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Haffa's avatar

Thank you so much for this guide- and apologies for my many, many restacks😅 There were too many gems for me not to! I look forward to making this curation of my personal canon a summer/post-grad project ✨

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Pearl's avatar

this is so well written!! it really made something click in my head that ive been trying to figure out for so long and its literally the whole concept of knowing myself more <33

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Allison Grange's avatar

I love this concept! I’ve been learning lately about personal knowledge management, but I’ve never heard of this idea. Thank you for sharing!

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Adishi Goenka's avatar

Saw Derry Girls on your list of shows, such a heartwarming show!

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A. Peter Thomas's avatar

Huh, so this is what I’ve been doing intuitively lately. I’m glad I now have a name for it. Thanks for this. You’ve given me some great tips for carrying it forward.

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Camila Hawks's avatar

absolutely love this! I always liked to “keep track” of my inspirations in media and your post inspired me to create my ultimate personal canon 💌

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Abby's avatar

Wait stopppp Edward Tulane was also one of the most impactful books of my childhood. I remember reading it out loud with my mom and we both adored it. Then 15 years later, I ALSO stumbled upon a copy in a used bookstore and bought it immediately, for like $3. I reread it in a day, cried my eyes out, and was stunned at how much of an effect it still had on me. The nostalgia, the relatability of wanting to be loved, the cute little pictures of the porcelain bunny along the way- that whole book is a visceral experience for me as well.

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Phoebe Jones's avatar

I’ve really been trying to consider my influences and define my taste with more intellectual depth recently rather than mindless consumption so I found this at the perfect time ❤️

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Imie Kent-Muller's avatar

I love this idea - I’m going to spend some time reflecting then maybe write a substack post on it. Great post!

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Nora's avatar

Edward Tulane! I read this book as a child and I have thought of it so many times throughout the years, but could never find it again, having forgotten title and author. And here it is! Thank you.

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katherine duran garcía's avatar

Needed to hear/read this. I think curating your personal canon sounds like a good way to interrupt the urge to perform for an imaginary audience and instead recenter ourselves.

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miribazarov's avatar

Lovely idea! I think its important to create a canon of our own just for the sake of knowing our art better! I will do that:)

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teatablepoet's avatar

Lovely. I feel we might also relate to characters underlying motivations. The love this toy rabbit received broke his barrier. Perhaps we could have inferred the theme of growth and what untruth surfaces his underbelly (the ego he was living in before hand). The strangest things about children's books is... No matter how Innocent the occurrences, the messages are always profoundly mature.

I continue to wonder how an author might arrive at a theme (truism) so essential they are confident in their writing it out

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Arnica Larin's avatar

This resonates so much with something I've been grappling with. I've started a list titled "Books I read embarrasingly late". While I admit, this list is a little tongue-in-cheek and self-deprecating, I much prefer the idea of consciously cultivating and appreciating my own personal canon, beyond the "greats" and the "shoulds". Also, we have an eerily similar taste in shows!!

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R.T. Mann's avatar

This is an awesome idea. I’ve started collecting the things that would be in a personal canon sort of haphazardly as my sons grow up. It would be way better to nail down the canon this far and then collect the things I want to share with them later.

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jenna's avatar

i completely forgot about edward tulane, that book was so special to me thank u for reminding me 🩷🩷

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