The Ultimate Online Diary

"The snow has been falling for three straight days. Now there is over half a meter of snow on the ground and it keeps falling. It's beautiful. The city is quiet. Cars can't move. Children play in the street, building snowmen and throwing snowballs.

I love snow. It makes me feel joyful and calm at the same time. The way it covers everything with a soft white blanket, smooths out the contours, muffles the noises, creates a new and temporary world where anything is possible. Sometimes, walking in the snow is like walking in a lunar landscape, everything looks different, strange and beautiful.

City life seems so far away on days like these. All that remains is the snow, the calm, and the family. And reading, of course. I've been reading Thomas Bernhard lately. I can't understand why I hadn't read him before. It's dark, painful, uncomfortable, but at the same time, it's funny, amusing, and comforting. It's a challenge, but it's also a reward.

On days like these, I feel happy to be alive. To have a family and friends who love me and whom I love. To have books and music and art. To have the snow. Everything is temporary, I know. But on days like these, that doesn't matter. What matters is the present moment, the here and now, the beauty and calm of the snow."

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Excerpt from The diary of Karl Ove Knausgård.