A book of essays full of quiet but powerful observations. My copy has a lot of dog-ears and underlines, and I read it slowly and methodically because it seemed the best way to take in Chew-Bose's meditations. The title comes from a musing of Virginia Woolf's, and it's the perfect encapsulation of this book's vibe. It's all about Chew-Bose specifically, but her thoughts on inner life could speak to any reader. She's an introvert and bookish, and also a new term for me: a nook person. I think I may be one, too.

Some of the best parts of her essays were reflecting on her parents, her maternal lineage, being a daughter, and growing up in Canada with a name that signals her Indian heritage (or, a foreign heritage). That particular essay, "D as In" was a favorite of mine: "...I am first-generation and, in turn, proficient at splintering who I am in order to accommodate everyone else's environment."

I'm happy to have had time with this gem; it made me slow down and observe just a little bit more.