The Bell Jar is one book I identified with so much it was very difficult to read, but also cathartic in a way? It was a feeling of “oh wow, I feel seen,” but in a very raw and vulnerable way.
I love her poetry, too. One that stuck with me was “Tulips,” specifically this verse:
I didn’t want any flowers, I only wanted
To lie with my hands turned up and be utterly empty.
How free it is, you have no idea how free——
The peacefulness is so big it dazes you,
And it asks nothing, a name tag, a few trinkets.
It is what the dead close on, finally; I imagine them
Shutting their mouths on it, like a Communion tablet.
It depends. If I get super caught on in a book, I tend not to put it down until I’m done. I’ve read the whole Witcher saga in about 3 weeks. But then there are periods of time when every book I open is boring and bland so I won’t read for days or weeks. Rinse and repeat.