annaoallen's review
Simply list my copy in our move, and will pick it up again, should I find it.
chezflute's review against another edition
4.0
Thoughtful
A thoughtful and thought provoking look at what it means to live, be an artist, be in a family, and be yourself.
A thoughtful and thought provoking look at what it means to live, be an artist, be in a family, and be yourself.
lifesaverscandyofficial's review
dog-eared two quotes:
"The fastest way to revise a piece of work is to send it, late at night, to someone whose opinion you fear. Then rewrite it, praying you'll finish in time to send a new version by morning."
&
"Two men spend all their time together. One buys a trampoline for the children; the other arranges a cooking contest. Parlor games are played nightly with the wives. One night one man feels superior; the next night, the other. Everyone is unhappy. The men are the unhappiest of all, but if they avoided each other they would be even unhappier, never knowing where they stood."
"The fastest way to revise a piece of work is to send it, late at night, to someone whose opinion you fear. Then rewrite it, praying you'll finish in time to send a new version by morning."
&
"Two men spend all their time together. One buys a trampoline for the children; the other arranges a cooking contest. Parlor games are played nightly with the wives. One night one man feels superior; the next night, the other. Everyone is unhappy. The men are the unhappiest of all, but if they avoided each other they would be even unhappier, never knowing where they stood."
losethegirl's review
dark
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
4.75
Every time I read Sarah Manguso’s work, I feel like I’m sitting in the most interesting lecture of my life. I love her approach of only telling her readers what she thinks is important and quotable, and leaving out the fluff. This book felt like it was straddling the line between creative nonfiction and contemporary philosophy, and was honestly a pleasure to read. Would highly recommend.
beatsbybeard's review
5.0
"Think of this as a short book composed entirely of what I hoped would be a long book's quotable passages."
These 300 bites of text are observations about a range of things (grief, art, success, sex...) laid down in pithy and direct prose. Here are some of my favorites:
"Like a vase, a heart breaks once. After that, it just yields to its flaws."
"There will come a time when people decide you've had enough of your grief, and they'll try to take it from you."
"The trouble with letting people see you at your worst isn't that they'll remember; it's that you'll remember."
"Whatever you're feeling, billions already have. Feel for them."
"For me the greatest thrill of Rome was walking into the Forum, picking up a piece of ancient stone where it lay, and dropping it somewhere else."
"It's impossible to fail if one doesn't know how the end should look. And it's impossible to succeed. But it's possible to enjoy."
These 300 bites of text are observations about a range of things (grief, art, success, sex...) laid down in pithy and direct prose. Here are some of my favorites:
"Like a vase, a heart breaks once. After that, it just yields to its flaws."
"There will come a time when people decide you've had enough of your grief, and they'll try to take it from you."
"The trouble with letting people see you at your worst isn't that they'll remember; it's that you'll remember."
"Whatever you're feeling, billions already have. Feel for them."
"For me the greatest thrill of Rome was walking into the Forum, picking up a piece of ancient stone where it lay, and dropping it somewhere else."
"It's impossible to fail if one doesn't know how the end should look. And it's impossible to succeed. But it's possible to enjoy."
gjpeace's review
4.0
Rating: 4.5
“Think of this as a short book composed entirely of what I hoped would be a long book’s quotable passages.”
This is, you should know, exactly my kind of thing. You can read it in an afternoon if you want, but it’s the sort of thing I predict I’ll come back to over and over and over. Such wit and such wisdom in these small quasi-aphorisms, pearls of truth and conciseness.
“Think of this as a short book composed entirely of what I hoped would be a long book’s quotable passages.”
This is, you should know, exactly my kind of thing. You can read it in an afternoon if you want, but it’s the sort of thing I predict I’ll come back to over and over and over. Such wit and such wisdom in these small quasi-aphorisms, pearls of truth and conciseness.
timcosgrove's review
5.0
This book gets five whole stars because I read it in 40 minutes, I want to read it again before I return it to the library, and I will probably then buy myself a copy.
Some of it reminds me of Jenny Holzer, but they might just both remind me of aphorisms. It feels less severe than Holzer, maybe because Holzer's work is often chiseled into stone benches or written on 10 foot high scrolling LED signs, and this is a slim and unassuming book.
A number of these really hit me. One literally made me say out loud, 'Dammnnnnnn'.
There is something of a shape to the 300. Themes present themselves and then fade away as new ones are introduced. It might be chronological, or at least represent her thinking over her years. Or, maybe it's fiction.
It is inevitable when I write a "review" or summary like this that the text I write is a poor reflection of what I just read.
A few favorites:
"Inner beauty can fade, too."
"Only a fire can teach you what survives a fire. No, it teaches you what can survive that fire."
"The trouble with setting goals is that you're constantly working towards what you used to want."
"No point in trying to explain myself to those who refuse to understand. I've already lost that game."
I have to admit that I take pleasure in a small, easy-to-read book getting me one more book towards my completely arbitrary and meaningless 21 books in 2021 reading challenge.
Some of it reminds me of Jenny Holzer, but they might just both remind me of aphorisms. It feels less severe than Holzer, maybe because Holzer's work is often chiseled into stone benches or written on 10 foot high scrolling LED signs, and this is a slim and unassuming book.
A number of these really hit me. One literally made me say out loud, 'Dammnnnnnn'.
There is something of a shape to the 300. Themes present themselves and then fade away as new ones are introduced. It might be chronological, or at least represent her thinking over her years. Or, maybe it's fiction.
It is inevitable when I write a "review" or summary like this that the text I write is a poor reflection of what I just read.
A few favorites:
"Inner beauty can fade, too."
"Only a fire can teach you what survives a fire. No, it teaches you what can survive that fire."
"The trouble with setting goals is that you're constantly working towards what you used to want."
"No point in trying to explain myself to those who refuse to understand. I've already lost that game."
I have to admit that I take pleasure in a small, easy-to-read book getting me one more book towards my completely arbitrary and meaningless 21 books in 2021 reading challenge.