en-US Thu, 24 Apr 2025 09:36:35 -0700 60 144 41 /images/layout/goodreads_logo_144.jpg UserFollowing325953769 Thu, 24 Apr 2025 09:36:35 -0700 ReadStatus9347338115 Thu, 24 Apr 2025 09:35:14 -0700 /review/show/7515338762 Hanan is currently reading The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison
]]> Review7479695027 Wed, 23 Apr 2025 21:43:02 -0700 /review/show/7479695027 Hanan gave 5 stars to The End of Loneliness (Kindle Edition) by Benedict Wells
Beautiful.
The world needs more memoirs like this.
Reading this right after Didion’s, both mourning in completely different ways. It’s ironic that the female between them mourned through logic, while the male completely gave into his raw feelings then bravely shared.

"Sometimes there just isn't an answer: that's the way it is. We humans have been left completely to our own devices down here. What sort of a world would it be, anyway, if every prayer were heard and we knew for certain that we'd carry on after death? What use would we have for life any more? We'd all be in Paradise already. Do you know the saying,
"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach him to catch fish, and you feed him for the whole of his life"?
That's exactly how this works. God wants us to learn to look after ourselves. He doesn't give us the fish and hear all our prayers, but He listens to us and observes how we cope with everything down here - sickness, injustice, death and suffering. Life is there in order to learn how to fish.' ]]> Review7498143079 Fri, 18 Apr 2025 04:33:31 -0700 /review/show/7498143079 Hanan gave 3 stars to The Year of Magical Thinking (Paperback) by Joan Didion
3.5

Plenty of raw and unfiltered moments of vulnerability as Joan navigates the stages of grief over her lost lifelong partner. I saw myself in many scenes, in the contradicting tension between a strong facade at the hospital facing the news of his death, to the delusional conviction that he will need his boots -when he comes back- while clearing out his clothes.

Dropping the rating due to the interweaving of unrelated life events and themes within the central narrative of loss. Nevertheless, despite these occasional confusions, the memoir ultimately comes full circle and concludes nicely, with a sense of cohesion and overall renewed gratitude for life.

]]> ReadStatus9295982352 Fri, 11 Apr 2025 01:21:29 -0700 /review/show/7479695027 Hanan wants to read The End of Loneliness by Benedict Wells
]]> ReadStatus9278703264 Sun, 06 Apr 2025 13:45:23 -0700 /review/show/7467789725 Hanan wants to read The Crucible by Arthur Miller
]]> Review7456320743 Sat, 05 Apr 2025 15:50:33 -0700 /review/show/7456320743 Hanan gave 5 stars to Raising Hare (Hardcover) by Chloe Dalton
What a beautiful, grounding and heartwarming story. A tender reminder that part of being human should mean never losing touch with nature and the lessons of its wilderness.

The ending made me sob because I have always found it heart wrenching to imagine the dreadful moment of parting with an animal I’ve bonded with. There’s something about the fact that they can’t articulate their thoughts and feelings nor understand our words that makes saying goodbye so difficult. This is a book where both Chloe and the Hare had a lot to say to each other -and to us- in a universal language only unlocked by being -fully present- in the moment.

“Whereas I had been impervious to well-intentioned advice from friends, the leveret worked upon my character soundlessly and wordlessly, easing some of the nervous tension and impatience that I realised I had been living with as a result of a life constantly on the move and on call for others.� ]]> ReadStatus9273741393 Sat, 05 Apr 2025 08:40:49 -0700 /review/show/7464368816 Hanan is currently reading The Use of Photography by Annie Ernaux
]]> ReadStatus9269860104 Fri, 04 Apr 2025 06:37:03 -0700 /review/show/7456320743 Hanan started reading Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
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