The Nicholist #11
The one about books...
Welcome to The Nicholist! My weekly list of pop culture where I gush on everything that’s got me obsessed.
I've spent another week seeking refuge from the crumbling of the world around me in books. World crumbling is extreme. More apropos is I've been overwhelmed. But I'm a manic depressive, easily triggered into spells of deep depression by stress I'm not built to handle. Ignoring my existence by entering the world of others' helps. Cocooning helps. This week, I couldn't bear to get out of bed and leave my house—and went "missing" for two days.
Many of the books I read this week were about friendship and love; those narratives tend to make me feel good. That's why, even though they all die at the end, I love A Little Life. Except this week, it really bummed me out. I'm purposefully kind of a loner. There are fewer than a handful of people I ever want to be around, and I don't really like to do things. But this week, triggered by these books, I've realized that maybe I don't actually have the infrastructure to be a person without a shoulder or ear that's not my own.
Lie with Me by Philippe Besson, translated by Molly Ringwald
Obsessed. Five stars. New fave. Loved! Like how could I not with these swoony bangers:
"He says: Because you are not like all the others, because I don't see anyone but you and you don't even realize it."
"I just wanted to write to tell you that I have been happy during these months together, that I have never been so happy, and that I already know I will never be so happy again."
“Have you noticed how the most beautiful landscapes lose their brilliance as soon as our thoughts prevent us from seeing them properly?”
“This feeling of love, it transports me, it makes me happy. At the same time, it consumes me and makes me miserable, the way all impossible loves are miserable.”
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
I saw a TikTok of an actor from the movie adaptation buying the movie tie-in book at Barnes and Noble and thought it was sweet. I've never heard of this book, but after watching that TikTok, followed by the movie trailer, I decided I really wanted to read it. It was moving, touching, and sweet. On Monday, I went to watch the movie alone and then felt weird being a full-on adult watching a movie about teenagers. Is that weird? Also, I hate going to the movies alone.
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
They did both die at the end.
The Velvet Rope by Ayanna Dozier
A fantastic deep dive into the cultural significance of perhaps Janet Jackson's most controversial album.
True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee by Abraham Riesman
This book was from a PR package I got a few years back. I only read it cause, at that point in the week, all the above books depressed me. I thought this would be fun like “pew pew superheroes!” But it was mostly just a takedown of some white guy who may or may not have lied about creating Spider-Man.
“What he knew, he knew from books, and books lied, they made things prettier.”
― Hanya Yanagihara, A Little Life