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neasoxi · 4 months

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My current read.

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i-never-knew-keats · 2 years

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You came here to say you are scared you have long been marked for destruction

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson, 132

#Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

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smokefalls · 13 days

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Perhaps that is how we should frame this question forever; rather than asking what is your favourite book, let’s ask, what continues to pull you back?

Caleb Azumah Nelson, Open Water

#Caleb Azumah Nelson #Open Water #quote #fiction #2024 reads

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convulsionofhonesty · 1 year

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top 10 books of 2022

i read 50 books this year and i’m going to share my top 10 and what i loved most about them (in no particular order)

1. writers & lovers by lily king - this book legitimately changed my life by reminding me of how desperate i am to lead a creative life. there are certain books that make you want to be a writer. this is one. featuring clean-cut, economical prose that gets straight to the point, and the point is diving into one of the most compelling characters i’ve had the honor to spend a story with. i read it twice this year because i will never be ready to part with this main character.

2. last night at the telegraph club by malinda lo - this was a reread for me and i appreciated it infinitely more the second time. the vividness of the writing strikes me as a particular triumph of this work. you can feel every emotion, see and hear every setting. that and a deeply engaging narrative make it one of those books that i continue to think about constantly.

3. crush by richard siken - my favorite poetry collection i have read, and reread, both within this year. he is one of those writers that reminds you how amazing it is to be a human that can feel and say so much. sharp images, glorious repitition, and stunning formatting that has inspired much of my own adventure into the world of unique poetic structure on the page.

4. homegoing by yaa gyasi - probably one of the most ingenious books i have ever read. to this day i fail to understand how it is possible to cover so much in so few pages and not leave the reader feeling like something is missing, but she certainly does it. sweeping multi-generational story where each chapter reads like both an exquisite short story that could stand on its own and a part of the richly woven whole. phenomenal novel that i wholeheartedly believe will be a classic in the future.

5. the idiot by elif batuman - another character that weaseled her way into my brain and has never left. a plotless, indulgent, meandering character study that struck such a cord with me. i read this at the exact right time in my life and for the week that i was making my way through it, there was no distinction between the narrator and myself in my mind. i don’t know how to explain this, but i was narrating my own life through this character’s eyes. captivating.

6. piranesi by susanna clarke - an exemplary work of fantasy that explores the nuances of knowledge and gratitude, balancing expertly between critiquing the pursuit of knowledge and power and exalting wonder, curiosity, and science. a book written in journal entries which flows perfectly and never feels choppy. leaves you thinking differently about the world.

7. open water by caleb azumah nelson - a short novella you can read in a day, and you will have to, as it is so enchanting and haunting that you cannot stop. it fully took over my mind until i finished it. it features second person narration which creates an unmatched level of closeness between reader and narrator. triumphantly evocative, intimate, and precise prose. the most poetic novel(la) i've had the pleasure of reading since on earth we're briefly gorgeous.

8. the great believers by rebecca makkai - the highlight of this book is the dense prose; every sentence feels perfectly chosen and hits you just as hard as the last. there is never a break, never a breather from the stunning writing. for that reason it is a slow book to move through, but in the best way. also accomplishes using dual pov/timelines in a way that does not detract from the fluidity of the work. very heavy subject matter but imbued with hope, gratitude, and affection.

9. the starless sea by erin morgenstern - prior to reading piranesi, this was my favorite fantasy read of the year. the world is so engrossing and the formatting of the novel is unique and inventive. vivid world builidng and a meandering, cris-crossing plot that enthralls from the beginning. an ode to humanity and the interconnectedness of the stories we tell.

10. babel by r.f. kuang - a lengthy novel that is well worth the time it takes, featuring a slate of morally ambiguous young people bumping up against the limits of their social power. similarly to piranesi, it embraces curiosity, drive, passion, and learning while chastising the intrenchment of power in academia. kuang cements herself as figurehead of the historical fantasy subgenre, tapping into its full potential.

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soracities · 2 years

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You ever had to play dead? Have you ever not been seen? Are you tired?

Caleb Azumah Nelson, Open Water

#q #lit #quotes #prose #caleb azumah nelson #open water #echoes of the other #reading #contemporary lit #m #x

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reverie-quotes · 4 months

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The gaze requires no words at all; it is an honest meeting.

— Caleb Azumah Nelson, Open Water

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hometownangels · 3 months

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Open Water, Caleb Azumah Nelson

#caleb azumah nelson #open water #writing #contemporary fiction #books #li.reads

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utterlyconfusedacademia · 2 years

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When Madeline Miller wrote “And perhaps it is the greater grief, after all, to be left on earth when another is gone” and when Caleb Azumah Nelson wrote “So now you’re here, without her presence, which is heavier in her absence” I felt heartbreak so painful that my soul teared apart.

#madeline miller #tsoa #the song of achilles #open water #caleb azumah nelson #patrochilles #patroclus #achilles #dark academia #quotes

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haveyoureadthispoll · 5 months

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Two young people meet at a pub in South East London. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists -- he a photographer, she a dancer -- trying to make their mark in a city that by turns celebrates and rejects them. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But two people who seem destined to be together can still be torn apart by fear and violence.

#polls #book: open water #author: caleb azumah nelson #genre: contemporary #genre: romance #year: 2020s

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v-readingspace · 6 months

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Your few days have been spent doing nothing really, which is something is an intimacy in itself.

- Caleb Azumah Nelson

#caleb azumah nelson #open water #book quotes #quotes #book excerpt #books #reading #bookaholic #excerpts #bookworm #bookstagram #book recommendations

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steelycunt · 1 year

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just bought three new BOOKS because i had 10 quid worth of credit from my loyalty card and also a gift card i got for christmas...there is nothing quite like it!!

#my rule is that if i own four or more books that i plan to read but have yet to i cannot buy a new book until i have gotten that number #to below four but. after my current read i had 0 books left so when me and my mum went shopping today i bought them as a little treat :-)#got open water by caleb azumah nelson + my brilliant friend by elena ferrante + columbine by dave cullen. wanted to get lolita too but they #didnt have it :-/ although i am probably better off waiting till im back at uni for that one anyway because i bet my £4 bookshop #will have it <3 anyway!! am currently reading leonard and hungry paul not sure which one im going to start next but. yay! what a day!#also bought. me and my mum some fancy toiletries from the body shop because they were on sale <3 me and my mum cannot go shopping without #browsing the body shop for a bit and trying all their testers it is like a career to us #(ridi's) bigmouth strikes again #reading tag

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i-never-knew-keats · 2 years

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You have always thought if you opened your mouth in open water you would drown, but if you didn’t open you would suffocate. So here you are, drawing.

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson, 143

#Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

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rains-of-words · 1 year

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It's easier to hide in your own darkness, than to emerge, naked and vulnerable, blinking in your own light.

Caleb Azumah Nelson, Open Water

#quotes #rainsofwords #usermaximoff #books #caleb azumah nelson #open water

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smokefalls · 11 days

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It’s one thing to be looked at, and another to be seen.

Caleb Azumah Nelson, Open Water

#Caleb Azumah Nelson #Open Water #quote #fiction #2024 reads

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bonitaboktor · 4 months

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"It's summer now, and you're craving a simple existence. You want to read. You want to write. You want to meet strangers for dinner, and not refuse another drink at another bar. You want to dance. You want to find yourself in a basement, neck loose,bobbing your head as a group of musicians play, not because they should, but because they must. It's summer now, and you're looking forward to worrying less. You're looking forward to longer nights and shorter days. You're looking forward to gathering in back gardens and watching meat sputter on an open barbecue. You're looking forward to laughing so hard your chest hurts and you feel light-headed. You're looking forward to the safety in pleasure. You're looking forward to forgetting, albeit briefly, the existential dread which plagues you, which tightens your chest, which pains your left side. You're looking forward to forgetting that, leaving the house, you might not return intact. You're looking forward to freedom, even if it is short, even if it might not last. You're looking forward."

- Caleb Azumah Nelson, Open Water

#caleb azumah nelson #open water #qoutes #my inner child is healing #longing #2 am posts #my eyes burn

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soracities · 2 years

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He continues to look at you as a danger. You fit the profile. You fit the description. You don’t fit in the box but he has squeezed you in. He looked scared. They all did. You wouldn’t accept their apologies, nor their extended hands, because even these are weapons in the darkness.

Caleb Azumah Nelson, Open Water

#q #lit #quotes #prose #caleb azumah nelson #open water #echoes of the other #reading #contemporary lit #m #x

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