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Blue Nights (Enhanced Edition)
Blue Nights (Enhanced Edition) | Joan Didion
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Jeg
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

I'm a late comer to her writing. The Year of Magical Thinking sat on my TBR shelf for years. So much grief in such a short time. Beautiful writing. I have a book coming that was published just before she died. It's past pieces she wrote. Amazing woman.

12 likes1 stack add
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notreallyelaine
Blue Nights | Joan Didion

I myself placed her ashes in the wall. I myself saw the cathedral doors locked at six. I know what it is I am now experiencing. I know what the frailty is, I know what the fear is. The fear is not for what is lost. What is lost is already in the wall. What is lost is already behind the locked doors. The fear is for what is still to be lost. You may see nothing still to be lost. Yet there is no day in her life on which I do not see her.

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vlwelser
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

Joan Didion was very sad and lonely when she wrote this. But her writing is so beautiful.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

TheBookHippie I agree. 💙 8mo
TheAromaofBooks Great progress!! 8mo
38 likes2 comments
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Rissreads
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Mehso-so

This is my first Didion and I wish that it wasn‘t. I felt like it was all over the place and at times very hard to follow but I‘m thinking that someone suffering with acute grief would probably behave like this. But I think I‘m struggling with this because she is considered such an accomplished writer. I felt that it was quite often too vague where her daughter was concerned, especially when she was an adult. ⬇️

Rissreads I wanted to know her on a much deeper level. Loosing a child is unimaginable and I felt devastated for her especially the anguish she felt, questioning herself, if she was a good mother or not. I‘m definitely going to read The year of magical thinking next. I‘m hoping the writing blows me away as it has for so many others. 11mo
MrsMalaprop Haven‘t read this one. Hopefully you‘ll have a better experience with Year of Magical Thinking 🤞 11mo
Jeg I have this on my TBR shelf because I loved her magical thinking book so much. I think maybe you need to read that. It really does come before this one. I'm thinking it might explain a lot about where she was coming from in this one. 11mo
33 likes3 comments
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Rissreads
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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💙🩵#titlesandtunes 🩵💙
This book was an obvious choice for #blues. I can‘t remember who gifted it to me. Was it you @Reggie ?
The song was harder, I had lots so I‘m going to list them all.
Blue hotel Chris Isaak
Midnight blue Lou Gramm
Blue Monday New Order
Clearest blue CHVRCHES
Blue world Mac Miller
Cry in shame Johnny Diesel and the injectors
Thanks @BarbaraBB @Cinfhen
💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵💙🩵

Cinfhen Yay!!! We LOVE adding all the tunes 🎵🎶🎵 13mo
BarbaraBB Wonderful choices. And I loved that Chris Isaac song when I was young. 13mo
Reggie No, I‘m sorry, that wasn‘t me. 13mo
Centique Oh my god that Chris Isak song! I still love that album to bits 💕 13mo
24 likes4 comments
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Jeg
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Birthday so far. Wanted to read this Joan Didion book after reading her book The Year of Magical Thinking. Never read an Iain Banks and I've been told this is a good one. I'm a big Frida Kahlo fan. This is a graphic novel. The other two are the kids books I've reviewed already. Just love the reading lady. I'm enjoying the sunshine in a sheltered place. It's a bit chilly today despite the sunshine.

Centique Look at that reading lady figurine! Shes so cool 😍 1y
10 likes1 comment
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LaurenAsh
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Pickpick

My first Joan Didion.

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Nute
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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#MayMoms - Writer: She was the first thought to come to mind after I read the prompt for today. Perhaps because she is one of my favorite writers. Perhaps because her writing abilities can be described as quite brilliant. She demanded an examination of cultural, political and social rhetoric. Perhaps because she was bold and frank in her writings of the 60s and 70s.👇🏽

Nute A daring female writer not afraid to be vulnerable in the assessment of the ordeal and brutally honest in the exposure of the chaos of the counterculture of those eras.
Perhaps though the greatest inclination to first thought is because of the strength that it must take to write about the death of one‘s own child (tagged book).
This is Joan Didion, an American writer, a mom.
(edited) 2y
Suet624 Beautiful post. ❤️ 2y
Eggs RIP Joan 💜💔💜 2y
See All 7 Comments
jlhammar Great choice. Such a talent. I loved this book and The Year of Magical Thinking. 2y
Nute @Suet624 Thank you, Sue!💕 2y
Nute @Eggs Reverberating emotions, Sherri!💗 (edited) 2y
Nute @jlhammar Yes! A talent that is greatly missed, Jamie.💕 2y
86 likes1 stack add7 comments
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CaitlinByTheBook
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

I wanted more of Joan Didion‘s writing about her husband and daughter so I borrowed this one from the library. It was quite good. I enjoy Didion‘s writing. 4⭐️

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fictionaddictbooks
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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#WeRemember Joan Didion

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks @eggs

"Memory fades, memory adjusts, memory conforms to what we think we remember."
Joan Didion, Blue Nights

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 💙💙💙 3y
Eggs So true 💙💜💙 3y
10 likes2 comments
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kspenmoll
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#coffeeandbooks #mugtour #nationalhistoricsites #nationalparkservice

This mug is from FDR‘s Library and Museum in Hyde Park NY. During a visit of several days, we toured the Library, his home,Springwood, Eleanor Roosevelt‘s retreat,Val-Kill, & the Vanderbilt Mansion. We also ate a few fabulous meals at the nearby Culinary Institute.
I am so enjoying this #mugtour because it is evoking such wonderful, warm memories.

TheBookHippie Joan♥️ 3y
Amiable My husband and I visited Hyde Park and Val-Kill a few summers ago —it is such a lovely place! (edited) 3y
Cpg If you get “down south” visit the Little Whitehouse in Warm Springs, GA (or Ala I think GA) for more FDR history. It‘s by Calloway Gardens- Pine Mountain, GA. 3y
Cpg Sounds like a fabulous tour you were on- I‘ve always wanted to visit the Biltmore! 3y
58 likes4 comments
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Leftcoastzen
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Tonight‘s shrine .I‘ve given away Year of Magical Thinking & tagged book to people, at the time , needed them more than I did.

kspenmoll She & her work will be missed. 💔 3y
53 likes2 comments
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Centique
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

It‘s official - I am a Joan Didion fan and want to read everything she‘s written. 💕
This is almost stream of consciousness as she remembers her daughter‘s life (she died at 39) and tries to come to grips with her own ageing and frailty. It was very timely for me to read this while I‘m dealing with my dads frailty.
There are elements in here that are poetic, ways in which the structure reflects and refracts memories, ⬇️

Centique possibly recreating for the reader some of the blurring that came with Didion‘s own neurological damage. The language is simple but heavy with grief, broken as Didion breaks and fades herself.
I just love the way she writes, love the way she holds ideas up to the light. Not for everyone, but perfect timing for me.
3y
Cathythoughts Great review! I need to read this one . I learned so much from 3y
Eggs Huge Didion fan here...my first was Year of Magical Thinking which I read the year my husband died 💔 3y
See All 14 Comments
Ruthiella Fantastic review. I think I love Didion too, though I‘ve only read The Year of Magical Thinking and The White Album. 3y
Centique @Cathythoughts I should have read that one first as this follows on from there! I‘ll rectify that soon. 3y
Centique @Eggs oh gosh Sherri that was brave of you to read it that same year. 💕 I hope there was something in there that helped you in that very hard time 😔 3y
Centique @Ruthiella thank you! 😘 I‘ve only read two as well. I have to get on to Year of Magical Thinking soon! 3y
Reggie 1. Thank you for the romance reca. 2. I have not read Didion but I love her brother in law, Dominic Dunne. He wrote these gossipy novels based around real life crimes he covered while working for Vanity Fair. Also, his daughter was the older sister in Poltergeist who was killed in real life by an abusive bf. He works the aftermath of her death into an arc of the books and it‘s always sad when they show up. Still got to try Didion. Great review! 3y
Centique @Reggie she mentions Dominique‘s death in here too! It‘s quite astounding how many of her friends and relatives have died sudden, early deaths 😣 I must try Dominic Dunne too. Any favourites? PS that first romance I mentioned is very YA so far, sweet but I‘m not sure there‘s much to it yet. 3y
Reggie People Like Us which has to do with new money into high New York City society right before the 1987 Wall Street crash. Another CityNot My Own which has to do with OJ Simpson which for the time I read it, it was wild. Both are great. 3y
Centique @Reggie thank you! Adding them to my stack 😘 3y
CarolynM Her writing is fabulous. I loved this one 3y
MrsMalaprop I haven‘t read Didion - this post & comments are very helpful 🙏🏻. Look after yourself. I‘ve been in similar circumstances with both parents over the past few years. It‘s tough, but important and a privilege too I think. 💕 3y
Centique @MrsMalaprop thank you for your wise words. You are right, it is a privilege. Giving service to those who have given so much to you 💕 3y
76 likes14 comments
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Sharp_Cornaz
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

An elegiac meditation on outliving her adopted daughter. Sought out the poem “Domination of Black” by Wallace Stevens because of it.

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britt_brooke
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Thanks for the tag @Bookgoil ! 🤗

#ispy

How about orange books? @Booksnchill @vivastory @CallMeIshmael if you want to play.

Bookgoil Cool titles and covers!!! 5y
80 likes2 comments
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SShiney
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

This was my first Joan Didion book. I definitely want to check out some of her other works. It was a short and fast listen, not light though. She discusses the death of her daughter.

#audiobook #overdriveapp

AmyG I recently read this, too. She is such a beautiful writer. 5y
45 likes2 stack adds1 comment
blurb
kaysworld1
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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“A single person is missing for you, and the whole world is empty.” ~ Joan Didion, The Year of Magical Thinking

“Life changes fast. Life changes in the instant.

You sit down to dinner and life as you know it ends.”

“You have to pick the places you don't walk away from.”

It‘s the birthday of the essayist and novelist Joan Didion, born in Sacramento, California (1934). She grew up as a nervous child.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Didion

Karisa Love her! Her words and ideas have that lasting power. 5y
Billypar I read both YOMT and Blue Nights this year: very powerful and thought-provoking- they stuck with me. 5y
34 likes1 stack add2 comments
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britt_brooke
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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DAY 17 #TrueBlue | This book about the death of Didion‘s daughter will rip your heart out, but it‘s worth the pain.

#MOvember
@Cinfhen

Cinfhen Death of a child is something I really have difficulty with 😭😭😭I don‘t think I‘m brave enough 5y
Reviewsbylola She is a master. This one was so good, after 5y
Billypar Read it this year and loved it: a beautiful memoir, and not just in the ways you would expect in a memoir about a parent's grief. 5y
See All 10 Comments
emilyhaldi I don‘t know how I havent read this one yet- I loved Year of Magical Thinking 💔 5y
britt_brooke @Reviewsbylola I read them back to back last year. I love her writing but those two books were very difficult. 5y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen It was a difficult read, but so poignant. Broke my heart. 5y
britt_brooke @Billypar Absolutely agree! 5y
britt_brooke @emilyhaldi It‘s just as good, but a difficult read. I read them back to back and I was emotionally exhausted. I can‘t imagine how she must‘ve felt losing two people so close to her. 5y
Cinfhen #MaybeOneDay but right now I‘m having my heartbroken from my fictional read 5y
britt_brooke @Cinfhen That sounds like an emotional one. 😭 5y
108 likes10 comments
review
Billypar
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

This is superficially similar to Year of Magical Thinking, both in content, this focusing on her daughter's death 2 years after her husband's, and in style, obsessive spirals of thoughts & memories. But her focus here is new: she searches her memories of Quintana to understand her wisdom. What did her precociousness as a child say about her upbringing? Her comments about death? And what do the answers reveal about her own views on aging and dying?

Cathythoughts Sounds really good. I loved Magical Thinking ♥️stacked 5y
Billypar @Cathythoughts Both are really good, but I think I liked Blue Nights slightly better. Interested to hear your take if you pick it up. 5y
30 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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Eggs
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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annahenke ❤️When Breath Becomes Air 5y
64 likes1 comment
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Devyn
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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All three of us are cuddled up on the couch. The fiancé is reading Sisterhood of the Squared Circle and I‘m finishing up Blue Nights. The puppy is just sleeping because, try as I might, books just aren‘t her thing.

Counting down the days until our new couch arrives and reading on the couch won‘t lead to back pain and an inability to get up!

6 likes1 stack add
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Devyn
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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“In theory these mementos serve to bring back the moment. In fact they serve only to make clear how inadequately I appreciated the moment when it was here.”

Wow ♥️

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GatheringBooks
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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#QuotsyMay19 Day 6: #Work, alone time, and being zen. We can do more of this, especially on a Monday.

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LittleWonder
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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So I finished The Year of Magical Thinking and followed up with Blue Nights....then watched the Netflix movie: Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold and I am in pure awe. Tears were streaming during the movie. 😭 Amazed by her perspective, style, and strength. This will be my year of Didion. 📚

GondorGirl I didn't know about the movie... I'll have to check it out! 6y
LittleWonder @GondorGirl It‘s a documentary made by her nephew - but what a life! What a national treasure at age 83! 6y
GondorGirl @LittleWonder I've already added it to my Netflix cue! 6y
30 likes4 comments
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MsLeah8417
Pickpick

I am so emotional after having read this book. Joan‘s ability to share her grief after unimaginable loss is astounding.

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MsLeah8417

“Like when someone dies, don‘t dwell on it.”

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goodbyefrancie
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Currently listening. #overdrive

Have a peaceful and relaxing Sunday, #littens.

Eggs You as well! ❤️❤️Didion 7y
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MsLeah8417

“When we talk about mortality we are talking about our children.”

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MsLeah8417
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Just started this one late last night. Didion‘s ability to share her tragic story is very moving.

Reviewsbylola I really enjoyed this one. 7y
MsLeah8417 @Reviewsbylola : I am enjoying it. It is made a bit more special since her husband is a native of my hometown. 7y
15 likes2 comments
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britt_brooke
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

“After she was born, I was never not afraid.”

I‘ve never read anything truer about parenthood than the above quote. It‘s equal parts wonderful and terrifying.

In this memoir, Didion speaks unsparingly about the pain of losing her daughter, Quintana. She has a way of expressing her immense pain that makes you feel somehow less afraid.

📷: Vanity Fair

Leftcoastzen That book is so incredible. I love the way she writes . 7y
LeahBergen Ooph. 💔 7y
Cathythoughts Gorgeous pic. So true, life is never the same .... ❤️❤️❤️ 7y
See All 16 Comments
AmyG That quote is the truth. Amazing book. 7y
britt_brooke @Leftcoastzen I love her writing so much. She‘s a new-to-me favorite! 7y
britt_brooke @Cathythoughts She mentions in the book what a beautiful baby she was. I must agree. Love this pic, too. 💚 7y
britt_brooke @AmyG It was profoundly sad, but so good. 7y
Eggs So heart wrenching but Didion's words...... 7y
britt_brooke @Eggs Her writing blows me away. 💚 7y
Kristelh I love this author‘s writing 7y
minkyb Heartfelt review! 7y
britt_brooke @Kristelh Me, too. There‘s something special about the emotion she puts into it. 7y
britt_brooke @minkyb Thank you! 💚 7y
Anna40 Too scared of reading this one. I don't know how I could go on if I lost my son. 7y
britt_brooke @Anna40 I can‘t imagine anything worse than losing a child. 7y
125 likes6 stack adds16 comments
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GatheringBooks
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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#ThisRemindsMeOf... 💔 I was just watching an episode of the TV series Blindspot earlier and Roman, one of my favourite characters was reading Didion‘s A Year of Magical Thinking (which apparently I do ‘t have). So this is as close to Didion‘s 💔 that I can get.

35 likes1 stack add
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theshrinkette
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

Joan Didion is an author I automatically lean towards when I'm looking for sad books. She writes about grief in a way that's so cathartic for the reader, and her writing itself is so poetic.

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theshrinkette
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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The unbearable wait at the doctor's office.

WhatDeeReads 😢 7y
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theshrinkette
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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I like sad books and I cannot lie.

HeatherBookNerd Me too 7y
WhatDeeReads Lean into the pain, darling. 7y
See All 6 Comments
AmyG I do, too. 7y
MoniqueReads305 My friends make fun of me because I like "dark" books. 7y
Christy Same. 7y
46 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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squarepeginroundhole
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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I forgot who on Litsy got me onto bookhub but here's a sale I was finally able to partake in. So I thought I'd share it.

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MSzyd
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Day 3: "Do not whine... Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone."

MSzyd 💚😊 7y
8 likes2 comments
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Beachesnbooks
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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September tbr/most anticipated! These are the books I'm #currentlyreading and plan to finish in Sept -- I'm going to try not setting a TBR for September to see how it goes 😄 My most anticipated is hopefully reading one or more of my 5 star tbr predictions, although I'm really loving these three so far.
#fallintobooks @RealLifeReading

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tracyramone
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Back at it again after a little break. Really hoping I can crack the hallway mark today! Update after this reading session! How y'all my with your marathoning? #24in48

CocoReads I'm a little over 8 hours, finished 2 books that I'd started previously, started another but set it aside for now after 50 pages, but I'm over halfway through a third book! This is excellent progress for me. 7y
14 likes1 comment
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BarbaraBB
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Panpan

A book on grief which somehow didn't touch me at all.

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delthenerd
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

this book was my first didion, and i fell in love with it so quickly. i picked it up completely randomly, and i'm so glad i did. it's such a heartbreaking story, i couldn't put it down as soon as i started it.

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merelybookish
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Bambolina_81 ❤️ this 7y
merelybookish @Bambolina_81 Me too. I've always liked the word 'gloaming.' Now I know why. 🙂 7y
63 likes1 stack add2 comments
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azulaco
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
Pickpick

I just finished re-reading this. I've read the criticism regarding hard-to-follow narration, lack of focus, etc. and I will admit those flaws. But as someone who's never really read Didion and so has nothing to compare this book to, I still enjoyed this book. I'm off to the library to get my hands on more Didion. Scribd has Slouching Towards Bethlehem 👍🏻, so I've already started that one.

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ashlinisme
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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As a mom, this book is captivating, heartbreaking, and unfathomable. Joan Didion's frank writing gets me every time. #booksaboutmothers #maybookflowers

4 likes1 stack add
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Notafraidofwords
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Mehso-so

I tried another Didion after reading TYOMT...and I feel so dissatisfied with it, that I'm not sure if I will continue her catalog. This was so name drop-py, disjointed and repetitive. This is an account of her daughters death after her husband's death and I wanted to feel all the sadness for her. But I couldn't. & then she calls an undocumented person an alien and she lost me. And I know this is an older book, but it added to my already dislike.

bookwormkara I felt similar about this one after reading TYOMT. 8y
Notafraidofwords @bookwormkara i'm glad I'm not the only one. Do you have any suggestions on how I should proceed with her catalog? 8y
bookwormkara @Notafraidofwords these are the only 2 I've read of hers! So I'm really not sure😕 8y
andrew61 She is one of the writers that i keep hearing about but have yet to read. Today in the library it was joan or kent haruf and i went with haruf. Maybe i will give her a go soon. 8y
Notafraidofwords @andrew61 that's why I ended up picking a book written by her. Throughout my life, I've heard so much about her that I just needed to try. This was my second attempt. 8y
66 likes1 stack add5 comments
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Eggs
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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"Blue nights are the opposite of the dying of the brightness, but they are also its warning."
I love reading Joan Didion.

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LLindsey
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
Pickpick

Didion has such a way with words! Beautiful companion piece to The Year of Magical Thinking. I couldn't put it down, but I wanted to savor every word she said.

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kdwinchester
Blue Nights | Joan Didion
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Pickpick

The structure of this book wanders all over the place, but Didon's impeccable prose makes up for any deficiency. So it's wonderful. I mean, come on—anything Didion touches morphs into perfection. 😉

#NonfictionNovember

vivastory A strong contender for next literary tattoo is her line, "We tell ourselves stories in order to live." 8y
Lola I loved this one and the one prior, too. So much sadness for one person to endure 8y
95 likes5 stack adds2 comments