diaphony-haunting

[diaphony-haunting]

back to wandering through cafes and goodwills, and I can finally feel fall right around the corner.

[diaphony-haunting]

after months of summer pining and frolicking through the fields of my own self indulgence, i’m frankly looking forward to the obligatory self discipline school can foster in me. then again, maybe i’m just saying that because it’s the first week..

[diaphony-haunting]

8/6

This book is about to become my whole personality.

[diaphony-haunting]

Anne Sexton, A Self-Portrait in Letters

[diaphony-haunting]

The Collector by John Fowles book review:

Do you ever get the terrible feeling everyone has the capacity to do awful things if only they had the means?

“The Collector” explores that wonderfully. When meek Frederick Clegg wins a life changing amount of money, he chooses to make his dream, and every women’s worst nightmare, a reality. He captures a vivacious young woman, Miranda Grey, and entraps her in his home, along with his collection of butterflies.

Miranda can outwit, outmaneuver, and out-charm Frederick in almost every regard. She is eons more cultured than he could ever hope to be, and yet he has the upper hand simply because he is physically stronger than her.

I loved the discussions of art and culture throughout this book, and although Miranda often read as a bit pretentious, you still rooted for her the whole time. Miranda is an artist in the literal and emotional sense, seeking and creating beauty in the world, whereas Frederick is her antithesis. He wants nothing more than to own beauty.

The book is split between Miranda and Frederick’s POV, and being in Frederick’s POV was generally creepy, not in a perverted or evil way, more so it gave you a chilling sense that he was not a fully developed person. I honestly have to say Miranda’s POV is a bit of a drag. It was a bit dull to read about characters in her life that never have a real impact on the story besides providing context to her personality, but her ideas of art were compelling. The ending was horrifying but I shouldn’t have been surprised, it really tied the book together. A solid 4/5 star read for me.

[diaphony-haunting]

Exploring thrift stores, used book stores, and museums. Every week I force myself to romanticize my existence in a futile attempt to justify my consciousness, for now, it comes from the arts and history.

The sounds of morning doves threatens to imprison me in the past, yet I still somehow passed my finals. I’m ready for spring to end. I miss the ocean.

[diaphony-haunting]

Massive tw for self harm !!!

This was my second Gillian Flynn novel, the first being gone girl, and I was pleasantly surprised by the change in her writing. Gone girl was so clean cut, sharp, witty. This book is nothing of the sort. Sharp objects seemed to have clawed out of Flynn. It was sick, dirty, and so casually violent. I loved every second of being inside the strange main character’s head, hell, every character in this book is weird and creepy. As someone who was struggled quite a bit with mental health like the main character, I found it to be a fascinating take on the portrayal of mental health.

The main character, Camille, has an odd habit of repeating certain words whenever she’s distressed, wanting to carve them into her skin. Although i’ve never dealt with that particular brand of self harm, I could completely relate to the ocd tendency of repeating certain words over and over again in your head. Another quote which I included, depicts Camille as she calls herself pet names to self soothe, another detail i could painfully relate to. Overall, Camille and the other strange characters in the book were by far my favorite aspect, other notable characters being the cruel 13 year old little sister who thinks herself older than she is, and the mother who is just unbelievably creepy.

As for the mystery aspect? A little lack luster in my opinion. I knew the general direction the book was heading 50 pages in, and it went a little slower than I personally would’ve liked. Can’t help but think Flynn really honed her skills by Gone Girl which, by contrast. is incredibly gripping and contains the biggest plot twist i’ve ever experienced to date. Still though, I can’t help but love the griminess of Sharp Objects. 4/5

[diaphony-haunting]

[diaphony-haunting]

Where to find affordable books!

someone recently asked me how i afford to buy so many books and it made me realize just how many people are still buying their books on amazon/barnes and noble where they’re completely overpriced. here are some actually affordable places to buy books ❤️
1. Thrift stores
this option is definitely the most time consuming but also the most rewarding! keep in mind all thrift stores are different even within the same company so they’ll have different quantities of books in each one and different prices. i usually stop by my local goodwill once a week and there’s different stock every time. books are around 1 dollar for paperback and 2 dollars for hardcovers. i find a book i’m interested in or on my tbr around 8/10 times i go. salvation army is also a great thrift store to look in, books are 75 cents at mine and they’re stocked to the brim. it’s definitely a hit or miss but you cannot beat the prices 
2. Thrift books.com
my holy grail for finding specific books at thrift store prices. not as cheap as physical thrift stores but makes sense since it’s all online and books are usually >10 anyway. the most affordable books you’ll find on here will be classics and older popular books. keep in mind that price will go down with quality. i’ve never had an issue with books being unreadable but there can sometimes be tears, stains, or other physical blemishes on the books depending on the quality you choose to go for
3. Ebay 
ebay is great for books that are currently popular or typically more expensive (for example: hardcovers) i’ve found tons of hardcovers in amazing condition at great prices. if you have a really popular book on your tbr that you can’t justify the cost of, try ebay! the books aren’t dirt cheap but 100 times cheaper than buying them new while still looking new. again, make sure you check the quality of the book you’re buying (the seller will typically say if it’s acceptable, good, or like new quality) 
hope this helps!

[diaphony-haunting]

[diaphony-haunting]

Ahhhh I'm so happy for Bisan !!! what a relief that must be!!

"Finally a BOOK! To spend my long nights🪻🤍" from Bisan, 13/Mar/2024:

[diaphony-haunting]

A book I devoured recently: Elvis and Me (book review)

This memoir was incredibly well written and gave amazing insight into the world of super celebrities as big as the phenomenon that was Elvis Presley.

It’s clear from the beginning that Priscilla was groomed by Elvis although I don’t think she or the ghostwriter really frame it that way. I was also disappointed by how Elvis-centric this book is, I know he’s in the title but it’s sad to see how much Priscilla’s life revolved around him, to the point of titling her memoir in his name. I want to hear about Priscilla Beaulieu Presley’s life, her struggles with fame, “sharing” Elvis with the public eye, what it’s like to be THE rockstar girlfriend. She is such an icon I was sad to see so much time dedicated to him.

Otherwise, the book was great and 100% recommend if you’ve seen the movie or plan to.