I hate this book with such a burning passion. Farris appropriates the Great Gatsby because he isn‘t creative or talented enough to write something original.

Quite a funny read. Perhaps I shouldn‘t have dove in immediately after I re-read the bell jar. In any case, certainly fun.

I would argue Brave New World is a better classic dystopian novel than 1984. Ever relevant, just creepy enough while maintaining itself in the realm of realism. A really excellent read, especially considering I don‘t even really like Sci-Fi or dystopia as a rule.

A classic Russian novel. Tolstoy when he‘s out of his comfort zone is far more interesting. Not quite as wonderful and earth shaking as Lolita, but it‘s certainly well written and a fun read. The kind of book you can read over a few months next to your bed.

Mamet is so fun. Always enjoyable, and reminds me of snappy dialogue I have with close friends. Strangely heartwarming even though that‘s not the point whatsoever.

An ever relevant essay. Highly recommend to any fellow pessimist who has a distaste for Hegel.

Hear me out, women in the right headspace should all read Lolita, and men maybe should read it at a removed distance. Perhaps as a true crime novel. It‘s revolting and beautiful. It‘s also worthwhile to mention that Véra Nabokov played a huge role in this book‘s writing. Reading this was revolting but revolutionary. I finally acknowledged the potential for male evil in writing, and saw how beauty could so easily pervert it. A necessary read.

The Virgin Suicides gets such a bad rap. It‘s misogynist and male gaze-ey on purpose. It‘s self aware and is supposed to be sort of revolting. I think the movie may get this across better, but jesus christ it is so wonderful. The Lisbon girls are the essence of the “female image” and it is well worth the read. I will defend this book until the day I die.

What an incredible book. Post-Freudian, Lacanian, and Kantian analysts can go either way, but Caruth has it absolutely dead on. She pushes, but doesn‘t pervert. Incredibly useful and applicable to my own life. I highly recommend this to any fellow female Freudians/Lacanians, and I learned so much. Worth the re-read and worth the in depth annotation.

A wonderful collection of short stories, some varying in quality but all with a lot to offer. Not a typical “love story” situation but so is to be expected with Eugenides.

Favorites— Dirty Wedding by Denis Johnson, Natasha by David Bezmozgis, Spring in Fialta by Vladimir Nobokov, and How to be an Other Woman by Lorrie Moore.

Easy leash favorite— The Hitchhiking Game by Milan Kundera (incredibly rapey and male gazey in a non-self aware way)

Quite wonderful. Part 1 is certainly better than part 2, mostly because Alma‘s perspective is just so much more free flowing. The criticism that this book is “needless fluff” is just a common post-modernist L. The “fluff” and imagery is the symbolism. This was a great read, I annotate all my books, but it was especially helpful to do so here. 8/10 because of the droning part 2 of the “sad business man.” Nobokov influence is apparent and excellent.