Find A Reading Buddy discussion

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara buddy read!! :)

So do you want to read a set amount each day or go at our own paces? I don't mind either

ella wrote: "if ur interested in doing this w me, message me, i’m really struggling to get through it 🥲"

I'd be fine if you joined us, it can be a really hard book to get through alone :)

yes ella pls join us!!

i already finished part one (lispenard street) so once y'all finish that part we can discuss.

since the chapters are long we can discuss after every chapter maybe?

so update me on where y'all are at

I’m like in chapter 2 in part 1 I think

okie dokie let's discuss when everyone has finished part 1

I'm going to try to finish part 1 tomorrow. I meant to get through it today but just didn't ever pick it up so I'll try again tomorrow

no rush!! do what you need to do Al!

Ok so I finished the first part and so far Malcolm and Willem are my favorites. The writing is really dense tho and it takes me forever to read one page

i love willem sm!!! you're gonna love him so much more as the book goes on

and yeah i agree i read like one chapter and stopped reading for like 2 months it's hard to get through

but once it gets going it really gets going

abby cadabby wrote: "but once it gets going it really gets going"

I really started getting into it in the last couple of pages of part 1 so I have hopes :)

yeah don't worry it gets better

you'll find out why she made the first part kinda slow tho

after i read it the first time i was glad she put the first part in there

i love this one part on pg 23

"But Jude was always there. He has never had a girlfriend or a boyfriend, and he had always spent the night in their room, his presence beneath Willem's bunk as familiar and constant as the sea."

i relate to jude in this sense a lot cause he's always alone and always there for people but no one is there for him

and this part on pg 24 makes me JAIDUEJEIDJDH

"Beside him, Jude trembled and shook as if chilled, and Willem took the comforter off his own bed and wrapped it around him. At one point he reached under the blanket and found Jude's hand and prised open his fist so he could hold his damp, callused palm. It had been a long time since he had held another guy's hand -- not since his own brother's surgery many years ago -- and he was surprised by how strong Jude's grip was, how muscular his fingers. Jude shuddered and chattered his teeth for hours, and eventually Willem lah down beside him and fell asleep. The next morning, he woke in Jude's bed with his hand throbbing, and when he examined the back of it he saw bruised smudges where Jude's fingers had clenched him."

I’m so scared for the later parts 😭

like pls this is so intimate and adorable i just love it

oh you should be omfg it gets.....well i won't spoil it

i'm gonna share some more quotes that i like real quick lmao

i don't really like JB but this part is really cute

"...the truth was that Jude was his favorite of the three of them to paint. He was the most beautiful of them, with the most interesting face and the most unusual coloring, and he was the shyest, and so pictures of him always felt more precious than ones of the others."

i think it's really interesting how JB sees Jude. he sees his beauty and his unique features. he sees him from an artist's perspective, seeing only the outward qualities cause that's all he has to paint.

throughout the book it's super interesting how each of the friends sees Jude. they all see him in a slightly different light.

"There were times when the pressure to achieve happiness felt almost oppressive, as if happiness were something that everyone should and could attain, and that any sort of compromise in its pursuit was somehow your fault."

this one right here. omfg. i can't.

this part in the end of chapter 3 in part one GETS ME EVERY TIME

"Willem crouched beside him. His elation was gone, replaced by something else. He felt himself weirdly close to tears, although he couldn't have said why.
'Jude,' he began, but he didn't look know how to continue.
'You'd better get them,' Jude said, and although each word came out as a gasp, he smiled at Willem again.
'Fuck 'em,' he said, 'I'll stay here with you, ' and Jude laughed a little, although he winced as he did so, and carefully tipped himself backward until he was lying on his side, and Willem helped lift his legs up onto the bed."

okay that's all i wanna share

i'm gonna start part 2 (the postman). we should just read on our own pace and come back when we're done with pt2.

Yeah, I'll start on part two tomorrow also. I also don't like JB that much. He isn't particularly bad, but he just kind of gets on my nerves.

abby cadabby wrote: "this part in the end of chapter 3 in part one GETS ME EVERY TIME

"Willem crouched beside him. His elation was gone, replaced by something else. He felt himself weirdly close to tears, although he ..."

Also, this part made me feel happy. I remember reading it and just being like: aww☺

yanagihara writes these friendships so well i adore them all so much

all the characters are also so real and full people on their own and i love reading about them

malcolm is so kind and sweet and just such a good man

i LOOOVE malcolm

So I finished part two earlier today and I absolutely love Harold and Julia and their relationship with Jude. I'm still not liking JB that much and the writing is still hard for me to get through.

i haven't finished part two yet sorry i've been working a lot

i'll let you know when i'm done :)

abby cadabby wrote: "i haven't finished part two yet sorry i've been working a lot"

That’s fine take all of the time you need :)

thank you al! you're so sweet