5 Bites Friday #49

 

Welcome to this week’s 5BF: best movies of 2020, of love and heartbreak, Mark Manson on stoicism and why he isn’t one, and more…

 

1 – what I read

The Stationary Shop of Tehran by Marjan Kamali: in my book haul blog for March, I said I’ll be a very happy person reading Iranian Literature this month, and I wasn’t wrong. Kamali’s novel has one of the best endings I have ever read, and a beautifully written and masterfully plotted story that precedes it. A novel about love, heartbreak, and how these never end as long as you are alive.

 

2 – my 15 favorite movies from 2020

Finally, my last list from 2020 is here. I know it took quite some time, impatient I was too, but I guess the result is worth the wait. I am still amazed that 2020, a year of complete chaos, gave us such beautiful and inspiring movies.

 

3 – this week’s article

Why I am not a stoic @markmanson.com: Manson is one of the few self-help writers that I can trust on, since the guy reads a lot of philosophy, which is the root of all the self-help we can get. In this article, Manson argues against the notion that he’s a stoic, and in doing so, presents a very simple and articulate picture of all the school of thoughts in philosophy, Stoicism, Epicureanism, Cynicism, Existentialism, and distinguishes between them. A lowkey, important article to read.

 


4 – some couplets

I wish this moment forever lasts,

Where exists no pain from the past;

Nor any fear of the days that follow,

Just the bliss of now and no sorrow.

 

You are so beautiful, my Dear,

My misery your face makes disappear;

At your picture I shall gaze forever,

Not minding what comes next, whatsoever.

 


5 – this week’s quote

‘how to establish the exact moment in which a story begins? everything has already begun before.’