Victoria Brown
Bio
twenty-three & longing.
lover of words, tea, & antiques.
Stories (46/0)
Normal People
Sally Rooney’s Normal People was not a novel I wanted to like. Call me a cliché, but I don’t like falling for things that are popular simply because they are popular on social media. I don’t want to be seen as a conformist, I want to be taken seriously based on my own thoughts and merit. But, pride aside, I’m glad I gave this novel another try based on a recommendation. Normal People destroyed my heart, and now has the honor of being the only book to make me cry. Marianne and Connell’s relationship seemingly put three years of my life into words, causing my heart to ache at every similar moment. I can now see why Normal People is popular from both a literary standpoint and an emotions based one. Marianne and Connell’s relationship is so deep and is able to withstand years and distance due to the lack of understanding and depth they have with other people in their lives, and because of their complex relationship and innermost thoughts, people fall towards the novel and find parts of themselves in it.
By Victoria Brown2 years ago in Geeks
June '22 Reads
Another six book month, although I felt in sort of a rut this month. It took me a while to finish them all – I start multiple books at a time so I don’t get bored – and I DNF’d (Did Not Finish) my first book of 2022. Sorry, Bubble in the Sun! Overall, I did enjoy my June reads and my star average for all six was 3.7 out of 5, which seems to be on par for me.
By Victoria Brown2 years ago in Geeks
You Know Me Well & The Fragility of Friendship
My first new read of 2022. And yes, of course, it’s another YA book. What can I say? I like what I like. Or maybe, just maybe, I’m still drawn to the genre because I’m still holding onto something that could have been, that was never truly there.
By Victoria Brown2 years ago in Geeks
Franny & Disillusionment
Franny. Oh, Franny, Franny, Franny. I read “Franny” – the first half of J. D. Salinger’s Franny and Zooey – and I had to stop. Much like my heart ached for Salinger’s Holden Caulfield, my heart ached for Franny Glass, though in a different way. My heart ached for Holden and his anger and disillusionment with the world; a fictional crush spanning his decades and my years. A crush alive at twenty-one just like it was at sixteen. I’ve never stopped looking for a touch of Caulfield in every man I’ve encountered.
By Victoria Brown2 years ago in Geeks
A Little Something Different & What It Taught Me About Writing
I like to reread books, what can I say? I love reading about and buying books, but actually reading them is another story. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org where your purchases support local bookstores. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
By Victoria Brown2 years ago in Geeks
Little Fires Everywhere & The Complexity of the Mother-Daughter Relationship
Finally finished my first non-YA read of the year and it was a good one. Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org where your purchases support local bookstores. I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.
By Victoria Brown2 years ago in Geeks
May '22 Reads
May was another hot and heavy reading month; although, this time, there were only five books conquered. I hit a slight reading slump, but I haven’t come to terms with the idea of “DNF’ing” books. On one hand, I applaud those who do, but on the other hand, I believe there’s something to be taken from every book read. Or rather, every piece of media consumed.
By Victoria Brown2 years ago in Geeks
April '22 Reads
I read six books in April, which, for most people, is a lot. More than some people read in a year. More than some people have read in years. And to be honest, I hadn’t read that much since high school, since before college – where I majored in English – took over, since before life took over. I was reading so much that there wasn’t time to write about each book I read. Or rather, I didn’t make time to write about each book.
By Victoria Brown2 years ago in Geeks
The Spectacular Now & Youth
My favorite quote from Tim Tharp’s The Spectacular Now comes from the last page: “That’s the one-two punch right there, wanting to love and wanting to be loved” (pg 294). It’s hard to love at seventeen, eighteen, twenty-one, twenty-three. Harder to love when it’s one-sided, or stuck in the purgatory of living life and “what do I do now?”.
By Victoria Brown2 years ago in Geeks
Looking for Alaska & Morality and Invincibility of Youth
“Someday no one will remember that she ever existed” is the only line I have underlined in John Green’s Looking for Alaska, and while annotating is hit or miss for me, there is something to be said with that line (pg186). I am petrified for death. Petrified of not waking up someday, being lost in my own oblivion for eternity. Whenever someone dies, I get overwhelmed in the moments of thought - much like Pudge and the Colonel - but it leaves my mind relatively soon - much unlike Pudge and the Colonel.
By Victoria Brown2 years ago in Geeks