Posts

my top 5 books of the year

-
Image
The time has come, for the third year in a row, for me to recap my favorite books. Numerically speaking, it was a shameful year of reading. I only read 8 books, and 5 of them were over the summer. I could leave this little fact out and make it seem like I read 15 — and that these were the cream of the crop — but I shall preserve my integrity. Truthfully, the other three I read were nothing special, I had to go back to my Goodreads just to remember what they were, and I don't feel like writing about them. 5) White Nights by Fyodor Dostoevsky ★★★★☆ This year has been so long, I thought for certain that I read this in 2024, but apparently it was this year, so I can include it here. Like many others, I fell for the Jack Edwards propaganda, which I'll gladly do again. I really liked this story, and per my extremely eloquent Goodreads review, "man gets friendzoned and its awesome." It was quite simple yet very beautiful, my favorite genre.  4) Black Butterflies by Prisc...
1 comment
Read more

"in dreams, i meet you in warm conversations"

-
Image
As soon as there's a chill in the air, I allow myself a day, or two, or three for intense feeling. Feeling for what, I'm not exactly sure. It's not a specific person, or thing, or experience, but just yearning. To be honest, these days normally come after I have some intense dream filled with nostalgia and old faces and an overwhelmingly bittersweet emotion. Well, of course I had one last night, and when I stepped outside this morning it was cold and had just stopped raining and not a soul was on campus, and I couldn't help myself. The title of this post comes from one of my favorite devastating, Taylor Swift songs: Sad Beautiful Tragic. On these days, I like to think of all my past experiences as a sad, beautiful tragic as I'm acutley aware of time flying by. This is probably one of my favorite Taylor Swift lyrics ever, actually. Funny enough, up until a few weeks ago, I thought the lyric was "In dreams, I meet you for long conversations." And I'm ac...
Post a Comment
Read more

pregnant with summer

-
Image
this blog post is sponsored by kate fulton, who also wrote a blog post during work. hers was life-changing, this one will surely not be.  there is a little bit of a thrill to doing non-work-related things at work. the adrenaline rush of someone walking behind you and quickly changing your screen.  you may be wondering about this title. a weird one, i know. i think the phrase pregnant with ___ is so funny. it's a phrase that i read in a book, and it stuck with me because of how odd it was, and how much it was used, but i can't remember which book it was.  it could have been Wuthering Heights or the Bible, I could not tell you.  as i'm writing this, someone else in the office is talking about when they were conceived. fantastic timing.  i have nothing important to say, so here are some odds and ends and here and theres.  my vibe for this summer  frye boots i need a pair of Frye boot (dupes) BADLY. obviously, i'm not spending $500 on a pair of shoes, but ...
Post a Comment
Read more

things i find incredibly chic

-
Image
 no mascara + blush + lip color this is so effortless and the epidemy of chic to me. i couldn't find a photo, but especially if the person has light eyelashes and soft features. it's dreamy, 90's, and everything i've ever wanted from a makeup look. you know what else is chic about it? the freedom to rub your eyes as hard as you want.   (i know they're probably wearing a little bit of mascara, but you get the picture.) not drinking at a party this one is so good. picture this, you're at a party (a real party, not a frat. gatsby-esque). you look hot and you're still having fun. but when someone offers you a drink you politely decline. not because you're the designated driver, but because you simply don't want to.  you watch everyone else become more idiotic by the hour. you're mysterious and collected. you leave on your own accord, you're not throwing up, and no one else is throwing up in your car either. and i don't mean this in a mormon w...
Post a Comment
Read more

odds and ends

-
Image
my dogs at the park Hi. It's been so long since I've sat down to write. Not for a class, a scholarship, or an email, but for myself. I watched TikTok for four hours today, my brain is melted, and I have no desire to consume an other drop of digital media. I normally don't have TikTok on my phone, but out of boredom, I downloaded it. The blank page is so intimidating, and to immortalize the thoughts darting across my head like paper airplanes is somewhat daunting. I don't like them to fly around for long up there either, hence their metaphorical nature as paper airplanes rather than a Boeing.  college I just finished my sophomore year of college. Saying that makes me want to throw up a little bit. Sometimes it feels like I'm just wasting time. I hate my major. I don't have a dream job, just a fear of failure. I suppose I'd be happiest going to a 9-5, doing menial yet relaxing computer tasks in an office, and going home to the one that I love. But of course, y...
2 comments
Read more

extremely belated 2024 book review extravaganza

-
hello my beloved, devoted and loyal napkin notations readers.  today is the day you have all been waiting for, i will be giving my honest, unedited and unfiltered review of all the books i read in 2024 (and some in 2025). anyways. these will be in order of when i read them, starting with January 2024. i will not be including dates , however, because if you saw the gaps between when i started and finished books...it's embarrassing. anyways, this is on a five star scale. i don't have any specific criteria. enjoy my unsupported conclusions. <3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte ★★★★★  As per my Goodreads review: "i'm tweaking, this is the best thing i've ever read." I couldn't have put it better myself!  Wuthering Heights became my new favorite book, and I will not shut up about it. It took me a minute to get into it, but once I did,...
Post a Comment
Read more

fall musings on a freezing metal bench by a pond

-
Image
i'm sitting by a pond right now, it's chilly and breezy. the leaves have disappeared. they were green and now they're gone. this time last year i was at one of the lowest points in my life, but i can confidently say i'm okay now. it's crazy what a year can change (and a little bit of therapy). fall makes me so contemplative.  you know, in summer, the past melts deep into the recesses of my mind, only surfacing on certain warm summer nights. those ones where the air smells like a memory. in the fall, i feel the past like i feel my frigid fingers right now, the skin flaking off the back of my hand. the air is not yet bitter cold, nor am i. i'm simply just thinking, existing, being.  november is one of my favorite months, for no specific reason at all. it's a waiting month, like august. my other favorite, melancholy month. i am coming to appreciate life in all of it's complexities, feeling more grateful to be alive than ever before. i've grown a lot. le...
Post a Comment
Read more