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Survival by Book
College, a Love Story
001: Survival By Book
Let’s begin with a hypothesis: reading a printed book—cloth-bound or paperback, bought or borrowed—is one of the most disruptive things you can do.
Jul 19, 2020
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Courtney Cook
15
3
3
Letting the strange, cross-gartered parts of ourselves surface to counter our mortality
Twelfth Night is for fighting the darkness with love and mayhem
Jan 5
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Courtney Cook
2
2
2
85: More thoughts on what it means to be brave
Cillian Murphy's new film, "Steve;" how bravery ≠ success; how value ≠ the obvious metrics; Claire Keegan's "Small Things Like These" + Page Count
Oct 19, 2025
6
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84: Cutting through the general din of the world
Ani DiFranco, Gary Stevenson, Greta Thunberg, Zack Polanski, but not Barack Obama + inspiring videos + this week's page count + read to the end for…
Oct 12, 2025
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Courtney Cook
2
2
83: Maybe try learning from books about walking
Hiking in Wyoming, Cheryl Strayed, Rachel Joyce, Rory Stewart, Geoff Nicholson, Henry David Thoreau, Geoffrey Chaucer and yep, John Bunyan + my latest…
Sep 28, 2025
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Courtney Cook
10
2
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82: Who owns our days?
Paolo Sorrentino's "La Grazia," the 2025 Booker Longlist, that same Milosz poem that I come back to over and over + Colum McCann's new novel and a LRB…
Sep 22, 2025
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Courtney Cook
4
3
81. When did the sinking start?
Vincent Delecroix's "Small Boat" has the courage to ask hard questions + this week's Page Count (a comfort read and another one from the Longlist)
Sep 7, 2025
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Courtney Cook
2
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Portfolio
Los Angeles Review of Books, Salon & more
Sep 7, 2025
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Courtney Cook
1
Excerpt
"Love & Empire," in the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine
Sep 7, 2025
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Courtney Cook
1
80: What we need is a natural meander pattern
flood mitigation in TX and VT by John Seabrook, DNRIP James Dobson, an incredibly important reader poll that you *must* answer + my Week 3 page count…
Aug 24, 2025
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Courtney Cook
8
3
079: Everyone is frazzled and broken and beautiful
Banu Mushtaq's "Heart Lamp", translated by Deepa Bhasthi; short stories as hedonic gateways; suffering is universal; suffering is personal + page count…
Aug 17, 2025
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Courtney Cook
8
2
078: Walking on Hampstead Heath
book shopping, Dickens, Bronte, why I'm not reading, and why that's got to change
Aug 10, 2025
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Courtney Cook
15
29
5
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Survival by Book
work, love, art & other life-stuff, seen through a bookish lens
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