i've been reading this book for five years, nearly exactly. when i first started it, freshly 21 and in the throws of my sylvia plath obsession, i didn't think that it would take me that long to read, but i feel like these journals are better processed in smaller chunks, leaving time to ruminate on gems like "To write for itself, to do things for the joy of them. What a gift for the gods."

i went months, maybe even a whole year at times, without picking this book back up, but i always knew that i would come back to it and finish it, no matter how long it took. i'm really glad that i finally did. i love sylvia plath just as much as i did when i was 21, and i fully expect to revisit portions of these journals later on down the road, even if i never read it in its entirety again.