{"id":14046,"date":"2020-04-22T23:13:58","date_gmt":"2020-04-23T06:13:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kimberlypearl.co\/blog\/?p=14046"},"modified":"2021-07-16T19:46:04","modified_gmt":"2021-07-17T02:46:04","slug":"quarantine-reading-one-book-a-day-week-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kimberlypearl.co\/blog\/quarantine-reading-one-book-a-day-week-4\/","title":{"rendered":"Quarantine Reading: One Book a Day (Week 4)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m reading one book a day<\/a> for as long as this COVID-19 quarantine lasts. Here are the ones I read this past week.<\/em><\/p>\n

DAY 24:\u00a0THE IDIOT<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"book

The Idiot<\/em><\/a> + AirPods<\/a> (which have remained unused since WFH) with this<\/em><\/a> blush pink case<\/p><\/div>\n

I re-read Elif Batuman’s acclaimed novel, The Idiot<\/a><\/em>, because my friend had mentioned adding it to her Kindle\u2014and by the end, wasn’t impressed. It’s not that I didn’t trust my own judgment from the first time around (spoiler alert, I, like so much of the world, enjoyed it); I simply had the urge to pick it up once more. The narrative is addicting, the characters captivating: every moment, no matter how banal, was crafted with wit and intention.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, I couldn’t put it down until the last page.<\/p>\n

DAY 24 (CONT’D):\u00a0SEVERANCE<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"book

Severance<\/em><\/a> + Mario Badescu Facial Spray with Aloe, Herbs and Rosewater<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

After four weeks of daily reading, it’s clear that my M.O. in choosing books as an adult is a cross between intuition, recognition, and cover art (superficial, but the truth). Severance<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>had been sitting on my bookshelf since 2018\u2014not long after the book was published\u2014and not once was I prompted to pluck it off the top of my bookcase.<\/p>\n

Had I read it then, it would have been another well-written book: finished, shelved, most likely forgotten. Reading it now, two years later, gave chilling context to Ling Ma’s apocalyptic satire. Who knew that nations across the world would be shut down by a pandemic? It’s the stuff of dystopian plot lines and fictional blockbusters, no<\/em>t<\/em> reality.<\/p>\n

It’s eerie<\/a>. Including this:<\/p>\n

“She blogs more as the city goes into hiding, plagued by the Shen fever…”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

… as I write here regularly, more so than I have in years.<\/p>\n

On a positive note, I all but squealed when I reached page 263. Is there anything as deeply affirming\u2014and just plain\u00a0cool<\/em>\u2014as seeing the brand you’ve been a part of (for nearly nine years!) printed in a book? Severance<\/em> was most likely written around the time when Mario Badescu’s original, rose-infused Facial Spray<\/a> skyrocketed to cult status despite existing for decades prior (it first launched in the 1980s). And there it was, on paper, its place within our culture cemented in black ink, living on despite the horrors of a worldwide pandemic, skin care still remains a priority.<\/p>\n

Beauty endures.<\/p>\n

DAY 25:\u00a0CONVENIENCE STORE WOMAN<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"book

Convenience Store Woman<\/em><\/a> + white rubber gloves<\/a>, a COVID-19 staple<\/p><\/div>\n

I bought Convenience Store Woman<\/em><\/a> (by Sayaka Murata) at O’Hare International Airport before my flight back to Jersey. (I was in Chicago to film a series of training videos for Ulta.) After finishing Murakami’s Men Without Women<\/em><\/a> on my flight in, I was in the headspace for something as poignant sans\u00a0<\/em>fuss\u2014something Japanese writers accomplish with ease. This was brilliant in its simplicity, harrowing in its commentary on conformity. An easy and must-read.<\/p>\n

DAY 26:\u00a0ENIGMA VARIATIONS<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"book

Enigma Variations<\/em><\/a> + Bloch ballet slippers<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

I didn’t realize that\u00a0Enigma Variations<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>was written by the<\/em> Andr\u00e9 Aciman of\u00a0Call Me by Your Name<\/a>\u00a0<\/em>fame until I was one chapter in. Even though I’d never read the book (I only saw the film), the haziness of lovelorn fixation conjured within the first few pages felt familiar: it’s indisputably Aciman and captures the messiness, confusion, and ephemera of love versus lust.<\/p>\n

Oh!<\/em> And I started incorporating a bit of ballet barre combinations into my morning routine. With all this reading, I’ve been buzzing with romantic ideologies\u2014as in the arts!\u2014and decided to revisit this childhood hobby of mine. Naturally, I needed the right shoes, and after much deliberation, settled on a pair of canvas ballet slippers<\/a> by Bloch (maker of my favorite<\/em> shoes since I was little, and still my go-to for salsa heels). They’re soft, almost astonishingly so.\u00a0Delectable.<\/em> Nothing like the rough canvas shoes I remember wearing to the studio 20-odd years ago.<\/p>\n

DAY 27:\u00a0LOVE AND FREINDSHIP, AND OTHER YOUTHFUL WRITINGS<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"book

Love and Freindship<\/em><\/a> + Byredo Slow Dance<\/em> Hand Cream<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

This beautiful edition of\u00a0Love and Freindship<\/em><\/a> is a treasured gift from the same friend who didn’t care for\u00a0The Idiot.<\/em> (Hi, Miram!) She handed it to me the last time we saw each other\u2014right before her birthday brunch\u2014and I’ve been saving it for the perfect occasion<\/em> to pour over. Predictably, Jane Austen is one of my favorite writers of all time;\u00a0Pride and Prejudice<\/em><\/a> was the first “adult” book I read and it is forever ingrained in my memory.<\/p>\n

Through this collection of “juvenilia” (a word I’ve never come across until this edition’s introduction), the reader is able to witness a great writer in the making. She groomed herself to be an author, writing short stories while experimenting with a myriad of formats\u2014all done between the ages of 12 and 20.<\/p>\n

It’s astounding. And inspiring, to say the least.<\/p>\n

DAY 28: EXQUISITE MARIPOSA<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"book

Exquisite Mariposa<\/em><\/a> + Prada pink nylon pouch<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

I’ve been following Fiona Duncan’s work for a couple of years, and when she announced that she’d written a book, I pre-ordered without hesitation. It’s exactly what you would expect from such a prolific writer. Exquisite Mariposa<\/em> is raw, relevant, and clever\u00a0sans<\/em> conceit (I highly recommend reading this after Trick Mirror<\/em><\/a> as a follow-up), full of pearls of wisdom:<\/p>\n

“What I am that might come across as\u00a0girly<\/em>\u2014being gentle, dressing in ruffles with exposed lace lingerie, luxuriating in pastel, giggles, grooming, and gossip\u2014is actually rooted in great wisdom. It comes from a recognition that the power games that pass for intellect, strength, and import in this world are rote, wasteful, and ouroboran in their chase. Lonely, oppressive.\u00a0Seriousness<\/em>. No thanks. Life is short! And beautiful. […] Dry brushing your skin before showering enlivens the senses. Moisturizing too. And the great spiritualist Jean Vanier knew:\u00a0The clearer we are to the body, the clearer we are to spirit…relationship is hand-to-hand, eye-to-eye…the Word became flesh, God became flesh.<\/em><\/p>\n

I knew all this and still a part of me circa thirteen to twenty-eight judged others who acted\u00a0girly<\/em> in public…”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And, a personal note: how funny that the narrator’s Saturn Return affect such upheavals and search for more\u2014more meaning, more realness<\/em>\u2014just as I’ve recently been fixated with mine. Just a few weeks before my birthday, a coworker had instructed me to read up on this astrological transit. Two consecutive days spent in a deep-dive made everything I’d been experiencing, thinking, trying to understand make sense<\/em>. I’ve said it countless times, but books are magic, reflective tools for intuition. Truly.<\/p>\n

DAY 28 (CONT’D): THE ROMANTIC MANIFESTO<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"book

The Romantic Manifesto<\/em><\/a> + Copic Markers<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

Despite the outdated language, I used to\u00a0live<\/em> by the word of Ayn Rand’s The Romantic Manifesto<\/em><\/a>.\u00a0<\/em>(Unsurprising, given how deeply connected with and took to\u00a0Moulin Rouge<\/em><\/a> as a kid.) My tiny copy has lived in many a handbag, mostly serving as a reminder to with truth and seek to create at every opportunity\u2014a philosophy I too quickly abandoned after college in pursuit of a steady job and health insurance.<\/p>\n

Re-reading this was just what I needed to cure all complacency.<\/p>\n

DAY 29:\u00a0THE LOVER<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/h1>\n
\"book

The Lover<\/em><\/a> + Tom Ford L.A. Woman<\/em> lipstick<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

I’ve had this beautiful copy of Marguerite Duras’s best-selling autobiographical novel since college, but never read it until now. Classics are classic for a reason; let not its title or thinness have you think differently. The prose is indelible, the setting memorable. It reads best with a hot cup of black coffee or cappuccino, in lieu of a midday break spent mindlessly scrolling.<\/p>\n

.\u00a0 \u00a0.\u00a0 \u00a0.<\/p>\n

xx<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m reading one book a day for as long as this COVID-19 quarantine lasts. Here are the ones I read this past week. DAY 24:\u00a0THE IDIOT I re-read Elif Batuman’s acclaimed novel, The Idiot, because my friend had mentioned adding it to her Kindle\u2014and by the end, wasn’t impressed. It’s not that I didn’t trust my own judgment from the first time around (spoiler alert, I, like so much of the world, enjoyed it); I simply had the urge to pick it up once more. The narrative is addicting, the characters captivating: every moment, no matter how banal, was crafted with wit and intention. Needless to say, I couldn’t put it down until the last page. DAY 24 (CONT’D):\u00a0SEVERANCE After four weeks of daily reading, it’s clear that my M.O. in choosing books as an adult is a cross between intuition, recognition, and cover art (superficial, but the truth). Severance\u00a0had been sitting on my bookshelf since 2018\u2014not long after the book was published\u2014and not once was I prompted to pluck it off the top of my bookcase. Had I read it then, it would have been another well-written book: finished, shelved, most likely forgotten. Reading it now, two years later,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"full-width-content","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"Quarantine Reading: One Book a Day (Week 4)","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,1105,8,10,19,20,27],"tags":[1140,712,366,1089,415,1141,531,636],"class_list":{"0":"post-14046","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-beauty","7":"category-books","8":"category-current-affairs","9":"category-feminism","10":"category-kims-diary","11":"category-life","12":"category-philosophy","13":"tag-book-club","14":"tag-bookshelf","15":"tag-diary","16":"tag-distancing-diaries","17":"tag-makeup","18":"tag-one-book-a-day","19":"tag-quotes","20":"tag-tom-ford","21":"entry","22":"has-post-thumbnail"},"yoast_head":"\nQuarantine Reading: One Book a Day (Week 4) • Soft Sensibilities<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kimberlypearl.co\/blog\/quarantine-reading-one-book-a-day-week-4\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Quarantine Reading: One Book a Day (Week 4) • Soft Sensibilities\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I’m reading one book a day for as long as this COVID-19 quarantine lasts. Here are the ones I read this past week. DAY 24:\u00a0THE IDIOT I re-read Elif Batuman’s acclaimed novel, The Idiot, because my friend had mentioned adding it to her Kindle\u2014and by the end, wasn’t impressed. It’s not that I didn’t trust my own judgment from the first time around (spoiler alert, I, like so much of the world, enjoyed it); I simply had the urge to pick it up once more. The narrative is addicting, the characters captivating: every moment, no matter how banal, was crafted with wit and intention. Needless to say, I couldn’t put it down until the last page. DAY 24 (CONT’D):\u00a0SEVERANCE After four weeks of daily reading, it’s clear that my M.O. in choosing books as an adult is a cross between intuition, recognition, and cover art (superficial, but the truth). Severance\u00a0had been sitting on my bookshelf since 2018\u2014not long after the book was published\u2014and not once was I prompted to pluck it off the top of my bookcase. 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