When everything is dying — me included — the best I can do is to flip the last page of Rooney’s novel — Last Sunday, I bought “Conversations with Friends” by Sally Rooney. In Kyiv, it’s rare to stumble on a book in English without Stephen King’s name on it, but I found it. It was jammed between Rooney’s larger novel “Beautiful World, Where Are You” and another book the name of which…

A cafe, a bookstore, and a luxurious grocery shop — Today I feel lonely. Before, I would urge myself to find the cause of my loneliness. Now, I’m learning that — unless the reason is obvious — it’s better to accept the feeling and focus on things that would carry you towards feeling unlonely, loved and befriended. Those are antonyms…

Rebecca Kuang helped me rediscover the joy I lost somewhere on my reading journey — How did I find the book Last week, I stumbled on a new bookstore in Kyiv. Again. If someone is winning this war, it’s Ukrainian books and bookstores. Hopefully, they won’t burn in the fire of war. I was lethargically strolling the city and saw this bookstore packed with people, followed the urge and got inside…

Kazuo Ishiguro’s exploration of moral ambiguity is a must-read in these war-torn times. — Grey clouds were clouding the sky this morning. The sun outshined its competitors for dominance in the sky and broke free. In short, it’s a nice sunny Tuesday. On these deeply autumn days, Kyiv is the way Kyiv is supposed to be: lively, busy, free and inspiring. Missles have been…

Take a picture! — It takes just one person to say you’re ugly and the next thing you need is dozens of people to tell you otherwise. I needed more (or less?) than that. I needed psychotherapy. I needed to tell myself you’re beautiful. Wholeheartedly. You’re beautiful. Not just say— act on it. The…

Dive deep into a book that you loved before to reignite a fading love towards yourself — My hands are cold. My torso is wrapped in a purple jacket with fake fur. My anxious legs hurry me up to a coffee shop. Staying at home feels unbearably depressing. Hello, Autumn. This year, you’re late. September was still summer, weather-wise. Almost every day was sunny and warm. October…

When will they finally come? — You should try to enjoy days of your life or, at least, be aware that such a choice exists and is available to you. Joy is right here — just reach out and catch the moment. Depression is what renders you blind to those illusive threads of joy sewn into…

Would you want the rest of the world to stop them from doing that? — Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, said today that Russia has been attacking and bombing our energy infrastructure for the last two weeks. Last year, the world did very little to deter Russia from bombing our power plants, leaving us without light for most of the winter. I personally don’t remember…

Every path, every route in this city is paved by hot steams of freshly brewed coffee. — Folk (hipster) wisdom says, “Coffee shops can never be too many.” Kyiv tries to challenge that belief, but — despite its consistent dedication to opening too many coffee shops — there are still just enough of them and not too many. Every path, every route in this city is paved…