Denise's Reading Blog: Review: Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan-Notes & Highlights

I was watching the movie for this book while I was updating these notes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKbrV9tTi5w

My Kindle Notes & Highlights for Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List from Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/notes/6592690-naomi-and-ely-s-no-kiss-list/40758404-denise-figueroa?ref=abp

I got this one recently online.

“The complexity embedded in the different levels of meaning that go along with the words “I love you” ought to be a whole mindfuck of a video game, if anyone ever wanted to develop the concept.”

(Naomi: Shiver, 4)

“Like Naomi, who was not only hot but actually happened to like having thoughts. I’d found, in my very limited dating and only-slightly-less-limited friendship experience, that there were a lot of people who treated thoughts like they were a nuisance. They weren’t intrigued by them. They didn’t go out of their way to prolong them. But Naomi valued the fine art of thinking. The only hitch was that I didn’t know what she was thinking. I imagined Ely would have a better idea.”

(Bruce the Second: Dial, 16-17)

“I understood the “Don’t worry.” Because I’ll admit: I didn’t want it to be Naomi in the elevator. I wanted to stay like this. I wasn’t just enjoying Ely’s company; I was enjoying my own as well. “Let’s listen to music,” Ely said. I said sure, assuming he’d turn on the stereo in the living room. But instead he led me to his room, which was covered with poems he’d xeroxed and photographs of his friends, Naomi especially. He scanned his computer for the album he wanted, then pressed play. I recognized it immediately—Tori Amos, From the Choirgirl Hotel. It seemed to loosen itself from the speakers as it fell into the room. I thought Ely would sit in a chair or lie on the bed, but instead he lowered himself down on the hardwood floor, facing the ceiling as if it was a sky. He didn’t tell me what to do, but I lowered myself next to him, felt the floor beneath my back, felt my breathing, felt…happy. Song followed song. At one point, I realized I’d left my phone in my jacket, which meant I wouldn’t hear it if it rang. I let it go. There was something about our silence that made me feel comfortable. He wasn’t talking to me, but I didn’t feel ignored. I felt we were part of the same moment, and it didn’t need to be defined.”

…

“No,” he finally said. “I don’t think you’re boring. I do think there are times you don’t allow yourself to be interesting…but clearly that can change.”

(Bruce the Second: Dial, 19-20)

Here is a YouTube playlist of Tori Amos' album, From the Choirgirl Hotel:

“The University Place Stitch ’n’ Bitch knitting circle is hot with rumor over that one.”

(Bruce the First: Insomnia, 26)

“And I love it, because my love for her has absolutely nothing to do with that. I love her because she’ll hold the elevator for me even if heading downstairs without me would make more of a point. I love her because if she sees a shirt that she knows will look good with my eyes, she’ll buy it for me, even if she can’t afford it. I love her because when I feel like putting my head in an oven, she’ll gently take it out and bake me cookies instead. I love her because she can curse like a sailor and could no doubt sail like a sailor, too, if she put her mind to it. I love her because even though she doesn’t always tell the truth, she always feels like she should. I love her because I don’t need to love her all the time.”

(Ely: Key, 41)

“No. No no no no. It is not easy. Things that matter are not easy. Feelings of happiness are easy. Happiness is not. Flirting is easy. Love is not. Saying you’re friends is easy. Being friends is not.”

…

“I’m saying it to all of them. But really, I’m saying it most to Shaun. To Bruce. To Naomi. Not because I think it’s all my fault—I know it’s not all my fault. I guess I’m sorry is a way to say I want it to be better. Even if it’s difficult. Even if it hurts. I have to stop hiding behind who I am. I have to stop hiding behind the things other people expect from me and the things I expect from myself. I have to try.”

(Ely: Easy, 199-200)

“I’m looking at it now. The imprint we scratched when we were twelve still remains: Naomi + Ely 2gether + 4ever = 6ess.”

…

“It’s like Naomi always used to say: Life tells you to take the elevator, but love tells you to take the stairs.”

(Ely: Corner, 209)

“I turn around to leave, embarrassed, but he presses his hand against the door to keep it from opening. (He really is a bad doorman.) Then he places the softest, sweetest kiss ever on the back of my neck. “We’ll get there,” he whispers in my ear. I got my kiss, I got my k-i-s-s. ”

...

“What I really wanted was an uno, dos, tres–threesome with both of you. Love and happiness, Donnie Weisberg.”

(Naomi: Closets, 219)

“ U 2,” he signs to me. I almost tell Ely that Gabriel qualifies for the No Kiss List™ as much as Bruce the Second does at this point, but I don’t. I want to keep this one for myself, for now. So I just say, “ .”

(Naomi: Closets, 222)

“I think about that as I head over to Bruce’s, and I think that as hard as we try, it still sometimes feels like we all speak different languages. Even if we share all the same words, meanings can be different. And the mistake isn’t in speaking the different languages, but in ignoring the fact. I thought Naomi and I had perfectly matched up our vocabularies and our definitions. But that’s just not possible. There are always meanings that are different, words that are heard differently than they’re said. There’s no such thing as a soulmate…and who would want there to be? I don’t want half of a shared soul. I want my own damn soul.

I think I’m going to learn to appreciate the word close. Because that’s what Naomi and I are. We’re close. Not all the way there. Not identical. Not soulmates. But close. Because that’s as far as you should ever get with another person: very, very close.

That’s what I want with Bruce, too.

I want to be close.

It’s bullshit to think of friendship and romance as being different. They’re not. They’re just variations of the same love. Variations of the same desire to be close.”

(Ely: Close, 223-224)

“She doesn’t believe it. He has to let her know. They’re meant for each other—they both feel it—but only one of them believes it. It’s time to take action, even if it’s not easy. It’s time to use the truth as a form of persuasion. I realize that.”

(Ely: Close, 225)

“We always see our worst selves. Our most vulnerable selves. We need someone else to get close enough to tell us we’re wrong. Someone we trust.”

(Ely: Close, 227)

“Friendship is love as much as any romance. And like any love, it’s difficult and treacherous and confusing. But in the moment when your knees touch, there’s nothing else you could ever want.”

(Ely: Close, 229)

“It’s a total lie to say there’s only one person you’re going to be with for the rest of your life. If you’re lucky—and if you try really hard—there will always be more than one.”

(Ely: Close, 230)

Gabriel: Tracks (Page 104)

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYL0fUO8zjtY3xYrBEzfQ0WLmTQ1SVw6Q

1. Graduation Day - Chris Isaak

“This is the song for both of us: the past."

2. (My Heart Is) Closed for the Season - Bettye Swann

“This song is for Lisa."

3. Piazza, New York Catcher - Belle & Sebastian

“This song is for you and Ely."

4. The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow) - The Jam

“This song is for you and Ely, me and Lisa."

5. Criminal - Fiona Apple

“This song is for Bruce the First."

6. Blizzard of '77 - Nada Surf

“This song is for my parents."

7. A New England - Kristy MacColl

“This song is for my mother."

8. It's Hard to Be a Saint in the City - Bruce Springsteen

“This is my mother's song for me. Jersey girl."

9. Basketball - Kurtis Blow

“This is my father's song for me."

10. Inspiration Information - Shuggie Otis

“This song is for the sake of the song."

11. The Message - Grandmaster Flash

“This song is for you."

12. Ne Me Quitte Pas - Nina Simone

“Cette chanson prend trop de place. (Merci, Mr. McAllister, you bilingual freak. You fill up elevator space just like this song does.)"

13. F-Word - Jens Lekman

“Jag valde den här sången så at du skule bli förälkkad i mej. I chose this sonv to make you fall in love with me. (Thank you, Mr. Karlsson, the unexpected Swede in the penthouse apartment. Or should I say ‘tahkk'?)"

14. Walk through the Fire - Buffy the Vampire Slayer

“This song is for you and your mom."

15. Come into My World - Kylie Minogue

“This song is for the gays."

16. A Fond Farewell - Elliott Smith

“This song is for Bruce the Second."

17. As - Stevie Wonder

“This song is for Ely."

18. Blue Yodel - Merle Haggard

“This song is for the yodel."

19. I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend - The Ramones

19. a. If I Was Your Girlfriend - Prince