#the great believers

[quotespile]

But when someone’s gone and you’re the primary keeper of his memory — letting go would be a kind of murder, wouldn’t it? I had so much love for him, even if it was a complicated love, and where is all that love supposed to go? He was gone, so it couldn’t change, it couldn’t turn to indifference. I was stuck with all that love.

Rebecca Makkai, The Great Believers

#literature #quotes #Rebecca Makkai #The Great Believers #quote #books #lit

[mylifeincharingcrossroad]

#society of the snow #juan antonio bayona #la sociedad de la nieve #rebecca makkai #the great believers #in love with this story #and this film

[creatinganewwlife]

“But when someone's gone and you're the primary keeper of his memory-letting go would be a kind of murder, wouldn't it? I had so much love for him, even if it was a complicated love, and where is all that love supposed to go? He was gone, so it couldn't change, it couldn't turn to indifference. I was stuck with all that love.”

Rebecca Makkai, The Great Believers

#light academia #rebecca makkai #the great believers #book qoute #love academia #romantic academia #desiblr #desi tag #desi tumblr #desi #desi aesthetic #dark academia #kafkaesque #heartbreak #lost love #loved and lost

[asoftepiloguemylove]

Hi, can you do a web weave on the loss of a lover who you grieve for everyday for your life and wishes to seek their love everyday?

Thank you so much and I love you blog!!

i hope you're doing okay <33

L. Frank Baum The Wonderful Wizard of Oz / Ocean Vuong in an interview by Tonya Mosley / Martha Gellhorn from a letter to Hortense Flexner and Wyncie King Selected Letters of Martha Gellhorn / pinterest / Rebecca Makkai The Great Believers / Anne Carson Glass, Irony and God / One Day (2011) dir. Lone Scherfig / pinterest

#on love #on heartbreak #on loss #web weave #web weaving #literature #poetry parallels #poetry compilation #l frank baum #the wonderful wizard of oz #ocean vuong #tonya mosley #martha gellhorn #rebecca makkai #the great believers #anne carson #glass irony and god #one day #lone scherfig #words #poem #spilled poetry #spilled thoughts #spilled ink #dark academia poetry #dark academia quote #dark academia #writing #poetry #spilled feelings

[convulsionofhonesty]

top 10 books of 2022

i read 50 books this year and i’m going to share my top 10 and what i loved most about them (in no particular order)

1. writers & lovers by lily king - this book legitimately changed my life by reminding me of how desperate i am to lead a creative life. there are certain books that make you want to be a writer. this is one. featuring clean-cut, economical prose that gets straight to the point, and the point is diving into one of the most compelling characters i’ve had the honor to spend a story with. i read it twice this year because i will never be ready to part with this main character.

2. last night at the telegraph club by malinda lo - this was a reread for me and i appreciated it infinitely more the second time. the vividness of the writing strikes me as a particular triumph of this work. you can feel every emotion, see and hear every setting. that and a deeply engaging narrative make it one of those books that i continue to think about constantly.

3. crush by richard siken - my favorite poetry collection i have read, and reread, both within this year. he is one of those writers that reminds you how amazing it is to be a human that can feel and say so much. sharp images, glorious repitition, and stunning formatting that has inspired much of my own adventure into the world of unique poetic structure on the page.

4. homegoing by yaa gyasi - probably one of the most ingenious books i have ever read. to this day i fail to understand how it is possible to cover so much in so few pages and not leave the reader feeling like something is missing, but she certainly does it. sweeping multi-generational story where each chapter reads like both an exquisite short story that could stand on its own and a part of the richly woven whole. phenomenal novel that i wholeheartedly believe will be a classic in the future.

5. the idiot by elif batuman - another character that weaseled her way into my brain and has never left. a plotless, indulgent, meandering character study that struck such a cord with me. i read this at the exact right time in my life and for the week that i was making my way through it, there was no distinction between the narrator and myself in my mind. i don’t know how to explain this, but i was narrating my own life through this character’s eyes. captivating.

6. piranesi by susanna clarke - an exemplary work of fantasy that explores the nuances of knowledge and gratitude, balancing expertly between critiquing the pursuit of knowledge and power and exalting wonder, curiosity, and science. a book written in journal entries which flows perfectly and never feels choppy. leaves you thinking differently about the world.

7. open water by caleb azumah nelson - a short novella you can read in a day, and you will have to, as it is so enchanting and haunting that you cannot stop. it fully took over my mind until i finished it. it features second person narration which creates an unmatched level of closeness between reader and narrator. triumphantly evocative, intimate, and precise prose. the most poetic novel(la) i've had the pleasure of reading since on earth we're briefly gorgeous.

8. the great believers by rebecca makkai - the highlight of this book is the dense prose; every sentence feels perfectly chosen and hits you just as hard as the last. there is never a break, never a breather from the stunning writing. for that reason it is a slow book to move through, but in the best way. also accomplishes using dual pov/timelines in a way that does not detract from the fluidity of the work. very heavy subject matter but imbued with hope, gratitude, and affection.

9. the starless sea by erin morgenstern - prior to reading piranesi, this was my favorite fantasy read of the year. the world is so engrossing and the formatting of the novel is unique and inventive. vivid world builidng and a meandering, cris-crossing plot that enthralls from the beginning. an ode to humanity and the interconnectedness of the stories we tell.

10. babel by r.f. kuang - a lengthy novel that is well worth the time it takes, featuring a slate of morally ambiguous young people bumping up against the limits of their social power. similarly to piranesi, it embraces curiosity, drive, passion, and learning while chastising the intrenchment of power in academia. kuang cements herself as figurehead of the historical fantasy subgenre, tapping into its full potential.

#mine #writers and lovers #lily king #last night at the telegraph club #malinda lo #crush #richard siken #homegoing #yaa gyasi #the idiot #elif batuman #piranesi #susanna clarke #open water #caleb azumah nelson #the great believers #rebecca makkai #the starless sea #erin morgenstern #babel #r.f. kuang

[shelvingcart]

what i'm reading rn - sarah

#book #books #books and literature #books & libraries #booksbooksbooks #booktok #bookshelf #bookworm #books and reading #bookstagram #the great believers #rebecca makkai #sweater #fall

[theunstuffedpepper]

It’s October! Best month of the year. Had to get out to the local orchard today for some apple picking and fresh cider donuts. It’s been raining for like a week straight but today starts a string of perfectly sunny 70-something-degree days and I am heeeeere for it.

Has anyone else read The Great Believers? I was into it for a bit, but I’m having trouble getting myself to care about the 2015 timeline with the lost daughter and the cult and all of it. 15 more hours of listening feels like a lot to dedicate to it, but I hate not finishing a book.

#apple picking #the great believers #10012023 #sunday funday

[girljeremystrong]

COMING OF AGE

YOUNG MUNGO by Douglas Stuart

Growing up in a housing estate in Glasgow, Mungo and James are born under different stars (Mungo a Protestant and James a Catholic) and they should be sworn enemies if they're to be seen as men at all. Yet against all odds, they become best friends. (TW abuse)

LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by Malinda Lo

Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can’t remember exactly when the question took root, but the answer was in full bloom the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club.

RAINBOW MILK by Paul Mendez

At the turn of the millennium, Jesse seeks a fresh start in London, escaping a broken immediate family, a repressive religious community and his depressed hometown in the industrial Black Country. But once he arrives he finds himself at a loss for a new center of gravity.

HISTORICAL FICTION

THE GREAT BELIEVERS by Rebecca Makkai

In 1985, Yale Tishman is about to pull off an amazing coup. Yet as his career begins to flourish, the carnage of the AIDS epidemic grows around him. The AIDS crisis and how it affects a group of Chicago friends and the survivors who meet decades later in Paris.

STILL LIFE by Sarah Winman

A sweeping portrait of unforgettable individuals who come together to make a family, and a richly drawn celebration of beauty and love in all its forms. A group of english outcasts used to meeting in a London pub end up in Florence.

SWIMMING IN THE DARK by Tomasz Jedrowski

Set in early 1980s Poland against the violent decline of communism, a tender and passionate story of first love between two young men who eventually find themselves on opposite sides of the political divide.

A TIP FOR THE HANGMAN by Alison Epstein

Christopher Marlowe, brilliant aspiring playwright, is pulled into the duplicitous world of international espionage on behalf of Queen Elizabeth I. A many-layered historical thriller combining state secrets, intrigue, and romance.

TELL THE WOLVES I’M HOME by Carol Rifka Brunt

A moving story of love, grief, and renewal as two lonely people become the unlikeliest of friends and find that sometimes you don't know you've lost someone until you've found them. 

 CONTEMPORARY FICTION

THE GOLDEN SEASON by Madeline Kay Sneed

A love letter to the places we call home and asks how we grapple with a complicated love for people and places that might not love us back—at least, not for who we really are.

JUST BY LOOKING AT HIM by Ryan O’Connell

A darkly witty and touching novel following a gay TV writer with cerebral palsy as he fights addiction and searches for acceptance in an overwhelmingly ableist world.

REAL LIFE by Brandon Taylor

Almost everything about Wallace is at odds with the Midwestern university town where he is working uneasily toward a biochem degree. But over the course of a late-summer weekend, a series of confrontations with colleagues, and an unexpected encounter with an ostensibly straight, white classmate, conspire to fracture his defenses.

SKYE FALLING by Mia McKenzie

Told in a fresh, lively voice, this novel is a relentlessly clever, deeply moving portrait of a woman and the relationships she thought she could live without.

FUTURE FEELING by Joss Lake

An embittered Trans dog walker obsessed with social media inadvertently puts a curse a young man—and must adventure into mysterious dimension in order to save him—in this wildly inventive, delightfully subversive, genre-nonconforming novel about illusion, magic, technology, kinship, and the future.

GIRL, WOMAN, OTHER by Bernardine Evaristo

Follows the lives and struggles of twelve very different characters. Mostly women, black and British, they tell the stories of their families, friends and lovers, across the country and through the years.

MEMORIAL by Bryan Washington

Benson and Mike are two young guys who live together in Houston, and they've been together for a few years -- good years -- but now they're not sure why they're still a couple.

THIS IS HOW IT ALWAYS IS by Laurie Frankel

Change is always hard and miraculous and hard again, parenting is always a leap into the unknown with crossed fingers and full hearts, children grow but not always according to plan. And families with secrets don’t get to keep them forever.

ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS by Ocean Vuong

a letter from a son to a mother who cannot read. Written when the speaker, Little Dog, is in his late twenties, the letter unearths a family's history that began before he was born.

DETRANSITION, BABY by Torrey Peters

A whipsmart novel about three women—transgender and cisgender—whose lives collide after an unexpected pregnancy forces them to confront their deepest desires around gender, motherhood, and sex.

EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM WILL SOMEDAY BE DEAD by Emily Austin

Gilda, a twenty-something lesbian, cannot stop ruminating about death. Desperate for relief from her panicky mind and alienated from her repressive family, she responds to a flyer for free therapy at a local Catholic church, and is abruptly hired to replace the recently deceased receptionist Grace.

 SHORT STORIES

FILTHY ANIMALS by Brandon Taylor

It’s a tender portrait of the fierce longing for intimacy, the lingering presence of pain, and the desire for love in a world that seems, more often than not, to withhold it.

THE SECRET LIVES OF CHURCH LADIES by Deesha Philyaw

Explores the raw and tender places where black women and girls dare to follow their desires and pursue a momentary reprieve from being good.

 NON FICTION (MEMOIRS)

IN THE DREAM HOUSE by Carmen Maria Machado

About the complexities of abuse in same-sex relationships. (TW abuse)

ALL BOYS AREN’T BLUE by George M. JohnsoN

Weaves together the trials and triumphs faced by Black queer boys.

 THRILLERS & MYSTERIES

WHERE THE TRUTH LIES by Anna Bailey

When a teenaged girl disappears from an insular small town, all of the community’s most devastating secrets come to light in this stunningly atmospheric and slow-burning suspense novel.

BATH HAUS by P.J. Vernon

Oliver Park, a young recovering addict from Indiana, finally has everything he ever wanted: sobriety and a loving partner. With everything to lose, Oliver shouldn't be visiting Haus, a gay bathhouse. But through the entrance he goes, and it's a line crossed.

DEAD DEAD GIRLS by Nekesa Afia

Set in 1920s Harlem featuring Louise Lloyd, a young black woman caught up in a series of murders way too close to home.

#THESE ARE ALL REALLY REALLY GOOD BOOKS #would love for you to read them and then come screaming at me #books #book recs #book recommendations #bookblr #lgbt #young mungo #last night at the telegraph club #in the dream house #brandon taylor #on earth we're briefly gorgeous #ocean vuong #swimming in the dark #the great believers

[desdasiwrites]

#book quote of the day #rebecca makkai #the great believers #aids epidemic #aids crisis #historical fiction #lgbtq literature #1980s #lgbtqia+ #contemporary literature #Stonewall Book Award winner #Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction winner #award winning books #gay fiction #book quotes #booklr

[sonatine]

"As it was, the hand-holding was an end in itself... And was friendship that different in the end from love? You took the possibility of sex out of it, and it was all about the moment anyway. Being here, right now, in someone's life. Making room for someone in yours."

Rebecca Makkai, The Great Believers

#the great believers #rebecca makkai #read along

[litsnaps]

#literature #quotes #Rebecca Makkai #The Great Believers #quote #lit #books #words

[quotespile]

If we could just be on earth at the same place and same time as everyone we loved, if we could be born together and die together, it would be so simple. And it’s not. But listen: You two are on the planet at the same time. You’re in the same place now. That’s a miracle. I just want to say that.

Rebecca Makkai, The Great Believers

#literature #quotes #Rebecca Makkai #The Great Believers #quote #books #lit

[mylifeincharingcrossroad]

#ted lasso #ted lasso season 3 #ted lasso s3 #colin hughes #lucas trent #rebecca makkai #the great believers

[itskikoa]

february 11, 2023

finished reading the great believers by rebecca makkai today, my favourite read in a while

#it was so sad #but so good #the great believers

[asoftepiloguemylove]

hi! Love, love, love your web weaves sm!

Can you do one on trying to convince yourself that your ex is a douchebag, but you can't? If you're still taking requests ofc!

Stay safe <3

hi !! i interpreted this as like longing but also failing to let go. i hope that's close to what you meant lol. i hope you're doing well <33

and everything i did i thought "you should be here"

Car Seat Headrest I Want You to Know That I'm Awake/I Hope That You're Asleep / pinterest / @/dustyfan (tiktok) / pinterest / Vita Sackville-West / Bon Iver A song for a lover of long time ago / pinterest / Rebecca Makkai The Great Believers

#on loneliness #on loss #on heartbreak #on sadness #on emotion #car seat headrest #i want you to know that i'm awake/i hope that you're asleep #vita sackville west #bon iver #a song for a lover of long ago #rebecca makkai #the great believers #web weave #web weaving #poetry #poetry compilation #poem #spilled poetry #spilled ink #dark academia #dark academia poetry #spilled thoughts #dark academia quote #words #writing

[convulsionofhonesty]

14, 60, 71 for the book ask game💕

hellooo thanks for asking !

14. a book that made you trip on literary acid

not sure if i'm interpreting this correctly but if this is asking for like fever dream books then i have to say anything by mona awad, either bunny or all's well!

60. a book that you think about at 3 am

last night at the telegraph club by malinda lo! everything about this book is so atmospheric and emotional and i just find myself thinking about it all the time, it really sticks with me!

71. your favorite lgbtq+ fiction

last night at the telegraph club (again lol), on earth we're briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong (it's not really like a central theme iirc but it is important to the narrative/character), loveless by alice oseman, the great believers by rebecca makkai (really heavy topic though)!

#mine #ask #bunny #all's well #last night at the telegraph club #on earth we're briefly gorgeous #in the dream house #loveless #the great believers