why i like this book

~in the spirit of writing something bad~

i like the book turtles all the way down by john green. i was at costco with a friend a few years ago, and his mom bought it for me. the first time i read it, i thought it was a really boring book that didn't have anything going on. a while later, i reread the book, and i thought it was super good.

i think what i liked about it was that the language is super simple and easy to read. i don't have to think too much while reading it and can read it when i'm tired.

i also like the feeling of doing something with a friend and going on an adventure.

the book is also set in indianapolis. there's another book i want to write commentary about called counting by 7s by holly goldberg sloan and it's about a genius kid who just lost her parents and stays with her friend's family and this counselor. it's set in bakersfield, california where it's described as hot and boring. i like the interactions of the kid and the family and counselor. and the kid comes up with a project to renovate this rocky area into a garden. and it reminds me that you can do still do cool stuff in a boring place. and that you have to do it with friends.

that reminds me of a friend that skips school to go on adventures. we stayed up late and he showed me pictures and told me what happened. i asked him how he does all this stuff and he says just find friends and do stuff together.

i think that's pretty true. being in an environment with friends doing stuff and being in the know of where stuff happens helps doing more things with people.

i wonder if i can create this even if i am in a boring suburban place. maybe i just need to know a few people, get to know friends of friends, have a meeting place or place to regularly see the same people.

i like the feeling at the end of turtles all the way down. i don't know how to describe it. it's like sort of awe, remininse, wanting to stay in a moment with a friend and not leave, and now want things to change. but the way the resolution is written makes it feel like it's all alright.

i want to update the about page. i feel weird in general when writing because i feel like i can't get everything i want to say and that it's not written in the style that i want. so it feels like my writing doesn't represent everything i'm trying to say well.

i like guzey talking to his 2013-self post. it reflects a lot of problems i have and want to use it to help

i read some essays that remind me of aaron swartz's style and i get intimidated that i can't write well enough for that style

my friend says he still enjoys the stream of consciousness thing where you can see how someone thinks raw

i think austin kleon has said that it's easier to draw inspiration of a style to a writer who is dead than alive so you don't feel the comparison as strongly as if they were allive.

the essays were

two years by ava

effective altruism in the garden of ends by tyler alterman

my emotional reaction to the current funding situation by sam brown