Hilary > Recent Status Updates

sorry to be a mean bitch, but I'm so f*cking sick, f*cking violently ill, of having to watch good people be conned by smug simpletons who couldn't beat a dog at Candyland.

"sorry to be a mean bitch, but I'm so f*cking sick, f*cking violently ill, of having to watch good people be conned by smug simpletons who couldn't beat a dog at Candyland."

"I think we can all agree that this fully checks out, and that indeed it is men who are the true victims of witch hunts. Which they invented. To kill women."

This book begins on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, and I picked it up to start reading, TODAY, TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 17, 2024. What is going on with that? V spooky.

About 1/3 done now, and I'm enjoying it. Not really sure what's happening, why, or how the 2 divergent storyline could possibly connect, but still into it

"here's the thing. We want because we are wanting. Both senses of the word. The lacking in the longing all rolled into one the more you find yourself wanting, the more you want."
"So you're a philosopher, said Cleo.
"And you are smarter than you look," said the American.
"People only ever say that to women," said Cleo.

"why did she feel the need to make everyone, even this waiter, like her? What a thing it must be to be indifferent to indifference."
"She had not yet managed the art of being alone in public unselfconsciously, a feeling that she could watch rather than be watched. She'd tried to explain this to Frank, that life in public for her happened from the outside in."

"as I eat it, as my body bakes in the sun that pours down on my neighborhood, each bite, feeling sacred, reminds me that I'm not forsaken"

"I know that the tickets, once purchased, are not refundable. Buying them is always a gamble, a leap of faith. It makes me anxious, and also makes me feel intrepid"

The author's website has a moodboard (under Vibe on the menu) of important imagery, events, and cultural touchstones that set the scene for the book. There's also a short playlist that goes along with each chapter. Love this

"I hate the phone. It is the worst invention in the history of the world, because if you don't talk, nothing happens. It takes away my freedom of nonspeech."
"I don't really want to go, but I think it's important to make the effort. Social convention and all."

"who knew what time incubated or what life would demonstrate; we were there, beyond navigation, floating through the air. We beamed to the rafters and jumped shoulder to shoulder. And the words we sang were daft and romantic and ripe and British, custom-built for the clear-eyed young."

"We know which people are threatening to the gods by how exhausted they feel all the time. Those who would not make as many fixes or not given as much fatigue. You know the gods consider you dangerous if you are tired all the time." Maybe this is why I'm so tired all the time? I would make many many fixes. The gods better watch their backs, right after I lay on the couch for a few hours.

"We stood still in the stillness of time. It was like being in a plane that was slowly twirling to the ground. Did you look at the other people, or did you not look? Did you hold someone's hand and tell them, I love you, even if you'd only just met? Or did you squeeze your eyes shut and think of your loved ones, or think about your past, or pray? We were scuttling between these strategies like little bugs..."

"But she shouldn't feel bad about being a bird, for how beautiful are the flowers in her window - the flowers on her windowsill, over there....Her flowers make us think of the flowers in the soul of the person who put them there."

On spring: "I walked to the library looking at the brittle gray tree branches and half-melted islands of crusty, dirty snow around me and thought, I hope everything stays dead forever"

"I walked to the library looking at the brittle gray tree branches and half-melted islands of crusty, dirty snow around me and thought, I hope everything stays dead forever."

I'm halfway through this and literally do not care what happens. This book needs some serious editing. It could have scrapped at least 50% of what I've read so far. Hopefully something will happen soon or this will be a dnf.

On maternity photos: "I think about how she had to change in that field somewhere while this guy stood there waiting. The image of a naked pregnant woman standing in a field while her husband holds her clothes distracts me as Barney continues clicking through all 95 photos. "Doesn't this make you want to get married and have a baby?"...
I smile.
No."

On annoying Instagram posts: "I am above all of this; I have a higher awareness. They are all losing a game I won't even bother playing. Once another moment passes and I hear Eli sobbing through the walls, I realize that I wish every single one of these people felt sincerely significant and validated. I wish this horrible pictures reflected some authentically meaningful sign of their existence."

"Anxiety is very accommodating. Minutes ago, Stevie's anxiety was all about failure. It neatly converted itself into worry about places called Bounce Houses and not having hot water or air-conditioning. It was perfectly ready to bring the snakes to the party. It's a big tent. All problems are welcome."