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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
I always love Nelson. She's thoughtful and brilliant and difficult to read and I love spending time on her essays. I think this one contained more pieces that were important to her but if you're not in an "art world" might be harder to follow? Still, very much worth the effort to work through.
12-hour Audiobook had no chapters, so I couldnโt skip essays that didnโt interest me
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I just think Maggie Nelson is so special
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I received this book through a Goodreads giveaway
This large collection of Essays from Maggie Nelson covers a wide variety of topics. The writing reads largely academic in tone with plenty of critical analysis and citations sprinkled throughout most of the essays. Overall this was a dnf for me because i did not enjoy the forementioned academic tone of most of the essays. I found myself skipping around to the "conversation" portions
The pieces I tended to enjoy more were the conversations with other interesting people. It's where I felt Maggie Nelsons voice really shine through . Special shout out to the "conversation" with Bjork. It became my favourite both through it's self deprecating humour and examination of violence in art.
I would recommend this to people who are more familiar with Maggie Nelsons other work. For myself I think if I were to read Maggie Nelson again I would choose something more poetry focused.
This large collection of Essays from Maggie Nelson covers a wide variety of topics. The writing reads largely academic in tone with plenty of critical analysis and citations sprinkled throughout most of the essays. Overall this was a dnf for me because i did not enjoy the forementioned academic tone of most of the essays. I found myself skipping around to the "conversation" portions
The pieces I tended to enjoy more were the conversations with other interesting people. It's where I felt Maggie Nelsons voice really shine through . Special shout out to the "conversation" with Bjork. It became my favourite both through it's self deprecating humour and examination of violence in art.
I would recommend this to people who are more familiar with Maggie Nelsons other work. For myself I think if I were to read Maggie Nelson again I would choose something more poetry focused.
So many references to other texts that it feels like a conversation Iโm not educated enough for.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Major thanks to NetGalley and GrayWolf Press for offering me an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts:
Of course, with any Nelson, it is hard to find a place to start. But Nelson starts with Hilton Als. And Hilton Als, I feel, always starts with Didion. Didion is always at the back of his mind, and mine. I just rewatched The Center Will Not Hold and I reminded again and again why I write, why I love. Because there is so much of life.
"๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ง๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ: ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ด๐ต, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ฑ, ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ. ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ต๐ช๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ท๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ญ๐บ, ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ช๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ๐ด."
Though I see the issues with Didion's approach at times, it's in the vague does she find the concrete, make the concrete, to situate herself within the times, within the center of everything. This is how she finds the holding. These are the details. All in the story.
So much of life is wondering and centering and understand what home is. Is it who I love? is it who I care for? Is it how I build friendships? Create connections? Is it how I withstand turbulent times?
This is very much Nelson's pandemic book, a filler episode in between the larger works, a space to talk about the larger works, stitch them together, and though some of these essays have appeared online and in print in different places (ie. her email exchange with bjork and applied dislike for von Trier as a person) it was wonderful to revisit some of them (ie. her introduction to Hunt's The Seas). She has so much love. Talking about the love. Art that has shaped her, challenged her, all love adjacent.
The collection wonderfully ends with a chat with her and Eileen Myles about trees and art and going against the grain, against time. Because I think that's how love works. All against time. All against the worries. All against everything that makes a day long.
Of course, with any Nelson, it is hard to find a place to start. But Nelson starts with Hilton Als. And Hilton Als, I feel, always starts with Didion. Didion is always at the back of his mind, and mine. I just rewatched The Center Will Not Hold and I reminded again and again why I write, why I love. Because there is so much of life.
"๐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ซ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ด๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฃ๐บ ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ฏ ๐๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ, ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ถ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ง๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ช๐ด ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ: ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฆ๐ด๐ต ๐๐ฐ๐ข๐ด๐ต, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ถ๐ฑ, ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ธ ๐ ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฌ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ฑ. ๐๐ข๐บ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ข๐ต๐ช๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ค๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ด ๐ง๐ณ๐ฐ๐ฎ ๐ฌ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ๐บ๐ต๐ฉ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ท๐ข๐ช๐ญ๐ข๐ฃ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ถ๐ด ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข ๐ง๐ช๐ฏ๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ. ๐๐ตโ๐ด ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ๐ด๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ญ๐บ, ๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ช๐ต ๐ค๐ข๐ฏ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ณ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐บ๐ด."
Though I see the issues with Didion's approach at times, it's in the vague does she find the concrete, make the concrete, to situate herself within the times, within the center of everything. This is how she finds the holding. These are the details. All in the story.
So much of life is wondering and centering and understand what home is. Is it who I love? is it who I care for? Is it how I build friendships? Create connections? Is it how I withstand turbulent times?
This is very much Nelson's pandemic book, a filler episode in between the larger works, a space to talk about the larger works, stitch them together, and though some of these essays have appeared online and in print in different places (ie. her email exchange with bjork and applied dislike for von Trier as a person) it was wonderful to revisit some of them (ie. her introduction to Hunt's The Seas). She has so much love. Talking about the love. Art that has shaped her, challenged her, all love adjacent.
The collection wonderfully ends with a chat with her and Eileen Myles about trees and art and going against the grain, against time. Because I think that's how love works. All against time. All against the worries. All against everything that makes a day long.
challenging
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Damn near unreadable at my current comprehension level.
I am going to mark the essays that arenโt about niche pieces of media so that when I revisit later I can just skip those but right now my brain wonโt allow me to skip chapters.
I need to unpack why Iโm unwilling to make things easier for myself and why I feel less accomplished if I โtake the easy way outโ. Skipping an essay that Iโm not comprehending AT ALL is not โcheatingโ. I donโt not have to white knuckle my way through a chapter just to feel like I earned the right to something i canโt even name. Who am i competing with? Whatโs the point of this struggle? Is it helping me or hurting me? Does it even matter if i donโt know what pharmacopornographia means or its relevance to the culture?
I do feel like Iโve tied the worth of my intelligence to something thatโs unsustainable. Something something about the nature of tracking every thing from habits to the books Iโm reading has rotted my ability to just consume media and be present in my thoughts. Iโm not asking myself โis this something that is productive for me to continue with?โ instead Iโm thinking โif i donโt finish this because itโs unreadable to me in my current stage of life then I am not as smart as I think i should be.โ And wow what a mess to untangle!
Thereโs also something here about using my mutualsโ ability to comprehend and finish a book like this as a measuring stick for my own intelligence. Iโm surrounded by some incredibly smart people who have an understanding of theory and a praxis to back it up. Itโs intimidating but in a way that makes me want to do better but also in a way that makes me very insecure about my role in these spaces. Am i supposed to contribute to conversations or absorb them? What happens if i canโt do either right now? Where are the gaps that I need to fill in my own understanding?
Thereโs also the very simple and important realization that this is *just* a book of analytical essays and conversations about things that arenโt urgent. Important, sure, but not urgent. Itโs okay to put it down and move on.
I am going to mark the essays that arenโt about niche pieces of media so that when I revisit later I can just skip those but right now my brain wonโt allow me to skip chapters.
I need to unpack why Iโm unwilling to make things easier for myself and why I feel less accomplished if I โtake the easy way outโ. Skipping an essay that Iโm not comprehending AT ALL is not โcheatingโ. I donโt not have to white knuckle my way through a chapter just to feel like I earned the right to something i canโt even name. Who am i competing with? Whatโs the point of this struggle? Is it helping me or hurting me? Does it even matter if i donโt know what pharmacopornographia means or its relevance to the culture?
I do feel like Iโve tied the worth of my intelligence to something thatโs unsustainable. Something something about the nature of tracking every thing from habits to the books Iโm reading has rotted my ability to just consume media and be present in my thoughts. Iโm not asking myself โis this something that is productive for me to continue with?โ instead Iโm thinking โif i donโt finish this because itโs unreadable to me in my current stage of life then I am not as smart as I think i should be.โ And wow what a mess to untangle!
Thereโs also something here about using my mutualsโ ability to comprehend and finish a book like this as a measuring stick for my own intelligence. Iโm surrounded by some incredibly smart people who have an understanding of theory and a praxis to back it up. Itโs intimidating but in a way that makes me want to do better but also in a way that makes me very insecure about my role in these spaces. Am i supposed to contribute to conversations or absorb them? What happens if i canโt do either right now? Where are the gaps that I need to fill in my own understanding?
Thereโs also the very simple and important realization that this is *just* a book of analytical essays and conversations about things that arenโt urgent. Important, sure, but not urgent. Itโs okay to put it down and move on.