Blythe Rennie

Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr

Being an overthinker and an underdoer is tough

I’m a huge Hemingway fan. I’ve read everything Faulkner, Joyce, Ellison, Twain, and Brontë have ever written. I even own the complete library Dickens collection, all 28 volumes. And do you know which books have taught me the most about life? Calvin and Hobbes.

Learning in school is not enough. You must continue to teach yourself throughout your life. Study history, read myths, memorize poems, get acquainted with the greatest philosophers & writers. In an age when tech is cooking many brains, we need an army of autodidacts.

Tell us the book!!

If I could be any ice cream topping I would be caramel because I too have gotten progressively saltier since the 90s

Okay, technically classes started last Wednesday. But September 1 being a Monday is particularly satisfying, so today is the *real* first day of school 👩🏼‍🏫📝🤓🍎

purely illustrative photo showing off some of my favorite books

I read 186 books in the first six months of this year. In today's essay (link below) I explain how I did it, and how you can rekindle your love of reading and become a voracious reader in an age of distraction.

You wouldn't do that, would you?

What Kids Told Us About How to Get Them Off Their Phones Children who were raised on screens need more freedom out in the real world.

Kids being raised on screens long for real freedom. It’s like they’re homesick for a world they’ve never known. New by me, Lenore Skenazy & Zach Rausch in @theatlantic.com
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

People say, “if you’re not using AI to write, you’ll be left behind!” meanwhile study after study has shown severe and immediate cognitive decline in those who use it regularly. I’m still capable of reading and have a functioning brain, so who’s really being left behind here?

Not enough people understand that a world where no one reads books is just as bad as a world without any books. Those who seek to make you illiterate don't need to burn books. They just need to take away any interest in reading them.

Whoa! Stunning. Très cool

Let’s seeee

#BookSky

I just walked past this bridge, right as the metro went by, just as in the photo. The Eiffel Tower is just out of sight on the right. #Paris

Very unpopular opinion but I think in a healthier world our schools would teach the so-called “useless things”: Latin, old poetry, classic cinema, how to read and enjoy challenging novels. Studying these things won’t make you a better person. But they will give you a better life.

Agreed. I think it’s because it’s not actually about surfing. (I mean, it is. But it isn’t.)

Starting my summer rereading a comfort fave 🌊

Words for the Weekend 🥳

Pick your winner ⭐️

A B
C D

(Follow for more)

These all make me wealsome! Trunnel is the most fun to say, but grimlins has the best meaning. Those are the magic hours ✨

I asked the ILT custodian if he had any last comment this Tuesday night before he locked up:

The Tuesday scowls, the Wednesday growls, the Thursday curses, the Friday howls, the Saturday snores, the Sunday yawns, the Monday morns, the Monday morns. The whacks, the moans, the cracks, the groans...

"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities."

— Voltaire

Happy #ShakespeareSunday, everyone!

This week's theme: BOOKS and LIBRARIES.

It's often said that Shakespeare intuitively understood the human condition: the things which drive us; the moral dilemmas we face; what makes us cry, rage, love, or laugh.

B for Beneficence! I hope we all are 🙏🏼

Good morning, all you meddling kids. I suppose you'll be tooling around in your VW buses today, smoking weed and bringing down the greedy and villainous. Hop to it.

#BookSky

Shall we all go out walking tomorrow, do you think?

not to be sentimental but I think it’s beautiful that libraries exist and are free and that we can use them. I love that there are so many bookish folk who are always reading and learning. I’m so glad to live in a world where there are books.