The Never Was # 5. Another Little Burst Of Words That Was On Its Way To Somethin, But Never Got There.

Pauline’s book recs : a MASTERPOST (I)

Shit, it’s 2020 and I’ve updated this Behemoth again.There’s both old and new in here. If you’re having problems with links overlapping, it is most likely the app/dashboard glitching—try the permalink version, and everything should work out, even on mobile. And of course, HAVE FUN.

Also: I had to split this one in two otherwise the links just poof, disappear.  Part two is here.

Ressources : where to find books online?

CLASSICAL LITERATURE (ANTIQUITY+) Where should I start? The fundamental works Where should I start? The mythology-oriented works Where should I start? Mythology, but make it non-greek Where should I start? Slavic mythology especially Where should I start? The translation edition A very touristic overview of Ancient Greek literature Different texts for Antigone Different texts for Elektra Different texts and translations for The Odyssey

CLASSIC [? who cares] BOOKS (ALL ERAS) First things first : a few favourites And works in translation : a few more favourites That’s a bit personal, but my “mind-changing” books A very touristic overview of literature reading Where should I start? My first classics Modern classics Reading women : a few favourites ; wait, much more Reading men : a few favourites Children literature : a few favourites ; more Where should I start? English and US literature Where should I start?  Italian literature ; more Where should I start? German and Austrian literature Where should I start? Russian literature Where should I start? Irish literature I’m terribly unknowledgeable about—Japanese literature Where should I start? Renaissance literature Where should I start? French literature for intermediate level Where should I start? French Medieval literature Where should I start? Victorian literature Where should I start? Contemporary literature Diving into the Arthurian legend Reading classics to children Children literature for adults (?) A bit of myth, a bit of fairy tale Short-length classics ; more here ; more here Short stories One last thing: books I don’t want to check out

POETRY First things first : a few favourites Second things second : a bunch of recs Where should I start? Poetry Quickly, the poets of happiness Learning French? Easy French poetry Lesbian French poetry Russian poetry : a few favourites Narrative poems ; much more Mystic poems Poems about separation Poems about love Poems about happiness Poems about exile Poems about poetry

DRAMA First things first : a few favourites

NON-FICTION First things first : a few favourites ; more recent On translation ; on poetry and music translation On literary analysis and adaptation On first-level literary analysis and French movements On biographies and diaries ; more here ; and more? On writing theory and another one On art history On reader-response theory On feminism (it’s old) On love, quite a bit Very lacking, but on female history On witches On Sufism Literary interviews Essays

YEARLY SUMMARY Best of 2019: all of it Best of 2018 : Prose Summary of 2018 Best of 2017 : Fiction Best of 2017 : Poetry Best of 2016 : Fiction Best of 2016 : Poetry 2016 Summer reading list 2015 - 2016 awaited releases Best of 2015 : Fiction Best of 2015 : Poetry

and click here for thematic lists

— Anaïs Nin, from Henry and June

“A winter sky, a soft warmish December sky whose tender ash grey makes of the rose with its rotting shades a transparent flower of amber.”

— Jean Lorrain, from Selected Poems; “Dropping Petals,”  written c. 1889

how to fall in love with life again

go cloud-gazing, lay down in the grass on a sunny day, or empty roads on a rainy day, stare up at the sky and let your mind wander.

read a book so complex that you don't understand anything, fill your arms with scrawled definitions.

writing poems and notes of kindness, hiding them for other people to find and pass along!

read passages of love in another language, untranslated and realise that love can surpass even the greatest of barriers.

find your favourite flower! hunt for it, research it, write an essay on why you love it and how much it means to you!

buy another copy of your favourite book, fill the pages with annotations and give it to a second hand shop for somebody else to experience it the way that you do.

fill a journal with moments of your life, even if you don't think they're very interesting.

listen to music whilst looking at the moon and stars, realising how beautiful life is.

visit an art gallery or a museum near you. become familiar with it, visit it until you know it inside out. make it your special place.

learn the little things about people, including yourself. find their favourite colour and why, find their music taste, their taste in books until you know them perfectly.

the small things! taking sips of warm beverages becomes the most comforting thing, closing your eyes for a moment on a bus and focusing on the lull of movement.

bake/cook your favourite treat. experiment and find the way that makes it taste simply ethereal.

Planetary

•please like or reblog if you use

I loved you to the point of ruin.

The Birth of Venus (2019). Version edit by  @laitdecocostudio. for new Collection 2019.

d e t a i l s

Spring Dark Academia Outfits

A rainy day: A pale, oversized sweater with embroidered flowers and vines on the collar of the button down underneath. Hair frizzy with the humidity, wrestled into a messy bun or left in a puffy cloud. Loose, comfortable tartan pants or skirt. Doc Martens or some other combat boots that can splash through puddles. Long trench coat. A dramatically oversized black umbrella, preferably with some sort of fancy handle. 

Strolling through sunny streets: A jewel colored tank top or bralette under an oversized white button down, left unbuttoned and loose. High waisted tan shorts or cigarette pants with brown leather shoes. Hair is loose and overgrown after the cold months of not cutting it. Gold jewelry wrapped around fingers and throat in the shapes of arching branches, thick with flowers and thorns. A baker boy hat to keep loose hair pushed back.

The birds are singing: Flowing white linen skirt or pants. A billowy shirt or sweater in pale colors with ballooning sleeves. A silk bandana over the hair to keep it from fluttering, ticklish against the face. Or perhaps one of the first flowers tucked carefully behind one ear; it slips every so often, but every time fingers brush against it something light and airy ignites in the chest. 

Not ready for summer: Making one last use of winter fashion before the heat forces it back into the closet. A black turtleneck and plaid skirt, but now without a heavy overcoat or warm leggings. Leather boots now used for splashing through puddles instead of snow piles. Dark green sweaters and skirts are getting worn especially, as they match both the new plants springing from between cobblestones and the evergreen trees that never left. Dramatic lipstick, red like freshly crushed fruit. 

Perfect weather to pretend to be an archeologist: Something in all tan and white. A light brown sweater vest over a white cotton shirt with the sleeves pushed up haphazardly. Tan, high waisted palazzo or midi pants. Rich brown leather belt with a gold buckle that matches the comfortable shoes perfectly. Egyptian coins fashioned into earrings. Golden round glasses that keep slipping over the nose, only to be pushed back up again.  

Picnic time: A loose, flowing midi dress with puff sleeves and a delicate floral print. Brown leather lace up boots. Hair in a long braid or up in a French twist, the comb covered in jeweled flowers or perhaps skulls. Rings on almost every finger, each one placed deliberately with an affirmation spoken softly on the lips: this one to protect, this one to offer insight, this one to help me remember. A picnic basket in one hand, worn leather satchel around the other shoulder filled with study materials to enjoy as deeply as the fresh fruit.

Dark academia aesthetic