#nikki erlick

[danielsarmand]

what the fuck 😭 been reading the measure on and off for a while now and i just got to the failed presidential assassination attempt you have GOT to be kidding me

[mrskl86]

That’s why, darling, it’s incredible

That someone so unforgettable

Thinks that I am unforgettable, too.

[melodysbookhaven]

“Once you know something, you forget what it was like to not know it.”

Nikki Erlick, The Measure

[rachel-sylvan-author]

"The Measure" by Nikki Erlick book recommendation by Rachel Sylvan

[carleylyonwrites]

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

For those who love introspective, existential fiction about the finite nature of life as we know it, The Measure will not disappoint.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

One day, the world wakes up to find that every person 22 years of age and older has received a box. Inside the box is a string that represents the measure of that person's life. This is the ambitious premise Nikki Erlick presents to readers in the first few sentences of The Measure. I have to admit, I was skeptical as to whether or not the author could pull this off. My immediate thought was, "This plot is going to be too big, too full of holes. It's not going to cover every base. I'm going to be frustrated that it doesn't answer every question I have about how the entire world — religious groups, governments, corporations, health care providers, scientists — reacts to this fantastical phenomenon." 

Never have I been so satisfied to be proven wrong. The author does a commendable job of filling every hole, answering every question, and painting an entirely convincing picture of what would transpire if such a phenomenon actually occurred. 

Beyond the impressive execution of such a complex plot, the beautiful character-building is the real heart of The Measure. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different character. A young architect whose box was opened against his will; a schoolteacher who would rather live without knowing the length of her life; a politician leveraging the phenomenon of the strings for his personal gain; a couple whose world is shaken by the realization that one of them will live a long life, while the other's life will be cut short within the next decade.

Over the course of the story, we see how all of these individuals' fates are woven together, for better or for worse. Each interaction between these characters invites readers to think about what our own legacies will be, and how much of an impact we can make if we spend our lives sowing seeds of good. The story also invites readers to ruminate on the question of what we would do, how we would react, how we would choose to move forward if faced with the revelation of how long we have to live. 

The Measure is an emotional read, but not excessively so. It's also contemplative, conflicted, and even uplifting. 

In certain chapters, the story’s social commentary is a little too on-the-nose for my liking, and some of the ways in which the characters "come together" feel contrived and too coincidental. But, for the most part, Erlick crafts believable and compelling reasons as to how and why characters connect in the ways that they do. 

The Measure evokes emotions similar to those stirred in the 2016 film Arrival, in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel Never Let Me Go, and other introspective media about the finite nature of life as we know it. Nikki Erlick has dutifully earned her place among the storytellers bold enough to venture into this topic. This is a beautiful novel that, for lovers of this genre, will not disappoint.

[andreabadgley]

Lunch break.

[rainbow-0bsidian]

See also, The Measure, by Nikki Erlick.

everybody’s always on writing prompts like “what if there was a world where everyone had a timer ticking down to their death… but you met someone whose timer said infinity!” or “what if everyone had their cause of death tattooed across their forehead… but you met someone whose forehead said THE CREATURE!” Enough -

enough. stop with the shock value. there is no need to insert THE CREATURE; the benign concept of such a world is horrifying enough. not even in urgency, but just in banal, everyday interaction. imagine you meet someone and their timer says two years. not tomorrow, not urgently soon, but two years. enough to do quite a lot. they could fall in love in that time - could they get engaged? have a baby? you might otherwise get to know them, befriend them, but perhaps you opt not to, make a conscious choice not to invest in your own grief. what balancing act would every individual person have to participate in - I have ten years, is that long enough to be a good mother to children? is that long enough to secure a caretaker for my own mother? my wife will die a few months before me. my newborn’s timer reads nineteen years.

and cause of death. you interview for a job and emblazoned across the healthy, smiling face of the HR lady is MALNUTRITION. your country is prospering, safe, but every person you meet on the street from the babies to the old women read BOMB. BOMB. what kind of havoc would fate wreak on the world? what about the loss of privacy? how would that shape our notions of hope? idk man I think a lot of those ancient poems were right, and the fates are monsters. I’m interested by the framing of these ideas as trite horror tales when the premises themselves are so much more disturbing if simply taken to their logical ends

[yourekillingpeopletodeath]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

First 5 star read of 2025!

(Also the first book this year to make me cry)

[lobo1tomia]

Best of 2024 - A 261. epizód

Boldog új évet! Január elején mi mással is köszönthetnénk kedves hallgatóinkat és az új évet, mint egy best of epizóddal? A hagyományoknak megfelelően ebben az adásban áttekintjük, amelyek voltak a tavalyi év legemlékezetesebb könyves, filmes, podcastos élményei – ezek egy részéről korábbi adásokban már hallhattatok, de sok mindenről eddig még nem esett szó. Tartsatok velünk! Best of 2024 Le is…

[roseunspindle]

Mid-Year Book Freak-out 2024

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year. A tie between Assistant to the Villian and The Measure

2. Best sequel you've read so far this year. The Hollow Dead, Gravekeeper #4

3. New release you haven't read yet, but want to. The Familar by Leigh Bardugo

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year. hmmm Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron, The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Apprentice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer

5. Biggest disappointment. Gridlinked by Neal Asher and The Girl the Sea Gave back by Adrienne Young

6. Biggest surprise. - I just wasn't expecting to like this one as much as I did. ^_^

10. Book that made you cry. - Hospital Sketches by Louisa May Alcott

11. Book that made you happy.

12. Most beautiful book you've bought so far this year (or received) Song of The Six Realms by JUdy I. Lin Owlcrate Edition

13. What books do you need to read by the end of the year - So many

and I could go on...

if you really wanna know...

[coreglia]

Find Your People

[bookwhurm]

The Measure by Nikki Erlick

I am absolutely in love with this book and I have never felt like something so sci-fi adjacent (if not just actual sci-fi) tackled the political spectrum in the universe so well since the Ender's Game series. But this book answers all the questions I had about how people would react. What would it mean to receive a box that had the literal measure of your life in the form of an indestructible string in an indestructible box? What would it mean for those you loved? What would it mean for you how you planned your life?

Spoilers Ahead...Probably.

Nikki Erlick is very obviously a writer that is a product of her schooling and I mean this in the best way possible. She took her life experience, the things she learned along the way, and political events that occurred throughout time and made it into her debut book that I'm in love with.

I couldn't stop talking about it to my partner and my best friend and my sister and almost anyone who would listen. She addresses the consequences of the policies and social stigmas in America and how it ripples throughout the world. She also addresses the way America doesn't effect the entire world. Italy, for one.

I've definitely seen some articles and reviews talk about how such a broad story that encompassed multiple characters felt like it never addressed the issue of the strings and how it all felt surface level. I disagree with the way that they interpreted the book. I believe they went into this reading hoping for a different outcome that doesn't remain true to the book. It IS written like a documentary on the strings. But I don't believe we don't get enough about each of the characters and storylines.

She starts off the book with all these characters leading very different lives. She sets the precedent that we'll be sitting back and watching how the strings turn everything upside down. And she did that. She let us get to know these characters - the kinds of people they were before the strings - a son that followed begrudgingly in his family footsteps without so much as an ounce of disobedience in his body, a schoolteacher in love with her fantasies more than real life, and interracial lesbian couple at the beginning of their love story, and a lonely man on the brink of being betrayed.

The way that she weaves the story to let us get to know them and to actively see the slow progression of their lives as their stories become more entangled is beautiful. It's real. It's based in reality. It showcases the struggles of women, people of color, and the LGBTQ+ community in a way that might be easier to swallow for those that haven't considered what that perspective may be like.

I read someone once that the anthropomorphism of animals in cartoons make the characters to more people across cultures, genders, and races. It's easier to project our own feelings onto something that doesn't quite look like any of us and I believe Erlick did a great job of an introductory glance into the lives of marginalized groups for those that may not have experienced those kinds of discrimination before. She showcases the sheer helplessness in being judged for something so out of your control and the sense of community you can find with others that are in the same boat as you.

Erlick also shows the importance of community through trying times. Of connection with your fellow human beings that you might not have even given a perfunctory glance before. The beautiful and entrancing way Erlick weaves these stories together reminds me of the natural and mesmerizing way a whirlpool swirls together.

She presented us with a wonderful thought experiment and followed through with a beautiful story about human nature and community and finding comfort in those around you while you can. How losing someone you love isn't the end of them and that there's more to living a long life than how long your body occupies this planet. If you're looking for a book that displays the world as it is and how to find your way through the life you're living now with the people around you, I would 100% recommend this book. If you're looking for the most in depth character development ever known to man, maybe look for a different book. But if you're more interested in the weaving of a story about the world and a group of people, you will not be disappointed.

Rating: 8.8/10

[mrskl86]

Caffeine, Carbs and Book Clubs 📚

[melodysbookhaven]

“Its not the length of life, but the depth of life.”

Nikki Erlick, The Measure

[addie-reviews-books]

Just picked this up from the library! Hopefully, it lives up to it's hype!

[bisexualamy]

I really try not to prejudge books if I like the concept I try to keep an open mind but I have to start taking it as a red flag when books are morning talk show book clubs picks. They have such interesting concepts and vapid executions. Sorry for being an elitist but how do you take such incredible book ideas and bore me to tears 😔