The Bookish Life of Nina Hill QUOTES

101 " Nina worried she liked being alone too much; it was the only time she ever fully relaxed. People were...exhausting. They made her anxious... She enjoyed people--she really did--she just needed to take them in homeopathic doses; a little of the poison was the cure. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

102 " Candice Hill had grown up in the darkest Australian wilds of the 1980s, where, reportedly, the women glowed and the men plundered, but no one had a cell phone. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

103 " Parents get stuck in the amber of childhood. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

104 " It was actually more like this: Nina would get up and her head would hurt because she drank wine that was at least 30 percent sulfites or whatever it is that causes headaches. Her mouth would feel like the inside of one of those single socks you see on the street sometimes, and her hair would be depressed. She would stand slightly crouched by the coffee maker and shiver until the coffee was done. Sometimes her glassy eyes would rest on her visualization corner and she would resent the steady way the planet whirled around the sun without consulting her at all. Day after day, night after night, rinse and repeat. Basically, until the first slug of caffeine hit her system, she was essentially in suspended animation, and she’d been known to drool. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

105 " back when you called someone on the phone and had to physically lift a receiver to talk to them.” “Weird,” said Polly. “Yeah,” said Liz, “you couldn’t hide behind a veil of casual, the way you guys all do. But you could slam the phone very loudly, which was satisfying.” You could also have a private life, she thought to herself, and not get haunted forever by poor decisions, but decided not to rub it in. It wasn’t as though millennials didn’t know what they’d lost; they simply weighed it up against everything they’d gained and decided it was probably a wash. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

106 " Life tends toward chaos, sadly... It's all very well to have a plan - its a good idea - but you have to be able to walk away from it if you need to. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

107 " The Larchmont Spring Festival was, as you might expect, an annual affair. There was cotton candy and sno-cones, there were hot dogs and burgers, and the scent of burning onions blended beautifully with Los Angeles’s signature perfume: sunscreen and money. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

108 " I watched you and Edward. People who are going to kiss do it with their eyes first. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

109 " What if she suddenly had a seizure and broke her pencil? Her brain smash-cut to a slo-mo of her falling to the ground, the pencil snapping under her, pieces of wood and graphite flicking across the floor. She really needed to get laid; this kind of daydreaming couldn’t possibly be a good sign. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

110 " I’m sorry he was a loser, Nina. But you’re a big girl now; you can handle this.” And with that she hung up. Nina sighed and wondered if she would ever be a mom herself and, if she were, would she be any better at it than her own mother was. As a child, Nina had been sad her mother wasn’t there, because everyone else seemed to think it was sad. Then, as a teenager, she’d been angry with her absent mother and blamed her for her own anxiety and shyness. Now, as an adult, she’d come to the conclusion that her mother being away all the time had probably been a blessing. Her nanny, Louise, had been a wonderful mother, and her mother had been a wonderful photographer. Biology is not destiny, and love is not proportionate to shared DNA. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

111 " Is he gone?” Nina nodded. “You must pay the rent,” she said. “I can’t pay the rent,” replied Liz. “You MUST pay the rent,” Nina insisted. “I can’t pay the rent,” said Liz, again. Nina assumed a Dudley Do-Right voice. “I’LL pay the rent!” and Liz sighed, “My hero!” and then they went about their day. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

112 " Nina checked that everyone had their pencils handy, and spare paper for notes. No one else needed paper and pencil, of course—she was the one who filled in the answers—but she liked everyone to be prepared. What if she suddenly had a seizure and broke her pencil? Her brain smash-cut to a slo-mo of her falling to the ground, the pencil snapping under her, pieces of wood and graphite flicking across the floor. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

113 " In Nina’s imaginary life, which was the one she wished she were leading, rather than the one she’d been handed at birth, she would get up, wash her face with a variety of responsibly sourced products, shower in one of those showers with multiple heads (though she often wondered what happened when you bent down for the shampoo—Did you get a blast of water full in the face? That seemed rude), and then dress herself in comfortable but stylish clothes made of natural fibers picked by well-paid workers. Are you following all this? Then she would breakfast on fresh fruit and whole grains and yogurt made from milk freely donated by goats who had more than they needed for themselves. She would be grateful and mindful and not in any way blemished. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

114 " On the way to work, Nina felt pretty chirpy, and put in her earbuds and pretended she was in a movie, smiling at all the people who passed her and saying hello to the dogs. She had this fantasy a lot, that her life was like The Truman Show, that audiences all over the world were enjoying her playlist and hairstyle as much as she was. She would angle her face to the sun to help the lighting guy, or look over her shoulder to give the camera back there something to do. In public Nina was a quiet, reserved person; in private she was an all-singing, all-dancing cavalcade of light and motion. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

115 " I think you’re nuts.” Polly shrugged. “That might be true, but it doesn’t mean I’m wrong. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

116 " Nina looked at her. 'Everyone describes him so differently.' She paused, unsure. 'He was one guy, but there's no consensus about what he was like. For Peter's mom, he was a blowhard who drank too much; for Millie, he was the kindest man in the world who made endless time for her.'

Eliza shrugged. 'People change. There's forty years between the William that Peter's mom knew and the William that Millie knew. Parents get stuck in the amber of childhood, right? Whenever my parents visit, I feel myself becoming a cranky fourteen-year-old. I saw William through the lens of being his wife; I look at Millie only as her mother... You see what I mean?'

'Sure. So I'll never see my dad properly, only through the filter of other people's opinions.'

'Or maybe it'll average out and you'll be the only one who sees the real him.'

Nina laughed. '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.'

'Some people take energy; some people give energy... Occasionally, you get lucky and find someone whose energy balances your own and brings you into neutral.' She paused. 'My God, I've been in Malibu too long. I said that completely without irony.'

Nina laughed. 'It was really convincing. I think I even heard a tiny temple bell ringing somewhere...'

Eliza made a face at herself. 'Your dad used to say being with me was as good as being alone.' Eliza laughed. 'I think he meant it as a complement.' The two women looked at each other. 'I think we're overthinking this,' said Eliza. 'More wine? "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

117 " Most commonplace things started out strange. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

118 " Nina worried she liked being alone too much; it was the only time she ever fully relaxed. People were . . . exhausting. They made her anxious. Leaving her apartment every morning was the turning over of a giant hourglass, the mental energy she’d stored up overnight eroding grain by grain. She refueled during the day by grabbing moments of solitude and sometimes felt her life was a long-distance swim between islands of silence. She enjoyed people—she really did—she just needed to take them in homeopathic doses; a little of the poison was the cure. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

119 " She must have drifted off, because when she opened her eyes again, he was gone and Phil was sitting in the chair instead. “Rough day?” asked the cat. “Terrible,” she replied. “I can catch you a mouse if you like,” he offered. “Protein is good for you.” “I’m good,” she said, closing her eyes again. The cat watched her face and yawned. “Liar,” he said. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

120 " she wasn’t mean; she was painfully accurate. "

― Abbi Waxman , The Bookish Life of Nina Hill