Nut Free Nerd

It’s been a little while since a posted some mini reviews. Here are some brief thoughts about a handful of books I’ve read in the past few months: two fiction reads, and two works of nonfiction. Mona’s Eyes by Thomas Schlesser (translated by Hildegarde Serle) tells the story of Mona, a young girl living in France who has mysterious episodes of losing her eyesight. Her grandfather, who is…

I love personal essays. I’m not sure if this is a distinct genre with a definition, or something that I just refer to as “personal essays” in an “I-know-it-when-I-see-it” kind of way. This Writer’s Digest article by Robert Lee Brewer describes a “personal essay” as follows: “the personal essay is a piece of nonfiction writing that shares an interesting, thought-provoking, entertaining, and/or…

I love planning my summer reading. It reminds me of summers spent in and out of my local public library with their summer reading program, eagerly filling out book bingo or tracking the number of pages I read to get a little trinket. My library’s reading program would always have a theme–like the ocean, outer space, the safari, etc. This summer I’d like to challenge myself to read more of the…

The internet loves a “reset.” And, frankly, so do I. A minute or an hour–maybe even a morning or afternoon, if we have the luxury of time–to pause, get organized, and take stock of our lives can feel amazing. At the same time, there’s a danger of feeling like we constantly need to be “resetting,” continually going back to square one instead of moving forward. I’d like to offer some books that…

When I’m feeling particularly stressed or anxious, I love reading nonfiction. Sometimes fiction can feel like too much of an emotional investment when I’m already overwhelmed. In those moments, I often turn to nonfiction to help ground myself. Focusing on learning new information in print or by audiobook is a welcome distraction that doesn’t feel soul-crushing like scrolling on my phone does. If…

It’s been a while since I did a round of mini reviews. Here are some brief thoughts about some fiction I’ve been reading lately. The Wilderness by Angela Fluornoy. This novel mainly follows a group of friends from their twenties in the 2000s to 2027, through relationships, careers, marriages, kids, loss, and everything in between. It’s told from all of their different perspectives, and it is a…

One of my favorite things about planning for a new year is setting some reading-related goals and intentions. Here are some of my bookish goals for 2026: Read every day, even if it’s just one page. Life can get really busy with work and other commitments. But I’ve learned that I feel most like myself when I’m able to spend even a few minutes reading each day. The best times for me to squeeze…

2025 was a whirlwind of a year. I had lots of personal changes in my life, but somehow managed to squeak in reading 66 books. Out of those books, here are my top 10 (in no particular order). (1) Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher. This is one of the coziest, heartfelt books I’ve read in a long time. It was actually the first book I read in 2025, and I had an inkling back then that it would…

“Until today, he has never planted anything. But Now, that next best of times, is long, and reunites everything.” There are good books, and then there are those that make you fall in love with reading all over again, that make you savor each word and feel for each character. The Overstory is one of those incredible books. This novel is structured like the concentric rings of a tree, starting…

Somehow it’s already mid-May, and the reading outside season has fully begun where I live. I figured it was high time to chat about the books I read in April. Saving Time by Jenny Odell. I read Odell’s prior book How to Do Nothing a few years ago and loved it. While I didn’t enjoy Saving Time as much as How to Do Nothing, it was still an interesting read. Odell challenges the way we think about…

THE BEST BOOKS I READ IN 2021

Happy 2022! It’s been a while–just over an entire year since I last posted. But I couldn’t resist popping in for a classic “best books I read last year” list. Needless to say, 2021 was yet another tumultuous, topsy-turvy year. Thankfully, reading continued to be an incredible outlet for escape, release, comfort, and growth. I read a total of 63 books in 2021, and here are my top ten favorites…

The best books I read in 2020

I thought making this list would be easy. Yet this year has gone by so quickly in hindsight (and so, so slowly in the moment) that somehow I forgot just how many fantastic books I read this year. In the midst of everything that became 2020, I managed to read 70 books, several of which have stuck with me through these chaotic, messy months. Here, in the order that I read them, are my favorites of…

Dear Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: a take on the Gothic novel

Dear Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: After a bit of an Austen drought for me, I decided to listen to the audiobook version of you. I have been slowly working my way through Austen’s novels for years (besides you, I have read Pride & Prejudice, Persuasion, and Emma), so I was excited to finally read you. To be honest, I was a bit worried. Sometimes classics are harder to listen to rather than…

Dear The Reivers by William Faulkner: a much-needed exhale

Dear The Reivers by William Faulkner: After finishing what ended up being my most stressful semester of school yet (third semester of law school, it was a lot), I immediately knew what book I needed to pick up: you, the unread Faulkner book that had been waiting for me on my shelf for months. I’ve loved Faulkner as a writer for years, ever since I was assigned to read The Sound and the Fury in…

a book for every song in Taylor Swift’s album “evermore” | recommendations

During my first listen through Taylor Swift’s recent album “evermore” I knew that I would eventually make this list. Each song so clearly and lyrically tells a story. It’s hard not to get swept up in the emotions of all these lost loves, lost chances, bittersweet memories, newfound feelings of contentment, and realizations of one’s sense of self. As a result of listening to this album on repeat…

Hello, hello! It’s been a bit since I last posted, so I thought I would do a little re-introduction.

My name is Holly, and I’m a book-loving law student. I studied English literature in undergrad and studied abroad at the University of Oxford for a year. I’m allergic to nuts, hence the name of this blog.

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reminded me of how to be both by ali…

Dear THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexandre Dumas: A gold star for this year’s Big Book of the Summer

Dear The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas: 

For the past handful of summers, I’ve chosen a larger, more intimidating book to read over the summer months. Previous participants in this little challenge have been Moby Dick by Herman Melville, Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell, and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. For summer of 2020, I chose to tackle you, The Count of Monte Cristo. Al…