10th of December by George Saunders. read The Semplica Girl Diaries and Victory Lap in high school and was hooked. The title story and Puppy, too, are some of my favorites
Hands down, one of the funniest and oddly touching collections I have ever read. The titular story is one I think about often and recommend frequently.
It was about a week before I was supposed to leave home for college. My aunt had bought me a copy of that & a copy of David Copperfield, neither of which I had ever picked up. She said something about those two books being very important for a kid like me. I still havent read Copperfield all the way through. Dickens is too English for my taste. But on a whim, that night I opened up Catcher. I read it till morning. It’s cliché & corny, but I hadn’t experienced the feeling of encountering some sort of soul mate in a book until reading that book (and wouldn’t again until I got in to Kafka). I still love JD Salinger to this day. I just made my way through Franny & Zooey actually. Adored it
Get a haircut, get rid of some clothes you haven’t worn in years, get a new houseplant, get in touch with the changing season, get grounded, get stoned, get in touch with some old friends, get some ice cream, get going
Friends you met out in the neighborhood at a bar or park or cafe or wherever a couple times and struck up a rapport with.
You don’t have eachother’s phone numbers, no social media info.
I have a couple friends like this and it’s been such a nice social change up. Always a pleasant surprise to bump into them out and about.
