the quiet list #5 - a library of things to help you pause and think

for my list lovers, a new and improved version

hello quiet readers, welcome to the quiet list, a slightly new and improved version.

i’ve been working on how to make this list even better for you. instead of a couple of lists, i’ve created a little library of ideas and inspiration that i’d like to share with you every season. there are five rooms here for you to explore, hopefully with something you’ll find interesting or want to try out yourself.

so go ahead, stroll over to the bookshelves to find some recommendations and what’s new in my commonplace book, or take a moment for yourself in the writing room and reflect with the provided journal prompts, or learn something new in the research room.

grab some ideas and make time for a bit of quiet.

(also note that this is best experienced on desktop!)

hope you enjoy <3

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the bookshelves

what i’m reading, what’s on the tbr shelf, words i can’t stop thinking about, notes from my commonplace book recently.

• blue sisters by coco mellors is exactly what i’ve needed all year. i’ve read some dostoyevsky, bell hooks, jane austen and the odd thriller here and there, but this book is everything i love about reading and literature. it’s got character depth, a heavy plot and beautiful writing, some of which i just had to note down in my commonplace book. i’m loving being immersed in the lives of these three sisters as they come to terms, in their own way, with losing a sister.

• “then she saw her through the doorway of the bedroom, her hair partially covering her face. she looked like something that had just spilled, like a vase of violets tipped over.” — blue sisters, pg. 112

• “barely perceptively, unnoticed by anyone, they leaned towards each other, like plants for whom the other was the sun.” — blue sisters, pg. 183

• apricate - to bask in the sun

• “taking responsibility does not mean that we deny the reality of institutionalized injustice. for example, racism, sexism, and homophobia all create barriers and concrete incidents of discrimination. simply taking responsibility does not mean that we can prevent discriminatory acts from happening. but we can choose how we respond to acts of injustice.” — all about love, pg. 57

• all about love by bell hooks is a wonderful lesson in love and i’m very much enjoying how in-depth this book is. the book is split into 13 neat chapters and i’m loving going slow with this to really digest what she’s saying. i write a little summary on a sticky note after each chapter to make her words seep deep into my brain. the quote above also perfectly encapsulates something i’ve been thinking about for most of my life. injustices exist but they should not deter us. some of us just have to work harder for what we want.

• phonaesthetics - the study of the beauty and pleasantness associated with the sounds of certain words or parts of words

• soporific - drowsy, tending to induce sleep

• “dearest, i beg of you, sleep properly and go for walks.” — franz kafka

• looking forward to: so thrilled for you by holly bourne, amusing ourselves to death by neil postman , how to do nothing by jenny odell