Home > Work > The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
41 " As a child she'd been told she had ADD, or ADHD, or some other acronym, but her school librarian had simply clicked her tongue and told her she was imaginative and creative and couldn't be expected to wait for everyone else to catch up. "
― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill
42 " I want to be with you the way you are, the way you’re going to be, and the way you end up. Every way you are is beautiful to me. "
43 " The trivia, the reading, the book club...they were simply weapons of self-defense. "
44 " Your cat registered a complaint by standing on my eyeball. "
45 " Nina’s voice was small. “So what do I do?” “I don’t know, baby. The first thing you should always do is . . .” Louise waited. “Nothing. The first thing you should always do is nothing.” Nina supplied the answer Louise had often provided over the years. “That’s right. Wait a day or two and see what happens. Life needs space, just like you. Give it room. "
46 " Anxiety is what kept us alive, back in the day. It helps us know when things are wrong, when situations are dangerous or people mean us harm. It's just sometimes it gets ahead of itself, right? "
47 " Libraries were her favorite places, and when she traveled, she would start out at the local library, thus immediately identifying herself as a total nerd. "
48 " Book nerds are daredevils, as you know. "
49 " Actually insane, as in mentally ill, or mad as a hatter insane? "
50 " Millie was watching her. “He loved books, like we do.” Nina nodded. “You would have liked him.”Nina ran her fingers along the spines of her father’s books, pausing at a well-worn copy of The Human Comedy by Saroyan. She smiled. “Well, I like his books, which is essentially the same thing. "
51 " He wasn’t a poet, but whatever. She wasn’t a competitive skier. It didn’t matter what they weren’t; it only mattered who they were. "
52 " Sister,” she said, “you need to work on your banter. "
53 " It’s this occasional hit of success that makes for a real addict. The breakthrough was always imminent; there was always something about to happen. In the dim interstices between flashes of hope you make your life. "
54 " she thought of books as medication and sanctuary and the source of all good things. "
55 " if you can’t put language around an experience or feeling it’s because it’s from your earliest childhood, before speech, when everything was inexplicable and overwhelming. "
56 " as beautiful as any cathedral, and Nina had looked around and realized she would never run out of things to read, and that certainty filled her with peace and satisfaction. It didn’t matter what hit the fan; as long as there were unread books in the world, she would be fine. Being surrounded by books was the closest she’d ever gotten "
57 " Maybe there is no real thing for anyone. Maybe all of us change depending on where we are and who we’re with.” “And that’s why you like to be alone.” Eliza looked at her and smiled. “How do you mean?” “Because you prefer who you are when you’re alone.” Nina shrugged. “It takes a lot of energy to be with other people. It’s easier to be myself when there’s no one else there. "
58 " We’re family; you can ignore us completely. We’re like succulents: Minor occasional attention is entirely sufficient. "
59 " She sometimes made lists of things she’d already done solely so she could cross them off, which she couldn’t help feeling was pretty pathetic but strangely satisfying. "
60 " Surely her purpose in life wasn't simply to read as many books as possible? "