📚The Source of Self-Regard by Toni Morrison🌟 How do I capture Morrison’s essence? This space, these words, this alphabet isn’t enough. Gilt-edged letters, written over reams of crushed petals, trimmed with Chantilly lace, sparkling with wit and wisdom commensurate to Morrison’s art- that may just attempt to do justice to her writings. But we have that not and so we make do with this. A collection of her essays, speeches and interviews, this book offers a peek into the mind of this ex-editor of Random House who’d wake up at 4 am to write her first book. While every essay from Morrison’s pen is worth its weight in gold, ‘The Source of Self Regard’, ‘Faulkner & Women’, ‘The Writer Before The Page’ & ‘Cinderlla’s Stepsisters’ turned out to be my favourites. Will you allow me to share a couple of my favourite bits? “Finally she speaks and her voice is soft and stern. “I don't know", she says. “I don't know whether the bird you are holding is dead or alive, but what I do now is that it is in your hands. It is in your hands.” There is authority in her prose- the kind that expects better of itself and of you. She isn’t patronising, nor condescending- instead she shares her thoughts, offers them up for rumination, often being the hand that leads you up a better path of thinking. I found her political writings a bit dense for my taste. I am culpable there. Was I too eager to devour her work or was it that each sentence led me to think hard and thus provided a challenge that I could not rise up to? I’ll revisit that section and know for sure. Morrison’s ‘The Nobel Lecture in Literature’ was an ABSOLUTE treat. If the whole collection isn’t possible right now, read that today. Read it today, yes I insist. I leave you with my favourite Morrison quote- “We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.” Till next time… #tonimorrison #thesourceofselfregard #beloved #nonfictionbooks #essaycollection #blackliterature (at Delhi, India) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc6_TMHLDiv/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I’m so excited to announce that I am launching my essay collection “This Body of Mine” on @medium. This collection of personal essays explores how my experience of my body has shaped my identity and my spiritual, emotional growth. The first essay is up today, so head to medium.com/@thisbodyofmine to read it. I’ll be publishing a new essay every Monday until the entire collection is published. I’m launching this project as part of Medium’s partner program, which means that you’ll only be able to read a certain number of essays for free each month. I encourage you to become a medium subscriber, not just to support me, but to support millions of other writers getting their work out there on this platform. I can’t wait to share this entire collection with the world. It’s been a long time coming. #writer #writing #writingcommunity #essay #essaycollection #bodypositivity #bodypositive #fatliberation #fatactivism #bodyliberation #fatpositive #eatingdisorderrecovery #addiction #addictionrecovery #chronicpain #chronicillness #spoonie #spoonielife https://www.instagram.com/p/CBd53MKHZdL/?igshid=1ncn6v1wea2be

“Known for his pitch-black views on human nature, and a breathtaking ability to explore the weird side of evolution and animal behavior, Watts is one of those writers who gets into your brain and remains lodged there like an angry, sentient tumor.” —io9 #peterwatts #peterwattsisanangrysentienttumor #books #nonfiction #2019books #nonfictionbooks #publishing #tachyon #scifibooks #meme #booklife #humor #essaycollection #humorbooks #bookmemes #johnmulaneymemes #publishing #tachyon #tachyonpublications #booklife https://www.instagram.com/p/B7UjtsSAxD3/?igshid=1jbu66wpqru4x

🌻SEPTEMBER WRAP UP🌻 aka the weird reading month. Not my best month in terms of reading 😔 i just haven’t been on the mood or it could be some sort of burnout due to the NEWTs readathon 🤷🏻‍♀️ . 🌿La revolución de las flâneuses (7/10). An essay collection with some interesting ideas. It is best to space it out and not read all essays at once since they could be a tad repetitive. . 🌿Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Part of my reread. This is probably one of my least favourites of the series although i still love it.... however, i’ll say the fatphobia in this one is even more pronounced than in the first one. . 🌿This One Summer (6.5/10). Beautiful artwork but the execution of the story was a bit flawed. I wish some thing could’ve been developed a lot more. . 🌿The Flatshare (7.5/10). A nice and cute contemporary story. Some bits were a bit cheesy but I appreciated how the author didn’t shy away from showing the trauma of an abusive relationship. . 🌿How Green Was My Valley (9.5/10). A new favourite. I have a full review of this one. It is an absolute delight of a novel. Highly recommend it. Completely character-driven. . How was your reading month? Any favourites? Any books we should avoid? • • • #adayinbooklandreviews #readingwrapup #recentreads #theflatshare #howgreenwasmyvalley #thisonesummer #harrypotterandthechamberofsecrets #larevoluciondelasflaneuses #essaycollection #rereads #generalfiction #graphicnovels #recentlyread #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookpile #bookstacks #bookishfeature https://www.instagram.com/p/B3CFRjRohuh/?igshid=zjnmt2wg1qdh

Gritty, moving, real, honest. A true confession. #dirtbagmassachusettes #isaacfitzgerald #americanmemoir #essaycollection #bookreview #igreads #instabooks @nypl https://www.instagram.com/p/CppjMSaurITWJHJTZL19_vyFyblVJt54vfBnKA0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

💭Still hanging onto the coattails of 2022, I am reluctant to say goodbye. After Covid, January feels too early to celebrate. March, people, March- that seems safe to decide the flavour of 2023.  George Orwell’s collection of Essays was an experience similar to reading Steinbeck’s Travels With Charley (If you haven’t read it, I recommend it)- the writing is taut, no frivolity of either words or ideas. The breadth of the collection isn’t limited to literature- it is decidedly political. His views about the Spanish Civil War, the politics of the English language take care of that. For someone who gravitates more towards the personal experience of living, Orwell’s memories of public school horrors (Such, Such Were The Joys), his account of ‘Shooting An Elephant’ as a police officer in Burma, and a not-so-brief discussion on Charles Dickens are uncompromising and entertaining. I favoured ‘Books Vs. Cigarettes’ & ‘Why I Write’ the most- two delightful compositions. The first is his proof through which he justifiably demonstrates that owning books isn’t an expensive hobby- the price of books is far less than the value one gets from them. ‘Why I Write’- well, why does anyone write? It’s a quirk of nature- like being right-handed or having a painful wart. But returning to Orwell: he takes us on his writing journey in a few words- “I wanted to write enormous naturalistic novels with unhappy endings, full of detailed descriptions and arresting similes, and also full of purple passages in which words were used partly for the sake of their sound.” Listen, just read that essay- it's insightful and honest, and if I were to talk about it more, I’d end up letting all the cats out. If you liked this, read: •Giving Up The Ghost •The Source of Self Regard-equally political and entertaining •What I Talk About When I Talk About Running •Slouching Towards Bethlehem •The View From The Cheap Seats #georgeorwell #nonfictionreads #shootinganelephant #nonfictionbookclub #nonfictionreads #essaycollection #delhireader #delhibookstagrammer (at India) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnOUy1IL_FE/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Follow along as I breakdown & review The Kardashians on Hulu as each new episode airs.