the lion tracker's guide to life | boyd varty notes: Laurens van der Post said of the lion’s roar that “it is to silence what the shooting star is to the night sky.” The unbroken stream of life that animates all things is supremely intelligent, and nothing in the wild needs a coach to help… Continue reading the lion tracker’s guide to life – boyd varty
Category: notes
I read books with a pencil in hand, underlining passages that speak strongly to me and making tiny folds in the corners to come back to them. I used to Commonplace all of these into a notebook, by hand. This way I can take my favorite parts of all the books I’ve ever read with me wherever I go, and the notes don’t just sit quietly by themselves on a shelf forever.
However, writing by hand has since become unsustainably time consuming, so I’m transitioning to digital but still typing these up myself. This process usually happens a while after I’ve finished reading the book, so I find it’s a really nice way to commune with it again.
These are by far not a replacement for reading the actual book, and I will probably stop this if an author ever expresses discontent, but since I am doing it for myself anyway I thought I would share them here.
This is inspired by Derek Sivers: https://sive.rs/book
And here’s some more on Commonplace Books, from Ryan Holiday: https://ryanholiday.net/how-and-why-to-keep-a-commonplace-book/
my sister, the serial killer – oyinkan braithwaite
my sister, the serial killer | oyinkan braithwaite The prose was so clean with its crisp rhythm and clear text. Far from lacking beauty in its simplicity, it allowed the poignancy to shine through even more for being so gorgeously unadorned. It makes sense that the murders were not described by gory messes, but by… Continue reading my sister, the serial killer – oyinkan braithwaite
lamb – christopher moore
lamb | christopher moore I came for the gloriously stupid humor, which flowed in abundance, and I stayed for the moments of equally hilarious profundity. Besides winning candy during Bible trivia night, my bygone years of Christianity have never served me so well as in the laugh-crying that came from getting all these jokes. Truly,… Continue reading lamb – christopher moore
wild swans – jung chang
wild swans | jung chang This book changed my life. I was born in China and grew up in Canada an only child. Jung Chang’s Wild Swans helped me better understand my mother, my family, the country we are all from, and ultimately myself. This, my favorite passage, revealed to me how profoundly not-alone I… Continue reading wild swans – jung chang
janet change 