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Caitlin Moran's How to Build a Girl Remains An Excellent Book That Should be Read By Probably Everyone

I remain a huge fan of this book. You should probably pre-order it. Maybe here since Amazon is the devil and independent bookstores are the future YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST (no you didn't).

Johanna's obsession with dudes remains nigh-incomprehensible to me, although it did make me flash back to age 12 when I was desperately in love with my brother's best friend (he looked like a teddy bear and gave me half a cookie once, which I was pretty sure meant we were definitely going to happen) and in what I deemed a subtle but cunning gesture, one day sat him down in my oldest brother's room (it had the only stereo in the house), put on the Hello Dolly new Broadway cast recording, and made him listen to me sing along to Irene Molloy's part of Dancing, which goes thusly:  


When there's someone you hardly know
And wish you were closer to
Remember that he can be near to you
While you're dancing
Though you've only just said hello
He's suddenly someone who can
Make all your daydreams appear to you
While you're dancing.


HE'LL NEVER FIGURE THAT ONE OUT, 12-YEAR-OLD SELF.


Basically exactly that

I'm completely over girls falling in love with boys who listen to The Smiths and quote Pablo Neruda and have crooked smiles, and I am DONE with them going on quirky escapades, and I love what Caitlin Moran does with Johanna and John Kite. Because sometimes you have nights like that. Where you meet someone who instantly gets you and you don't have to worry about being seen as weird and it's the most relaxing, wonderful thing in the world. And here you know that person for Johanna is the one who says "Broadly speaking, I never met a tree I didn't like — save the lime, which is an irredeemable cunt." 



 I love John Kite and want the fact that Johanna is 16 to be okay. She has a job! Like an adult person! She...yeah, I don't know how to make this right.

Moran also provided me with my first laugh of the day on Saturday. I'm a firm believer in laughing every day, only not in a "I should get this stitched on a pillow like a lame-o" kind of way. But I do believe it is important for your soul and for you not being a dick. Sometimes I forget how awesome laughing out loud is, and then I read something like this and remember:
The world below us has turned into a map. A real map! The woods look like the WOODLAND: DECIDUOUS markings of Ordnance Survey. It is just as they drew it! Who knew! Who knew you could put the whole world on paper, after all! The artists were right! This is so reassuring!
 I have split my one playlist into two, because one felt like it should be more samplery, and the other is more "These are the albums Dolly listened to to become who she wanted to be." So this is How to Build a Girl Complete Albums, and this is The Dolly Wilde Experience, which I have added to and it's more awesome now.

Not finishing this book in one fell stroke is really hard, but I am NOT DOING IT because readalong respect. Also I love Emily, who is hosting. So there's that to take into consideration as well.

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