“I’m a rare book librarian. I get to touch books every single day. My colleague and I have a joke that we are Defenders of Wonder. A physical book assigns a sense of reverence to the content inside. It’s the same feeling you get when you look at a painting or hear a piece of music. And I think that’s something worth defending. And just like a book gives reverence to it’s content, I think the library gives reverence to books. The building itself is a masterpiece. So many famous thinkers have come here to study and write. Just being here connects you to that lineage.”
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thinking about that quote that’s like “it’s better to know one book intimately than a hundred superficially” and how a lot of readers and social media try and pressure others to read a million books super fast and complete absurd book challenges when everyone has different lifestyles and different amounts of time to read. forcing others to go through books like cigarettes stops a lot of readers from really enjoying what they’re reading. what’s the point then? if you can’t properly analyze and enjoy what you’re reading? appreciating books takes time and that’s okay
when hayao miyazaki said that true love was two people inspiring each other to live…recognizing just how hard living is, putting one foot in front of the other every day, how easy it is to lose our passion for it…… that’s the real shit
online school/uni study tips
I know this is a little late but I’ve had it in my drafts for a while, hope it’s helpful nonetheless
- this is a rule i implemented at the beginning of 2020 without knowing what on earth was going to happen but it helped me enormously; any time you start feeling stressed, overwhelmed, sad, upset, any of these negative emotions due to school or work, i don’t care whether you’ve got so many lectures to catch up, an exam tomorrow morning or an assignment due at midnight, i want you to physically step away from wherever you’re working, sit in a completely different spot (different corner of the room or different room itself does not matter) and just sit there. Sit. And do whatever you want. Listen to music, watch a youtube video, scroll on tumblr. If you can do something like meditation or reading go for it, but honestly, I know exactly how it feels to not even have the energy to do something that feels like ~productive relaxation~. after maybe around 20 minutes, make the decision as to whether you want to just go to sleep, relax or keep working. check what time it is and that’ll be a good cue; past midnight, you know your answer.
- speaking of sleep, get some. remember you don’t need to be up at 5am watching the sunrise, take baby steps toward building whatever sleep routine you want. i have no legitimate advice for this, i was pretty nocturnal at one point and now i’m awake with the sun before noon most days (some days not so much, even now), and that’s okay.
- have a blanket that is specifically for when you’re sitting at your desk and working; not only will it be warm and quite comfortable but also if you start feeling a bit overwhelmed draping it over your shoulders will make you feel better. i have no idea why that specific placement works and maybe online uni (ironically) has made me a bit bonkers, but try it.
- use to do lists! pls! but also definitely put down tasks such as showering, eating lunch, making tea etc because not only will it give you a productivity boost, but sometimes it can be difficult to remember to do the little things that give you structure when time feels stretched out and life is on loop.
- also re: ‘productive relaxation’, please don’t think you need to spend these extra pockets of time doing something inherently productive. you don’t need to start writing this bestselling novel or suddenly become a pro athlete; you’re allowed to burn a bit of time, trust me. this is freaking me out even to type, but that’s because i know it’s true. find some sort of solace in the silence and slight lethargy.
220424 • 2:14pm 📜
Home workspace snaps while working on my History essay. I love when the sun filters through my window just right.
look at the sun! look at her! grateful for this light and just one (1) zoom meeting today—i’ll be spending the rest of it right here in this sunlit room with my candles and my readings and some data entry about women in the romantic book trades, researching my little academic heart out
a winter studying aesthetic
- warming your hands on a mug of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate
- settling in to study under a pile of blankets
- short days, waking for your first class while it’s still dark
- your favorite sweater, worn and wearing thin
- walking from one class to the next, face shielded from the wind by a hand-knitted scarf
- writing even as your fingers grow stiff with cold
- a glow of warm, flickering candlelight
- getting distracted by snow falling just outside your window
- working diligently, pushing through to the end of the semester
- deep, calming breaths before a big test that turn to fog in the frigid air
- a glimpse of the sun, low on the horizon
- long novels piled on your bedside table
- taking a study break to have a snowball fight with your friends











