Gorgeous post! I love O, Caledonia. I think I wrote about it in one of my first Substack Love Lists- that tiny sub-genre of coming of age novels set in castles (I Capture the Castle, We Have Always Lived in the Castle...) is my favourite! 🖤 Thank you for the mention, too.
Thank you, Laura! I'm so pleased O, Caledonia found you too. I *love* that you've put a name to a type of book I find inspiring - "coming of age novels set in castles"! I'm a big fan of We Have Always Lived in the Castle, too, and another favourite is Christian Miller's memoir "A Childhood In Scotland". I think the first line is something like, "When I was growing up the ghosts felt more real than the people" - a beautiful read :)
Another great post. You mentioned O, Caledonia which I wasn't familiar with and writing notes in the margins along with underlined passages. Funny because as I read your post, I want to underline passages or highlight sentences and add notes in the margins too. After reading, I had to look up O, Caledonia and read some reviews and a synopsis. Just ordered a copy and it will jump to the top of the pile in my "To Read" stack. Your suggestion of Nan Shepherd turned out just wonderful so I'm sure this will be a fun book too. Pretty soon, Amazon will need to send you royalties for book suggestion sales! 🙂 Thank you Kate for the amazing writing as always.
Hearing that you'd underline bits of my writing is a wonderful feeling, thank you. And I'm so glad you've decided to read O, Caledonia! One of my all-time favourites. Always happy to share great books :)
'Because I must' is where I've landed with my reason for writing, too. Because I'm heartbroken, want to figure myself out, know who I am, dream, imagine, escape—all of this has coalesced into the one sentiment of 'I must.'
This is why I also know that I will never stop writing. It is as essential to my wellbeing as breathing—how can I give it up now? There is a peace in knowing how non-negotiable the act of writing is in my life; if I don't write, I'm not a full person.
Your post mirrored to me why I write and want to continue to write. I hope this and similar responses always add to your reasons as well.
Gorgeous post! I love O, Caledonia. I think I wrote about it in one of my first Substack Love Lists- that tiny sub-genre of coming of age novels set in castles (I Capture the Castle, We Have Always Lived in the Castle...) is my favourite! 🖤 Thank you for the mention, too.
Thank you, Laura! I'm so pleased O, Caledonia found you too. I *love* that you've put a name to a type of book I find inspiring - "coming of age novels set in castles"! I'm a big fan of We Have Always Lived in the Castle, too, and another favourite is Christian Miller's memoir "A Childhood In Scotland". I think the first line is something like, "When I was growing up the ghosts felt more real than the people" - a beautiful read :)
Ohhhh! That sounds exactly my kind of book! Off to order immediately 🖤
Another great post. You mentioned O, Caledonia which I wasn't familiar with and writing notes in the margins along with underlined passages. Funny because as I read your post, I want to underline passages or highlight sentences and add notes in the margins too. After reading, I had to look up O, Caledonia and read some reviews and a synopsis. Just ordered a copy and it will jump to the top of the pile in my "To Read" stack. Your suggestion of Nan Shepherd turned out just wonderful so I'm sure this will be a fun book too. Pretty soon, Amazon will need to send you royalties for book suggestion sales! 🙂 Thank you Kate for the amazing writing as always.
Hearing that you'd underline bits of my writing is a wonderful feeling, thank you. And I'm so glad you've decided to read O, Caledonia! One of my all-time favourites. Always happy to share great books :)
'Because I must' is where I've landed with my reason for writing, too. Because I'm heartbroken, want to figure myself out, know who I am, dream, imagine, escape—all of this has coalesced into the one sentiment of 'I must.'
This is why I also know that I will never stop writing. It is as essential to my wellbeing as breathing—how can I give it up now? There is a peace in knowing how non-negotiable the act of writing is in my life; if I don't write, I'm not a full person.
Your post mirrored to me why I write and want to continue to write. I hope this and similar responses always add to your reasons as well.