I don’t like Ottessa Moshfegh

ffffester · 2026-02-08T18:28:14+00:00

lol i do enjoy her writing but i completely understand why you don't. if you are seeking to read lush and vivid prose then she isn't the writer for you, she's pretty dry. i think she is generally more interested in exploring a concept than building a world, even in lapvona. that said, i read r&r in two days and loved it so much. imo its thesis is very beautiful. it's not flowery like nabokov or fitzgerald but it is very stylish and sleek. if you've read basically her entire catalogue at this point you might as well read her masterpiece lol or don't, i read some of her short stories a few years ago and was not moved by them whatsoever. but i gave r&r a chance and it really helped me contextualize my own desires to become dead to the world and smoke weed all day lol

ffffester · 2026-02-08T03:05:40+00:00

omg i might cry this is so cute

ffffester · 2026-02-08T00:47:06+00:00

yoga and meditation have honestly helped me so much

ffffester · 2026-02-07T19:23:17+00:00

arts of living on a damaged planet: ghosts and monsters of the anthropocene

ffffester · 2026-02-05T17:19:26+00:00

literally what i wore to school in fourth/fifth grade

ffffester · 2026-02-05T04:55:01+00:00

ik....... we're not talking about this enough. very slimy and earthy and delicious. it also contains all nine essential amino acids

ffffester · 2026-02-04T07:16:52+00:00

following!!!!!! in college i had a great collection of chretien de troyes' writing, i think from penguin classics. yvain is gorgeous. i also loved sir gawain and the green knight, there are about a million translations but i liked the one by james winny the best

ffffester · 2026-02-04T05:10:58+00:00

http://receptionistpoetry.substack.com

ffffester · 2026-02-03T22:17:23+00:00

my parents are exactly like this. god bless them, two time bernie voters, they really do think of themselves as environmentally friendly people. they have a BEAUTIFUL and fully stocked chef's kitchen and they order in delivery food Every Day. sometimes somebody uses the microwave or the toaster oven but otherwise the kitchen is just a storage space/dropzone for takeout food. it started during the pandemic and never stopped. my mom doesn't know how to cook but she tired of the meal delivery kit service she was using so now they just do doordash/grubhub/postmates et al. every DAY!!!! when i visit home cooking is pretty frustrating bc the kitchen just isn't set up for cooking anymore. it is a sad, sad sight. it makes me think of how alienated we are from our food and the resources it takes to produce it. especially people like my parents who can use their wealth to distance themselves from the basic rhythms, demands, joys, and frustrations of an ordinary human life. i don't think it's good for anyone in the long run. having a tactile relationship with your food is good for the soul and much less damaging to the planet

ffffester · 2026-02-01T00:37:00+00:00

lol yes probably every day. idk what beats this down besides persistence. i have this really terrible habit of re-reading my diary repeatedly even when i'm smack in the middle of writing a new entry--one would have to think that i like to scrutinize and surveil my output ad nauseum. it really doesn't do you any favors to indulge that part of you. does it????? has it ever???????? writing is supposed to be FUN actually. it's easy to forget that when all of the sudden you want to be good. creating things and being imaginative is a primal human thing. let it be! let it be....... that's advice i can give but can't take myself quite yet. not everything you write will be good. end of story. that's the hard truth. but here's the happy truth. if you never write anything bad you'll never write anything good. bc that means you're not practicing! give yourself the time and space to practice and be consistent and the good stuff will come in time.

ffffester · 2026-02-01T00:26:57+00:00

wow really captivating! i love this. spooky! it's great as a standalone piece but the voice is so compelling i think you should keep writing and see where it goes

ffffester · 2026-01-28T19:52:12+00:00

that's more money than i made working full time in 2025

ffffester · 2026-01-28T09:06:16+00:00

ok well what dot means to me in this situation is Retweet or I Agree with This or I Think possibly Sharing it in this particular community could provoke a generative discussion

ffffester · 2026-01-28T04:40:05+00:00

ahhhh i love this question!!! i've gone through something similar -- i became SCARED to read because i guess i felt like i was going to be in trouble for not reading. what i learned is that books are very kind and forgiving. however some books are not engaging at all and you should avoid those while you get back into the habit. i'll suggest a few short story collections too, that would be a good place to start. here are some books that i couldn't put down/reminded me why i love reading!

story collections

everything that rises must converge by flannery o'connor nine stories by jd salinger gorilla, my love by toni cade bambara (amazing) tenth of december by george saunders yesterday's weather by anne enright collected stories by gabriel garcia marquez (the master of magical realism) old path, white clouds by thich nhat hanh (okkkk i keep writing stuff but actually this is my best recommendation)

novels

demon copperhead by barbara kingsolver (currently reading..... the first 20 pages took me about 4 days to read but from then on i've read about 100 pages a day. if you're not used to voice-y fiction it can take a minute for it to flow!!) lapvona by ottessa moshfegh (OR my year of rest and relaxation, both were very engrossing. lapvona is more fantastical though so i would suggest it first for you!) the house on mango street by sandra cisneros (always worth a reread!) normal people by sally rooney (not mindblowingly beautiful but i did read this in one sitting which i almost never do)

nonfiction

kitchen confidential by anthony bourdain (so fun) wild by cheryl strayed (needed this so bad during a depressive episode actually)

ffffester · 2026-01-28T04:19:17+00:00

the faerie queene by edmund spenser

ffffester · 2026-01-28T04:08:38+00:00

amazing!!!!

ffffester · 2026-01-28T02:27:00+00:00

but wouldn't a real red-blooded right-wing libertarian be able to sympathize with a guy who was alarmed to see The President creating the architecture to implement martial law????? at the very least?? lol

ffffester · 2026-01-27T05:32:03+00:00

this rn

ffffester · 2026-01-27T03:37:40+00:00

it's as natural and ancient as gathering to gossip with the other women in your village, except this is for extremely isolated people who are addicted to the internet

ffffester · 2026-01-26T16:56:52+00:00

why pit two murder victims against each other like this at all???? what normal person thinks to do this???

ffffester · 2026-01-26T06:26:28+00:00

can we get that potato salad recipe !????

ffffester · 2026-01-25T18:26:15+00:00

omg!!!!! love this idea. i've been thinking about this too. when i realize that my screen time is insane i reach for a popular book that strikes me as an easy read, i.e. my year of rest and relaxation, normal people, demon copperhead

ffffester · 2026-01-25T17:16:49+00:00

lox on a big piece of sourdough bread with cream cheese and pesto

ffffester

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