Well, just like most of Chekhovâs stories, these are just âa moment from the lives of the charactersâ and the reality of both situations is something that always gets me thinking. A lot of people have been through either (or both) of those situations, and it just shows how messed up life can be sometimes. These are things that happen, things that have happened for over two centuries, this is the reality we live in.
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Good morning/afternoon/evening all around the world.
Iâm obssesed with Jojo Moyesâ books. Me Before You is absolutely perfection love-drama story with sad end (maybe for you itâs not sad, Iâm a weeper so you know).
The Great Gatsby from Fitzgerald is my favourite. I love everything about the decade it is placed in.
Iâm looking forward to read The Shape Of Water. I have it already ordered in my home language.
The crime season from Jo Nesbo is full of adrenaline and you have to think who has done it. I really recommend it!
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Ever read any of Fitzgeraldâs other books?
Not yet. I have to find a time to read, but Iâll definitely read it some day.
Theyâre really worth it! I like Gatsby but actually think itâs his least interesting book. I highly recommend âThis Side of Paradiseâ itâs full of a lot of life! 
Iâll remember that. Thank you! 
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I suppose it shows how light life can be also, or argues for how joy and pain connect. That life is essentially melancholy means that innocence is always endangered, but also that danger itself is always under threat by innocence. Thereâs bitter in the sweet, sweet in the bitter. What do you think?
Agreed, I believe that âOystersâ specially shows that connection of bitterness and sweetness, ever from the moment the main character is imagining how oysters are to the end of the story you can see the bittersweetness of it all. And when you compare it with âChildrenâ you see it more clearly.
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This is one of my favorite parts of Moby Dick. It is from near the end of Chapter 135.
âStand not by me, but stand under me, whoever you are that will now help Stubb; for Stubb, too, sticks here. I grin at thee, thou grinning whale! Who ever helped Stubb, or kept Stubb awake, but Stubbâs own unwinking eye? And now poor Stubb goes to bed upon a mattrass that is all too soft; would it were stuffed with brushwood! I grin at thee, thou grinning whale! Look ye, sun, moon, and stars! I call ye assassins of as good a fellow as ever spouted up his ghost. For all that, I would yet ring glasses with ye, would ye but hand the cup! Oh, oh! oh, oh! thou grinning whale, but thereâll be plenty of gulping soon! Why fly ye not, O Ahab! For me, off shoes and jacket to it; let Stubb die in his drawers! A most mouldy and over salted death, though; - cherries! cherries! cherries! Oh, Flask, for one red cherry ere we die!â
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Heck ya thatâs some writing! What do you like about this passage?
It is absolutely hilarious. Stubb is definitely my favorite character.
Hereâs a list of some of my fave books (get ready for some cheesy, middle school books loll, Ive also tried to choose books that havenât already been mentioned) :
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ANYTHING by Agatha Christie
This not an actual title, I just truly love AC and everything she puts out is awesome. More specifically, her Poriot series. -
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
It was a gift from a friend so I probably wouldâve never picked it up myself. But a great read. It takes place in nineteenth-century China, when foot-binding was a right of passage for little girls whoâs, worth was measured by what kind of husband they would marry. It follows the life story of Lily. Beautifully written. -
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
During the Mexican Revolution, there exists a household consisting of only women who end up having revolutions of their own. Due to a long-standing tradition, Tita is condmend from the moment sheâs born, to never marry or have a family of her own. This book is her life story combined with special recipes that hold essential memories. Very juicy love story -
The Grip of It by Jac Jemc
A couple move into a suburban home, after going through complications in the city. Slowly, some things in the house start to come alive and other things start to die. The author keeps you guessing. Youâre not sure whatâs worse, the haunting house or the toxic relationship. Short read.
Honorable mentions:
-The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
-Tangerine by Edward Bloor
-Walking Two Moons by Sharon Creech
-Freak the Mighty by Rodman Philbrick
-The Pearl by John Steinbeck
-Animal Farm by George Orwell
-The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
-The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
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I always loved âLike Water for Chocolateâ. It truly understands that the anatomical organ that should be associated with Love is the stomach, not the heart 
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Yes! And the emotions are so raw.
Ever read any other Steinbeck beyond âThe Pearlâ?
@Annieways I loved 1984! I read it back in the high school. I really enjoyed how the plot unfolded itself in that one.
Never read Animal Farm, though. Is it as good?
Iâve read Of Mice and Men and Tortilla Flat
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Thoughts on either of them? Steinbeck used to my jam!
@Annieways @Lemniscate Any 1984 fans ever give âBrave New Worldâ a read?
Tortilla Flat was definitely my fav out of the two
My parents were born in that kind of environment, where the simplest things like a vacuum or a small house can be treasures.
Just read 1984 last year but I havenât read Brave New World
I love the characters in Tortilla Flat so much, Steinbeckâs update of the Knights of the Round Table
And to anyone who likes 1984 I definitely recommend Brave New World! In my opinion itâs a much more interesting and effective portrayal of a dystopia. Specifically because in 1984 everyone living in a dystopia is miserable, whereas in Brave New World, itâs a soulless world, but everyone loves it.