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Seize the Day
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow
13 posts | 28 read | 13 to read
Tommy Wilhelm tries to save himself from drowning under the weight of his own existence as his life comes apart around him after failing in his job, marriage, and investments.
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review
ValerieAndBooks
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow
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Mehso-so

Good writing, but I really didn‘t care for any of the characters. This is a novella that is on the “1001 books you must read before you die” list. Got another one knocked off that list!

I had started another #1001Books before this one but someone made a major spoiler in a Litsy review 😕 .

Butterfinger I can't stop thinking about this post. I want to apologize if it was me. I don't think it was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but maybe I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. In my head, I think it is a classic, everyone knows about it. I will definitely be more mindful. 3y
ValerieAndBooks @Butterfinger Awww 🤗 ! No it wasn‘t you, or either of those books. It‘s true that some classics have been discussed so much that people know what happens in some of them (aka Romeo or Juliet) even if they haven‘t read them. (edited) 3y
54 likes1 stack add2 comments
review
AvidReader25
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow
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Panpan

I think this was a case of the wrong book at the wrong time. I just didn‘t want to read about another “poor me” white man who can‘t live up to his father‘s expectations. A bit like Ulysses, the novel takes place over the course of 1 day. It‘s also a bit like Death of a Salesman, with one man feeling like he‘s failed his family. It‘s not bad, it just felt like the story of someone who never really grew up & is complaining about how life isn‘t fair.

Leftcoastzen I like that cover! 3y
vivastory I have serious envy of the Penguin Clothbound collection. AMAZING!! 3y
AvidReader25 @Leftcoastzen I did too! That‘s what drew me to the book. 3y
See All 6 Comments
AvidReader25 @vivastory Aww thanks. I‘ve been slowly collecting them for years. 😊 3y
vivastory I'm crossing my fingers that I get a couple for the holidays. I esp. like the newish versions of War of the Worlds & Jude the Obscure. A few days ago I received the Bronte set in the mail & it's 💙 3y
AvidReader25 @vivastory Those are beautiful! I have more than what is shown here, but they are just about the only books I actually ask for as presents. I use my library so much that I only want to own books that are special to me. These are the only ones I actually collect! 3y
29 likes6 comments
quote
GoneFishing
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow

You don‘t know what you‘ve got within you. A person either creates or he destroys. There is no neutrality …

quote
GoneFishing
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow

I want to tell you, don't marry suffering. Some people do. They get married to it, and sleep and eat together, just as husband and wife. If they go with joy they think it's adultery.

quote
GoneFishing
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow

Bringing people into the here-and-now. The real universe. That's the present moment. The past is no good to us. The future is full of anxiety. Only the present is real--the here-and-now. Seize the day.

review
Riveted_Reader_Melissa
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow
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Panpan

Sorry, hated it.... it is well written though. I started out feeling sorry for the guy, but by the end it was like listening to your ex whine about how horrible the world is to him and the whole time you just want to say....maybe, just maybe if you treated people better they‘d treat you better, because the one common denominator in all of these woe is me stories is you. 🤷‍♀️

#Reading1001
#1001Discoveries

merelybookish Saul Bellow is one of those 'great' American authors of the 20th c. who may not be read much in the 21st. 5y
Daisey I felt much the same! 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @merelybookish I could definitely see that...and I can‘t say I‘ll be rushing out to read more of him. 5y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Daisey I finished it awhile ago, but didn‘t read what anyone else in the group wrote yet...I‘ve been letting it sit, thinking, as sometimes is the case, maybe it will mean more or I‘ll realize something about it after the fact...but nope, it hasn‘t improved with time passed. 5y
87 likes4 comments
review
Daisey
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow
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Panpan

I feel like I‘m missing whatever is supposed to make this a good book. It was depressing and just not enjoyable or enlightening to me at all.

I did appreciate spending the end of my Sunday afternoon finishing this short book with the cat for company.

#1001books #1001Discoveries

NatalieR Awesome pic! 🧡 6y
Daisey @NatalieR Thank you! Sometimes I get distracted from my book by the lovely sunset view. 6y
JazzFeathers It's always disheartening when we don't 'get' a classic, because there's always a reason why a book is a classic. But it happens. 6y
50 likes3 comments
blurb
Daisey
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow
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Starting my next #1001Discoveries book this beautiful evening.

#1001books

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Funny I was working on Black Dogs today. 6y
Daisey @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Work seems the right word for that one to me, but I hope you enjoy it more than I did. I‘m making a point to read this one first since it seems that I‘ll probably like the other one better. 6y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Daisey Well I hope you enjoy it more. I actually liked Black Dogs, it was a fairly easy read for me, and although it took forever to get to the point, I liked it in the end. Next up for me is The Trick is to Keep Breathing. 6y
61 likes3 comments
blurb
spinedestroyer
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow
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review
tstan
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow
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Pickpick

I was apprehensive. I disliked both Humboldt‘s Gift and Herzog. But this surprised me. Maybe because it was compact: at 114 pages, Bellow reigned in his wordiness. Wilhelm, the main character who is a failure at everything, has another day. Maybe today will be different. He does a lot of navel gazing, whining and worrying about money. But he has hope. #1001bookswap

review
sprainedbrain
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow
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Pickpick

So... that‘s a thing I did.

This little novella is very well-written, but my gosh, did it smack me upside the head with the sadness and emptiness that our money-driven ‘American dream‘ can bring. Wilhelm is a loser, and he drove me crazy with all of his dumb decisions, but the realism here is not in the least uplifting. 😔

⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

#1001books

101 likes2 stack adds
blurb
dariazeoli
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow
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I shall seize these #vegan cookies as I #audioread Seize the Day. Happy Friday from my office cubicle, a few minutes before the workday starts!

Chrissyreadit Yum! What kind were they? #veganlitsy 6y
dariazeoli @Chrissyreadit My coworker used oat flour with coconut, walnuts, and chocolate chips. They were moist and yummy and I‘m glad she is a better baker than I am 👍🏻 6y
Chrissyreadit So awesome!!!! 6y
46 likes3 comments
quote
GoneFishing
Seize the Day | Saul Bellow

You can spend the entire second half of your life recovering from the mistakes of the first half.

[DELETED] 2852984487 And that's the truth. Madonna once said she regrets nothing she has ever done...but I am not that strong. 8y
38 likes2 stack adds1 comment