This is my favorite book of all time.
Sheila plays with form in such exciting ways. This book is written almost like a screenplay, it follows the main character Shiela as she tries and fails to be a good friend, artist, lover, etc.
It’s the sort of book that feels conversational and close to home but sets a strange little fire in you that makes you want to do more and be better.
I read it three times last year and keep it by my bedside in case I need reassurance.
Feb 22, 2025
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Sheila Heti is one of my favorite novelists. Each new book seems to be a step in a larger literary project, or an expansion of a Heti-ian way of thinking. They break aesthetic ground but are also a pleasure to read. How Should a Person Be is key reading for whatever “modern life” is at this point and Motherhood is a daring examination of choice — her use of I Ching coin tosses as a literary mechanism is breathtaking Her latest is Pure Colour, which moves from a fairy-tale-ish story of young city-dwelling adults into a more abstract mythology of grief, art, nature, and beauty. It can’t be described, which is high praise for writing, and yet it’s seamless and joyous. Almost more a painting than a novel.
Feb 22, 2022
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Captures something essential about grief: the longing to cram your entire body into a small space and stay there until a lover pulls you out.
I tried reading it almost two years ago and had to stop because it made me so mad. Now I think it’s brilliant and the thing that made me mad the first time is the most important thing in the book.
Heti is best Canadian writer since Munro and will go down as the best ever if she keeps batting this high.
Sep 8, 2024
Unlike anything I have ever read before. Raw. Dazzling. Paradigm-shifting. Tender. I have just been chewing through it. Underlining every third sentence. I was reading it while eating French toast this morning and leaning over to reach the straw of my iced oat milk latte with my mouth because I literally did not want to take my hands off the pages.
Feb 25, 2024
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This is something that I started doing last year and they are now fundamentally important to me.
A dessert walk is an after dinner stroll you take ideally during sunset. You walk to a grocery store and buy a sweet treat or piece of fruit and a fun beverage. For me usually a peach and a kombucha. You walk for a bit as the sun sets and return when your treats are consumed.
A delicious end to your evening that helps you digest.
Feb 22, 2025
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This is something my boyfriend and I have been doing regularly for almost a year. We pick an obscure or unsuspecting destination and set off with a few snacks and the necessary supplies for the chosen location.
A lot of times we start with an entry from Atlas Obscura or just poke around on Google maps until we find something that sparks our interest. Past gems include Centralia, Washington, Eugene, Oregon, the Monroe Reptile Zoo, various religious shrines, and a large and poorly rendered statue of Paul Bunyon.
A good Lovers Trip lasts a weekend, but in truth a day trip does just fine too. It’s fun to find romance in the run-down truck stops, swimming holes, and hole-in-the-wall diners with someone you‘re crazy about.
Next up: Ashford, WA
6d ago
In the interest of exploring a larger variety of restaurants, my boyfriend and I made the decision to split everything on our last little weekend trip, and tbh I think it might be a new and wonderful means of eating!
Sharing is tender and sweet. Anything from an orange at the produce stand to squid ink pasta and even soup tastes better when split in two.
13h ago