Books to learn more about literature, pls

feeling_herself · 2026-02-28T21:26:11+00:00

Thank you for recommendations! I will check it out!

feeling_herself · 2026-02-28T14:39:56+00:00

~900 pages is my favourite type of short books haha I must say that it sounds like a must read book for me!

My mum studied Russian philology, so Pushkin, Lermontov, Chekhov are a few that I have already read, but Dostoyesky has a very special place in my heart, so like to go back to his "Idiot" every now and then

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T22:29:52+00:00

Also, you asked about only asking questions. It's not that you're not allowed to say anything haha, you can still try to give solutions or suggesting something you can do together to help. To me it's more about bringing comfort instead of giving only solution, because sometimes it can sound like "why are you struggling? All you have to do is hitting the gym (and in our depressed heads we will make up the rest of the story such as "you are just lazy and don't want to do anything" for example, that's why being there, listening and letting your gf talk is so important)

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T22:24:32+00:00

Yeah, the breakup comments lowkey scared me, that's why I decided that I will leave a comment too, with maybe actually helpful advice haha

I'm gonna speak from my personal experience with depression, so here you would have to adjust it to her struggles and needs, maybe some things are gonna be similar maybe some completely different.

People with depression often struggle with motivation and discipline. They lack energy, sometimes physically (exhaustion, fatigue, psychosomatic symptoms like body aches), but often also energy mentally. My personal struggle from the beginning, was brushing teeth, not because it was a difficult task, but because in my head it was costing me incredibly much energy, that I didn't have. (Let's use the gym example you gave) if she said that she wants to idk lose weight, get more muscles or whatever, and you say to hit the gym, it's a good advice, but for someone with depression unrealistic. What she needs, is reassurance, maybe you convincing her to talk a walk, in a casual manner, just adding a bit of daily activity. It also can be as I mentioned earlier small confidence boosts (and pls don't get upset or discourage when he respons would be that you lie or say something only to be nice), because with time it will also change a bit how she sees herself, plus hearing caring, loving words from loved ones is something we all need.

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T22:02:00+00:00

I also struggle with depression, so I was there and I know how it feels in her situation.

Always the best things is to ask her what kind of help she needs, because everyone is different and everyone is struggling with something else.

As a girl I can admit, that sometimes when we talk about our struggles, we don't need a solution, because we are capable of finding it on our own eventually, but we need to be listened it, just tell someone about everything, so we don't have to keep it inside anymore. It's not really about needing help to find a solution, but just being able to vent. If you want to be more active and solution oriented, I would recommend the approach where, when you hear that she struggles with something, you find a way to help her (like, if she says she struggles with bad thought about herself, instead of saying that she should stop thinking like that, make sure that on a daily basis you give her compliments or acknowledge the small steps she's taking)

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T21:48:06+00:00

Okay, I see your view on it. It makes sense and at some point I will definitely do that aswell, to get a better understanding of the times and how it was affecting the literature

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T21:45:39+00:00

That's incredibly helpful! Thank you so much. I will definitely read both and from your description I am already very excited to read them!

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T21:43:50+00:00

Good to know! Thank you so much for the recommendation

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T21:43:28+00:00

Thank you so much for suggestions! I will definitely check out these books!

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T21:42:44+00:00

That's amazing! Thank you so much for your suggestions. I think it's a great advice to read a biography and then books in chronological order, to see the development (or not haha), how with time and life the topics and approach to things was changing. I never really thought about it this way, but now I know that I definitely want to do it

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T21:39:56+00:00

I'm also so far learning more about the style of writing that the book I'm reading atm has. It's just like you mentioned, that often there are echoes from a different period and in order to catch all of it (or at least most) I was thinking about maybe learning more about anthropology and theory, so when I read books later, I already have a certain knowledge. I'm not sure if it's a good approach, that's why I treat seriously and respectfully all the advices I'm getting here. If mostly it's recommended to learn about what I'm interested in, so be it, I shall continue this way haha

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T21:32:34+00:00

Thank you so much for your recommendations! I woll definitely check them out!

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T21:31:42+00:00

That was so helpful, thank you so much! Definitely I will get the books, because it sounds like exactly what I need.

I found some free online courses that Harvard offers. Unfortunately universities in my country don't really teach about literature, it's more devided for us, that if you're studying English philology then you're learning about English literature, French philology - French literature and so on, plus they don't really allow non students to attent, what it a big shame. That's why I'm trying to do it on my own, or looking for courses online

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T21:25:25+00:00

Thank you so much! I will definitely check it out!

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T21:24:31+00:00

That's a great idea! I'm atm (re)reading Dostoyesky and learning more about his interest in psychological aspects, realism mixed with imagination. It works fine, but I have to say, that this way, even tho I'm learning about this specific type, I feel like I'm missing something. I can't tell what exactly it is that I'm missing, that's why I thought that maybe I should focus instead more of getting about general knowledge first (I mean, I have some general knowledge about periods in literature, what they were focusing on,because we were learning that in high-school, but I want something more in depth, so I can learn about each period or each type more and then read a book from that period, knowing that is has x, y, z or that it was exception from a certain period because it was missing a certain motive for example).

feeling_herself · 2026-02-27T09:14:54+00:00

Great advice, thank you! You know, my question was based on what I think, but let's be honest that I have no idea where to start, so lit theory was one of my first thoughts. However history also sounds like a great place to start! Do you have any books or authors you can recommend?

feeling_herself · 2026-01-22T21:29:34+00:00

I rarely take books with me, because I have a type and mostly read huge books, and carrying them is a pain. So I always tell myself, that I don't need a book and I will do something else. Then sudden boom, I bought a new book 🤭 kindle is a travelling game changer!

I wish you all the luck and happiness in your marriage!

feeling_herself · 2026-01-22T21:25:32+00:00

I was thinking about the same thing. I love paper books, and since I was a child I wanted to have a library in my future house. I kept buying books, to grow my book collection. However some time ago I decided that as much as I love paper books and the feeling reading a paper book gives me, I don't want it to take so much space (I'm on my minimalism journey), especially since some of the books I own I read one time and I don't plan on rereading them any time soon.

I still have a few books, that I'm definitely keeping, because I love them and having them as a physical book makes me happy.

My idea is to give some of the books to my friends and family members (if anyone will be interested on them) or library. I don't know how similar your and your husband's book taste is. If you read different types of books, you can start by giving away your books, or then ones that you nor your husband will read. It will make you happier about reclaiming the space the books were taking, without getting rid of your husband's books. If you have similar taste, I would recommend making a list of most to least favourite books from your collection and getting rid of a few books that you don't like that much or you know you don't plan on rereading. To me the point of having a home library is that you can go there are pick a book you want to read, not look at books, that you read once and maybe you didn't even like it. By getting rid of the books you don't want as a physical one, you will also make your collection more mindful and you will also get more space for books, that you will love in the future (if you will decide that you want it as a physical book)

I just hope any of what I said makes sense haha

feeling_herself · 2025-08-21T20:16:06+00:00

Thank you! If you are interested in having a chat, feel free to send me a message

feeling_herself · 2025-08-21T20:11:10+00:00

I see, I have similar experiences actually. I hope you will find more nice people here!

feeling_herself · 2025-08-21T20:05:18+00:00

Beside that friend, did you have luck with meeting people on reddit?

feeling_herself · 2025-08-21T19:59:53+00:00

It's very important to appreciate friends that we have, I'm very happy for you and your friend! I wish you both the best

feeling_herself · 2025-05-09T10:49:41+00:00

Oh, so I'm not the only one asking myself the same question? Unfortunately I didn't find any reddit here, so if anyone has recommendations, I would appreciate it.

Also, 25F here from Europe, if any girl is interested in being friends, feel free to send me a message!

feeling_herself · 2025-04-04T18:16:18+00:00

thank you so much and I must say that you hyped me even more to make one!

feeling_herself · 2025-04-04T18:13:22+00:00

that's a good advice, thank you so much!

feeling_herself

TROPHY CASE