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#Essays
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Bookwomble
Selected English essays; | William Peacock
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I'm about ¼ through this essay collection, having just finished the selections by Joseph Addison (1672-1719), which I've really enjoyed.
He was co-founder of The Spectator magazine, the title of which was borrowed by a still-extant conservative periodical, which is ironic given that Addison's satirical essay, "The Tory Fox-Hunter" lampoons the Little Englander mentality that still prevails amongst current Spectator & Daily Mail reading folk. ⬇️

Bookwomble His character Sir Roger de Coverley, a Pickwickian country squire, gives Addison a gentler, more affectionate outlet for his wry social commentary, and I was charmed by these vignettes of the minor gentry. What came through strongly for me is how little our national character has changed despite certain seismic cultural shifts.
Next up is an Alexander Pope essay, "On Epic Poetry".
42m
1 like1 comment
review
cant_i'm_booked
The Man Who Ate Everything | Jeffrey Steingarten
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Mehso-so

I wanted to start into something culinary, when I get the free time over the coming summer, and figured reading an anthology of food essays by Vogue food writer and critic Jeffrey Steingarten would be the best start. The panoply of food he discusses (paired with his tried and true recipes) is mind-boggling and drool-inducing: from sourdough starter and Sicilian granita, to Tunisian bkaila and a good apple pie (hint: never use cinnamon).

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quote
Trashcanman
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When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their light. For a time I rest in the grace of the world, and am free

wanderinglynn ❤️ excellent quote 4h
Bookwomble Beautiful ❤️ 4h
Deblovestoread Lovely! Thanks for sharing! 🩷 2h
Leftcoastzen Wendell Berry is so wise ! 21m
22 likes4 comments
review
notreallyelaine
Pickpick

As a fellow daughter of Chicago suburban decadence I liked this a lot

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monalyisha
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“By the time I was ten or eleven, everyone had moved on from sticker collecting—everyone, that is, except for me…I particularly loved the fruits…

God, I loved scratch and sniff bananas. They didn‘t smell like bananas; they smelled like the Platonic Ideal of bananas. If real bananas were a note played on a home piano, scratch and sniff bananas were that same note played on a church‘s pipe organ.”

dabbe I remember these! 🤩🤣🤩 2d
ncsufoxes I can recall how each of these smelled by looking at them. It‘s amazing that many years later how vividly I can remember what each sticker smelled like. 2d
CSeydel Oh man I remember those! Like @ncsufoxes said - I can smell this photo! 2d
See All 10 Comments
CSeydel My favorite isn‘t there, though - the root beer mug 🍺 2d
monalyisha @Cseydel Yes! That‘s the one I most vividly remember, too. 🤎 Also…I need to share this ridiculous fact. When I was a tween, there was a plaza down the street from my house that I was allowed to walk to. It had a discount clothing store called Dots. One day, I bought a pair of *supremely* inappropriate underwear for an 11-year-old, a fact which went unclocked by me. I just thought they were cool: neon blue with a scratch & sniff strawberry. 🍓🙈 2d
Sparklemn I was partial to grape. 🍇 (edited) 2d
CSeydel @monalyisha 🤣🤣 2d
Bookwormjillk I can smell those through the screen. 2d
Bookwormjillk @monalyisha 😂😂😂😂😂 2d
Meshell1313 They say you can‘t smell a picture but you totally can! 🙌🤣 1d
51 likes10 comments
review
monalyisha
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Pickpick

I used to try to read aloud to my pet house rabbit and, though she was my little soul-twin in many ways, she was decidedly uninterested; she preferred a cozy silence.

Bite by Bite will go down in personal memory as the first book I read aloud to my pup. He *loved* it. We started with Nezhukumatathil‘s essay on potatoes. Jett is now my “best spud.” 🥔 He also loved the chapter on maple syrup. As such, I‘m unable to rate this book objectively.

Soubhiville I love this review so much. ❤️🐶 2d
monalyisha Truly, though, I love Aimee‘s writing. My favorite essays were: Mango, Lumpia, Jackfruit, Strawberry, Potato (even putting my puppy‘s opinion aside), Vanilla, & Watermelon. I‘m left with the desperate need to try mangosteens, paw paws, & apple bananas. I also need to do more research about “waffle-frolicks” (is this the type of celebration I need for my 40th birthday?). And I needed the tagged book, co-written with Ross Gay, so badly I bought it. 2d
JamieArc ABSOLUTELY DO THAT FOR YOUR 40th! This book is sitting on my shelf (along with the author‘s previous book). It feels like a perfect spring choice to me. 2d
58 likes3 comments
review
britt_brooke
Pure Innocent Fun: Essays | Ira Madison, III
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Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Channeling Chuck Klosterman; a compliment! I love these kind of funny, pop-culture focused, personal essays. Bonus that I‘m familiar with many of his Milwaukee references from the time we lived there. The perfect palate-cleanser. A fun read!

Note: Elder Millennial = Generation Catalano. #iykyk

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MemoirsForMe
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Pickpick

This heartfelt collection of Conroy‘s most touching blogs, speeches & interviews is certainly a fitting tribute to this most loved author. Though he passed away almost a decade ago, Pat‘s legacy still lives on in his autobiographical novels. He loved writing, though never considered himself anywhere near the high ranks of his own favorite authors. Above all, Pat adored meeting his fans & listening to their stories.
#BookishMonopoly
@AkashaVampie

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Kenyazero
A Room of One's Own | Virginia Woolf
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We had the absolute pleasure while visiting Wisconsin of stopping into two excellent bookstores. One was named for the tagged book and almost all of their inventory was #LGBTQIA books, and the other was another queer-owned shop my friends frequent. I even managed to pick up a cozy fantasy by a Wisconsin local author. #Bookstore