it go. And now, years later, I probably only think of it, I don't know, once or twice a day." pg. 23
"What is better when you are older?
Picnics.
Picnics?
People bring better things." pg. 25
"Later, Sylvia tells me her end of the table was even worse. The guy in the Gore-Tex jacket was going on and on about transhumanism and how we would soon shed these burdensome bodies and become part of the singularity. 'These people long for immortality but can't wait ten minutes for a cup of coffee,' she says." pg. 39
"When electricity was first introduced to homes, there were letters to the newspapers about how it would undermine family togetherness. Now there would be no need to gather around a shared hearth, people fretted. In 1903, a famous psychologist worried that young people would lose their connection to dusk and its contemplative moments.
(Except when was the last time I stood still because it was dusk?)" pg. 63
"I pass by the bodega. 'We have garlic now,' Mohan calls out to me. I pay with pennies, but he is nice about it. 'Pennies are money too,' he says." pg. 108
"A woman walks into a dentist's office and says, 'I think I'm a moth.'
The dentist tells her, 'You shouldn't be here. You should be seeing a psychiatrist . . .'
The woman replies, 'I am seeing a psychiatrist.'
The dentist says, 'Then what are you doing here?'
And she says, 'Your light was on.'" pg. 118-119
"She gave us a formula: suffering = pain + resistance." pg. 121
"Someone returns a book called The Sayings of the Desert Fathers. I flip through it while I eat my lunch.
A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, 'You are mad, you are not like us.'" pg. 122
"Margot tells Henry that the worst thoughts must be spoken out loud. If they are held back, they will only grow more powerful. It reminds me of something my mother used to say--Gods suppressed become devils." pg. 145
"Funny how when you're married all you want is to be anonymous to each other again, but when you're anonymous all you want is to be married and reading together in bed." pg. 167
"This is to be expected. But you can expect something and still get the breath knocked out of you by it." pg. 176
"And then it is another day and another and another, but I will not go on about this because no doubt you too have experienced time." pg. 186
"Q: What is the difference between a disaster and an emergency?
A: A disaster is a sudden event that causes great damage or loss. An emergency is a situation in which normal operations cannot continue and immediate action is required so as to prevent a disaster." pg. 196
Book: borrowed from Susanna K. via SF Library.
"My brother told me once that he missed drugs because they made the world stop calling to him." pg. 5
"The moon will be fine, I think. No one's worrying about the moon." pg. 7
"He's met someone maybe. But he doesn't think it's going to work out. She's too different from him. It takes me a while to figure out they haven't even been on a date yet. 'You don't want to date someone like you, do you?' I ask him. Henry laughs, 'God, no.'
In the first class I ever took with Sylvia, she told us about assortative mating. Meaning like with like--depressive with depressive. The problem with assortative mating, she said, is that it feels perfectly correct when you do it. Like a key fitting into a lock and opening a door. The question being: Is this really the room you want to spend your life in?" pg. 12
"My # 1 fear is the acceleration of days. No such thing supposedly, but I swear I can feel it." pg. 18
"A few days later, I yelled at him for losing his new lunch box, and he turned to me and said, Are you sure you're my mother? Sometimes you don't seem like a good enough person.
He was just a kid, so I let it go. And now, years later, I probably only think of it, I don't know, once or twice a day." pg. 23
"What is better when you are older?
Picnics.
Picnics?
People bring better things." pg. 25
"Later, Sylvia tells me her end of the table was even worse. The guy in the Gore-Tex jacket was going on and on about transhumanism and how we would soon shed these burdensome bodies and become part of the singularity. 'These people long for immortality but can't wait ten minutes for a cup of coffee,' she says." pg. 39
"When electricity was first introduced to homes, there were letters to the newspapers about how it would undermine family togetherness. Now there would be no need to gather around a shared hearth, people fretted. In 1903, a famous psychologist worried that young people would lose their connection to dusk and its contemplative moments.
(Except when was the last time I stood still because it was dusk?)" pg. 63
"I pass by the bodega. 'We have garlic now,' Mohan calls out to me. I pay with pennies, but he is nice about it. 'Pennies are money too,' he says." pg. 108
"A woman walks into a dentist's office and says, 'I think I'm a moth.'
The dentist tells her, 'You shouldn't be here. You should be seeing a psychiatrist . . .'
The woman replies, 'I am seeing a psychiatrist.'
The dentist says, 'Then what are you doing here?'
And she says, 'Your light was on.'" pg. 118-119
"She gave us a formula: suffering = pain + resistance." pg. 121
"Someone returns a book called The Sayings of the Desert Fathers. I flip through it while I eat my lunch.
A time is coming when men will go mad, and when they see someone who is not mad, they will attack him, saying, 'You are mad, you are not like us.'" pg. 122
"Margot tells Henry that the worst thoughts must be spoken out loud. If they are held back, they will only grow more powerful. It reminds me of something my mother used to say--Gods suppressed become devils." pg. 145
"Funny how when you're married all you want is to be anonymous to each other again, but when you're anonymous all you want is to be married and reading together in bed." pg. 167
"This is to be expected. But you can expect something and still get the breath knocked out of you by it." pg. 176
"And then it is another day and another and another, but I will not go on about this because no doubt you too have experienced time." pg. 186
"Q: What is the difference between a disaster and an emergency?
A: A disaster is a sudden event that causes great damage or loss. An emergency is a situation in which normal operations cannot continue and immediate action is required so as to prevent a disaster." pg. 196
Book: borrowed from Susanna K. via SF Library.
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
funny
reflective
tense
medium-paced
dark
funny
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
I still don't know what this was about, but I somewhat enjoyed reading it. Don't read this if you're looking for plot.
