Books Distilled » Archive
5 Ways to Feel Infinite: Lessons from Perks of Being a Wallflower
I read The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky for the first time my senior year of high school. I absolutely loved it. If you haven’t read it, it’s a great coming-of-age story about Charlie as he begins high school. He’s precocious, shy, and socially awkward. I related to Charlie’s struggles to fit in (also being somewhat shy) and find his place in the world, as I was … Read entire article »
Filed under: Lessons Learned
Why Read?
In the digital age, much of our information comes to us through text. Text messages and Facebook posts from friends, emails from coworkers, a report on new advances in your field, twitter updates, news headlines. If we have all the information we could possibly want to sift through, why read for pleasure? I find that I enter a different state of mind when reading a novel as opposed to reading for information. I detach from the … Read entire article »
Filed under: Thoughts on Literature
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
Before we dive into today’s book review, a quick note on the posting schedule. I’ll be posting book reviews on Mondays; Wednesdays I’ll alternate between Thoughts on Literature and a series of guest posts entitled, 5 Books I Can’t Live Without (look for one next week!); and Fridays I’ll post on life lessons I’ve learned from my favorite books. Enjoy! My mom always told me I should be a restaurant critic. Food and writing: my … Read entire article »
Filed under: Contemporary Literature
4 Steps to Being True to Yourself: Lessons from Stargirl
I work for a company that produces binoculars. (It’s random, I know.) A few weeks ago we had a mandatory office bird watch. We met at nearby Blydenburgh Park at 8:30. It was cloudy and approximately 40 degrees. (This is standard mid-April weather in New York. Just one of the many reasons I miss living in Durham.) My coworkers who’d been on these walks before joked about the instructor before … Read entire article »
Filed under: Lessons Learned
How Much Does Truth Matter in Memoir?
You may have read that CBS has uncovered a controversy surrounding Greg Mortenson’s bestselling memoir, Three Cups of Tea. The memoir and its sequel, Stones into Schools, describe Mortenson’s encounter with a Pakistani village that cared for him after he was injured climbing K2, his promise to return and build them a school, and the subsequent founding of the nonprofit organization Central Asia Institute, which raises money to build schools and pay for education, especially for … Read entire article »
Filed under: Thoughts on Literature
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
I once read an interview with actress Julianne Moore, where she described characters she’s played: “Over time they become people I’ve known.” I feel that way about characters in books: they become my friends, so that the landscape of my friendships becomes peppered with Stargirl Caraway and her irrepressible individuality (Stargirl); Lyra Silvertongue’s daring adventurousness (His Dark Materials trilogy); Katherine Vigneras’s discipline for her art (The Small Rain and its sequel, The Severed Wasp). I have … Read entire article »
Filed under: Contemporary Literature
About Me
Ever stand in the bookstore or library, gazing around blankly, overwhelmed by choices, jealous of the other purposeful browsers? This blog is for you.
I read. A lot.
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