#brit bennet

[pneu-monia]

The Mothers - Brit Bennet

[vincentsleftear]

one of my favorite quotes from my favorite book ❤️‍🩹

“The last thing she wanted was to love someone else who looked just like herself.”

Brit Bennett, The Vanishing Half

[elizabeth-freaking-bennet]

you guys have got to see my face while I'm researching the weather in Derbyshire and I realize that it is both colder and snowier on average in the town in Arizona where I live than it is in this county in England

[thismustbeso]

“I’d rather you alive and hate me than dead and forget me.” (Klos)

@/jb-blunk on tumblr / True Stories: Poems, Margaret Atwood / @thismustbeso (my writing) / Midnights, Paris / Dayspring, Anthony Oliveira / it’s not a fashion statement, it’s a death wish, My Chemical Romance / The Mothers, Brit Bennet / Southwood Plantation Road, The Mountain Goats / Chéri, Colette

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

I have. too many library books.

you guy know the rules. I'm not allowed to check out, place holds on, borrow, or (god forbid) buy any new books until I finish at least three of the following:

Brown and Gay in LA: The Lives of Immigrant Sons (Anthony Christian Ocampo)

The Vanishing Half (Brit Bennet)

The Goblin Emperor (Katherine Addison)

Happy Hour (Marlowe Granados)

Racist Love: Asian Abstraction and the Pleasure of Fantasy (Leslie Bow)

[wcrriorhearts]

Chloe Bennet dating Taron Egerton was definitely not on my 2024 bingo card but pop off, Queen! You go get yourself a hot Brit!

[extrait-livre]

"Genre tu te pointes à ton propre enterrement, histoire de regarder la vie qui continue sans toi." ♥

Brit Bennet - L'autre moitié de soi

[vincentsleftear]

Ask game time! 8, 21, & 27 if you please

Helloo!! Thanks for the ask 🫶!!

8. What’s your favorite band/artist?

Hooray!! Music question!! I love music questions 🤭. My favorite band is definitely Florence + the Machine. My favorite artist is Hozier.

21. How was your day today?

Pretty chill, thanks for asking! Was traveling all day yesterday and am feeling residual exhaustion from that. I’m excited to go to bed lol

27. What’s your favorite book? Or just a book you’ve read a few times?

Mwahaha a book question!! Hooray!! My favorite book is the Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet. Anyone who knows me irl can tell you I’ll find any excuse to talk about it lol. For me, it’s one of those books that’s so special not only because of the writing but also the place I was in my life when I first read it. Ugh. I just love that book.

[misespinas]

Literature I want to read;

Sci-fi...

The Sheep Look Up by John Brunner

The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

The Star Rover by Jack London

On the Beach by Nevil Shute

Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut

Realistic Fiction...

Arrow of God by Chinua Achebe

Girls At War by Chinua Achebe

Another Country by James Baldwin

Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet

The Plague by Albert Camus

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi

The Blind Owl by Sadegh Hedayat

Paradise Rot by Jenny Hval

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver

My Year of Sleep and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

Pina by Titaua Peu

Elena Knows by Claudia Piñeiro

Noon Wine by Katherine Anne Porter

Native Son by Richard Wright

Psychological/Horror...

Flowers In the Attic by V.C. Andrews

Tender Is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterrica

2666 by Roberto Bolaño

The Between by Tananarive Due

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino

Out by Natsuo Kirino

Piercing by Ryu Murakami

Foe by lain Reid

Cows by Matthew Stokoe

Feminist Literature...

Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo

This Mournable Body by Tsitsi Dangarembga

Near to the Wild Heart by Clarice Lispector

Empty Houses by Brenda Navarro

The Color Purple by Alice Walker

Meridian by Alice Walker

Possessing the Secret of Joy by Alice Walker

Short Stories...

“Vengeful Creditor” by Chinua Achebe

“The Guest” by Albert Camus

“Cathedral” by Raymond Carver

“Désirée’s Baby” by Kate Chopin

“Investigations of a Dog” by Franz Kafka

“Bartleby, the Scrivener” by Herman Melville

“Galatea” by Madeline Miller

“A Good Man Is Hard to Find” by Flannery O'Connor

“Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx

“The Body Snatcher” by Robert Louis Stevenson

Anthologies...

Konundrum by Franz Kafka

The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien

Plays...

All My Sons by Arthur Miller

An Enemy of the People by Arthur Miller

Joe Turner’s Come and Gone by August Wilson

[moonyslesbian]

top 5 quotes from your favorite books

THIS WAS SO HARD - not choosing the actual quotes, but deciding which books to pick in the first place... its like ive birthed several children during the years and now im being asked to pick favourites. anyways! some of my fav quotes:

“I know my life's meaningful because" - and here he stopped, and looked shy, and was silent for a moment before he continued - " because I'm a good friend. I love my friends, and I care about them, and I think I make them happy.” from A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

“Her death hit in waves. Not a flood, but water lapping steadily at her ankles. You could drown in two inches of water. Maybe grief was the same.” from The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet

“I was raised among books, making invisible friends in pages that seemed cast from dust and whose smell I carry on my hands to this day.” from The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

“Because the sunset, like survival, exists only on the verge of its own disappearing. To be gorgeous, you must first be seen, but to be seen allows you to be hunted.” from On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

“We were like gods at the dawning of the world, & our joy was so bright we could see nothing else but the other.” from The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

[jooniens]

January 2023 Wrap-Up

I really think I should just change my blog name to "I am only slightly late posting this." I think it would fit the vibe better.

ANYWAYS! I had a really good reading month in January despite being on vacation for the first week of the month. I read a total of 4 books and some were better than others

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet

This was my first read of the year and I am glad it was. I loved this book and I really don't have much to complain about. I loved how character focused this book was and yet it still managed to keep me interested (unlike other books I read this month). I am not sure if there was any overarching plot but this was still a fun read especially for those who love historical fiction!

4/5 Stars

A Reaper at the Gates by Sabaa Tahir

The third installment in the An Ember in the Ashes series. This was my favorite so far. Most of the book felt like it dragged on and it was very focused on character development which usually doesn't bother me but this whole series is very action packed and the slower pace of this installment tripped me up. However, the last 2/3rds of this book had me reeling and screaming into my pillow. And the ending knocked me right off my feet. It is easily one of the best endings I have ever read.

4.5/5 Stars

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

This is a re-read. This year I am focusing less on reading new books and more on finishing series. I have only read the first 3 books in this series so I felt justified to read it again. I watched the show with my mom and we both loved it and now that the second season is coming out I want to read the entire series PLUS the six of crows duology by the time it comes out in March (This is definitely a long shot I know). I was not expecting to like this book as much as I did. I had read it when I hadn't really developed my reading tastes and loved everything I read. This book is older and I just was expecting it to be an eh book. I loved it, is it the greatest work of literature? No, but I love it.

4/5 Stars

Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson

Well, not every book I read this month could be a hit. I don't think I had high expectations going into this but this book severely disappointed me. This is marketed as enemies to lovers but they were kissing by page 120. I thought oh maybe there is some backstabbing and there was but they still maintained feelings? Not only that but this book is too damn long. This book was 505 pages long and didn't get good until the last 100 ish pages. I feel like this book tried to be character driven and it was but to the point to where there was no plot. I was simply reading about people doing stuff.

2/5 Stars

As I mentioned before, this year I am focusing on finishing series and clearing out my TBR so I will be reviewing a lot more sequels and other installations in series. I may also be re-reading some books so that I can finish books that I read in previous years.

Once again, I am sorry for posting late. I will see you guys in my February Mid-month update (no TBR this month, sorry!)

Much love,

June <3

[himawaari]

i was tagged by the lovely jenna!! (@petra-rals)

alias/name: ramsay! birthday: 4/12 zodiac: aries height: 5'10" hobbies: play video games, read, watch tv, play piano, and i crochet! favourite colour: 80ABF2 (which is like a light blue with a slight purple tint) favourite book: the vanishing half by brit bennet last song: remi wolf's cover of you first by paramore last movie/show: i've been watching the new season of bake off! i watched the new episode yesterday 🧁 recent read: i've been reading see you in my 19th life and orv for book club! also witch hat atelier 🪄 inspiration: i guess my inspo for making gifs is seeing everyone's cool creations! i love to learn new techniques and ways of doing things by seeing how creative everyone is :) story behind url: when i made my blog i was watching the xxxholic dub and i loved the way the MC said himawari's name lol like he would really drag it out!! i keep it cause himawari means sunflower which is nice🌻 fun fact: all of my cats are named after pilots! finn poe and goose 😺

and for the color palette -

I like all the reds! the greens make me think of christmas which is appropriate for this time of year lol

[literatureandtrees]

10, 11, 14, 20 for the end of the year asks!

10. Something that made you cry this year? Going to the beach in January. It was cold and grey but the most beautiful thing I've ever seen

11. Something you want to do again next year?I had 6 people staying here this summer (all family) and it was so fun. We explored so much of this area, played in creeks, ate fresh berries and did alot of shopping.

14. Favorite book you read this year? The vanishing half by Brit Bennet

20. What’s something you learned this year? To stop giving people so many chances. If it works it works, if not just move on. It's not that big of a deal and it's way better for my mental health.

Thank you!

[readingaftermidnight007]

(Long Overdue) Reading Update!!

Ahhhh I've been meaning to post for a while but I'm just super lazy soooo....

Last time I updated this, I had just finished reading DJATS I think? Hold on I'm going to check. *pause for me checking*

Ok yeah, the last time I updated this was when I finished Daisy Jones (which i never actually talked about how I felt about and who knows, maybe I'll finally make a post about it)

Anywaysssss.....here's my reading update. We may or may not be eight books behind. Whoops. (Seven if we don't count DJATS and for these purposes I'm not going to talk about it right now)

also dont worry abt spoilers for anything. it's completely spoiler free :)

~~~~~

First up, we have....

A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

(completed February 23) (i know im sorry 😭)

(3/5 ⭐️)

I read this for a class, and overall I really enjoyed it. I was in a weird place mentally though, so I don't think I fully processed a lot of it otherwise this would have a much higher rating. Its a very enjoyable play though, and it's a beautiful story and beautifully written. Definitely would recommend if you enjoy plays that are grounded in realism and focus a lot around familial themes.

The Crucible by Arthur Miller

(completed March 8) (again im sorry ive been super fucking busy)

(4/5⭐️)

Honestly, I loved reading this play. I also read it for the same class, but I found this one more enjoyable, which is probably because one of my first childhood hyperfixations was on, oddly enough, the Salem Witch Trials. Which if you didn't know, that's what The Crucible is about. Anyways. It's very good, and I would definitely recommend reading it. Its a long play, but it's worth it. It explores a lot of themes of grief and paranoia and sins and it's just so fascinating and there's so much to explore within it.

Homeward Bound by Elaine Tyler May

(completed March 17) (i swear i have good reasons for not updating but im not gonna get into that unless you wanna go check up my vent blog @queenofshadows077)

(3/5⭐️)

i read this for my history class, and i have to say, i enjoyed it a lot more than i was expecting. sure, there didn't need to be a 20 page chapter about premarital sex statistics in the 1950s(seriously, why 20 pages???), but i found it very interesting otherwise. the book basically delves into the post-WWII suburbanization of American families and gender roles and societal roles, etc and I would recommend if youre looking for a nonfiction book about that particular time period.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet

(completed March 22)

(5/5⭐️)

I genuinely LOVED this book. Like, seriously. Read it. IT'S WORTH THE HYPE I PROMISE. I could not put it down the entire time I was reading it. I was having way too much fun with it and i was so sad when it was over. Like, so upset. I loved the story of the twins and their lives. It's truly a beautiful, compelling novel and I want everyone to read it. It is 100% ending up on my favorites list of 2023. Please read it. Please. I beg of you. I dont wanna get too much into the plot or anything spoilery so if you wanna know more, read the overview on goodreads please! (and then read the book. do it. do. it.)

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(completed march 31)

(4/5⭐️)

Ok so this is the third TJR book I've read, and I absolutely loved it!!! I read this over the course of a week on a trip I went on, and it was the perfect book to read for it. I love the way she organizes her books and the way she writes her characters. Compared to Evelyn Hugo and DJATS it's definitely not my favorite, but it was still excellent.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

(completed April 6)

(5/5⭐️)

This has always been one of my favorite books. This is my third time reading it, and I was inspired to reread since I had just finished Malibu Rising and had recently read DJATS. I love this book. I love Evelyn and her story and I love how TJR writes very complex characters. Always brings me to tears, it's soooo good. it's an incredible novel featuring an incredible story of a queer woman and her journeys through success, love, fame, and so much more. if you havent read it, you need to. Like, it is literally a requirement. :)

And finally....

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz

(completed April 11)

(5/5⭐️)

This was a beautiful story. Beautifully writen, characters that bare their soul and that you cant help but love, and super addicting. I literally could not put it down. the pacing was wonderful, the storytelling was so vivid and touching and i will remember this one for a long time. it's the story of two boys, Ari and Dante, as they grow up and start their journey into adulthood while also battling their own personal wars. Ari is a really interesting narrator to be in the head of and I honestly think that this author is so insanely good. So yeah. I liked it A LOT.

~~~~

That's all of them!!

see you next time!!

~Scarlett

[ohjoyce]

2022 in books

It’s been a good year in books. More waves of covid = more time spent inside reading, away from crowds of people so silver linings and all that.

Happily, I’ve also been lucky enough to have lived with and befriended fellow keen bean readers and we’ve swapped our lil paperback collections back and forth. One of my top 5 favourite feelings has got to be watching someone you know read a book you love. Up there too is chatting with a friend about a book they’ve lent you as you read it for the first time. Chef’s kiss experiences.

This year, I elected to read almost entirely for pleasure. I switched jobs two times and worked on getting into a consistent fitness routine of going to the gym 3 times a week so was not looking for anything else challenging or intellectually stimulating to do in my free time. Unfortunately, Canberra does not have very good libraries so I didn't have access to a huge variety of options. But, the library of friends came through with the goods.

Without further ado, a list of my 2022 in books in chronological order that I read them.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennet

Quite an interesting and thought-provoking exploration of race and the extent to we are able to choose who we become. Two mixed-race twins growing up in 1950s America experience very different parallel realities as one chooses to capitalise on her lighter skin colour to pass as white. Raised questions of material comfort versus cultural integrity have no clear answers but makes for compelling food for thought.

How We Love by Clementine Ford

This book is slight departure from Clementine Ford's usual stuff-- more tender and vulnerable. Each chapter is about one of the loves in her life and it's as much a letter to a past and future selves as it is an ode to non-romantic love. I also went to her ‘Secular Love Sermon’ aka How We Love book tour show in November of this year which was maybe the best event I went to this year. Here’s to love as bearing witness to life and telling stories always.

The Dry by Jane Harper

Before this year, I hadn't read any of Jane Harper's books. This year I read them all. Goes to show how addictive and effective they are as crime thrillers. The story unfolds and weaves together to reach such a satisfying conclusion. I can't really say too much without spoiling it but Jane Harper has a wonderful way of characterising the Australian bush landscape as a focal point in her novels.

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child by JK Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne

Incredibly unmemorable. It was pleasant but I can't remember a single thing on reflection.

The Survivors by Jane Harper

Not one of my favourite Jane Harper novels, but as always a great page-turning read.

After I Do by Taylor Jenkin Reid

An interesting exploration of love after marriage and the reality of the highs and lows that starts after most romance stories end. As can be clearly seen from the other books by the same author I kept picking up after this one, I really relished this unconventional premise.

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkin Reid

I picked this up because the cover was kind of pretty and I was on a lunch-break walk to Civic Library and this was the best pleasant surprise. Something about this novel reminded me of getting deliciously absorbed into a book during school holidays — falling asleep reading and then reading again first thing in the morning. I have a big soft spot for self-made underdog stories and eldest/only daughter protagonists.

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkin Reid

Absolutely devoured this story of old-school glamour, love, and disappointment. Nice and neat tie-in with the narrator/journalist’s own modern day sub-plot.

Entire ACOTAR series by Sarah J Maas.

Faerie smut that fits in just about every trope of men written by a woman for the female gaze in a good way. Very fun.

Love Stories by Trent Dalton

Touchingly earnest, Trent Dalton shows us that in hard times, sometimes the best thing to go is to choose to go soft. To choose to show and share the hurt and highs of loving and being loved that are the only things that'll matter in the end. This got me through a chaotic and draining month I worked in family law. I cried a lot.

Force of Nature by Jane Harper

Again, a lesser favourite but good fun nonetheless.

The Lost Man by Jane Harper

This one is up there, so good I reread it a week ago. The perfectly placed red herrings, the family tension, and small-town grudges and secrets. 10/10 times. I particularly enjoyed how men's mental health, loneliness, and isolation were prevalent themes. Jane Harper also sprinkles easter eggs throughout her Faulk novels which subtly intertwine the characters from her books which is fun to spot.

Milk Fed by Melissa Broder

There was a lot of online hype about this book, and the author is behind a twitter account I used to follow called 'SoSadToday' (yeah, I know bahaha). But the rather triggering portrayal of disordered eating and punitive calorie counting made this one a pretty stressful read. There was also zero sense of closure at the end, only confusion.

Book Lovers by Emily Henry

A very sweet and delightful rom-com read for those of us who are sometimes sick of the overly predictable cookie-cutter romance novel. The protagonist is very relatable and is all in all a refreshing palate cleanser to the saccharine netflix christmas holiday movie tropes.

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

Absent of any particularly astute life advice at least in any productive sense but deeply comforting that the era of being in your twenties is as chaotic as it is character-building and all of it is normal.

The No Show by Beth O'Leary

Slightly over-complicated plot-twist but props for originality and side-plot which I may or may not have become more invested in than the main plot by the end.

Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne

A fun, quirky, alternative rom-com read with colourful characters and the evergreen message that it's more than ok to be a cosy offbeat weirdo as long as enjoy it.

No Matter Our Wreckage by Gemma Carey

Written by a now-Canberran dwelling lady academic researcher, this book reflexively documents   her own childhood sexual assault and abuse. Which is to say things get very real and very dark at points. But, Gemma Carey refuses to let her story go untold and that courage glues together what is an otherwise tragic and deeply personal patchwork of recollections and tribulations.

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

Honestly, I can't say I'm a big Sally Rooney fan but sometimes you are having a mid time and simply want to escape into someone else's even mid-er time this hits. I can't explain it any other way.

The Switch by Beth O'Leary

I tried to listen to the audiobook of this story and didn't make it very far but when I found a copy of the paperback, I got through it quite readily. Cosy as all Beth O'Leary novels are, if the obstacle-boyfriend can be a bit characterised as a bit obviously shit.

November 9th Colleen Hoover

If you miss the days of scoffing down random wattpad stories as a tween, this is perfect.

Love and Virtue by Diana Reid

I spent on year studying at the University of Sydney in 2017 and used to always wonder what went on behind the hedges of the overpriced colleges where presumably people with very rich parents lived. This book is almost definitely a very accurate window into the answer. Having studied law and arts at Usyd herself, the

Verity by Colleen Hoover

Wtf!? Truly I was relentlessly gazumped and then bamboozled. No sense can be made of this one, it's beyond sense.

Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

I've just finished this book, it might be my last read of 2022. A very sweet and escapist read (mostly for me, as a mathematically and scientifically challenged legal professional lmao). Though I will say I enjoyed Ali Hazelwood's other novel The Love Hypothesis a smidge more.

Whew, that was quite a test for my memory. Any outstandingly great or shitty reads for you in 2022? KEEN TO DISCUSS as always.

[extrait-livre]

''On ne savait jamais qui était susceptible de nous faire du mal avant qu'il ne soit trop tard."

Brit Bennet - L'autre moitié de soiBrit Bennett