Ava Huang
Writer of the newsletter bookbear express, on psychology, relationships, non-attachment and taste; based in San Francisco.
Ava Huang did not write this page. ppll compiled it from their own words, each linked to the source. Is this you? · Report a mistake
Latest Newsletter
What they believe
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Trying to shortcut past necessary personal work always backfires, and real progress requires confronting oneself directly.
anything that feels like a way to get out of doing the work will come back to bite you. You have to go through yourself to get anywhere good.
avabear.xyzSaid 14 Sept 2026This on korrents
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Going slowly through life is no guarantee that things will work out.
But also going slow does not mean things will work out for you: just look at Lily Bart.
avabear.xyzSaid 10 Sept 2026This on korrents
The bold line is korrents’ wording; the quote is theirs. These 2: what they wrote before what they said aloud, one per source, newest first.
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- Newsletterhow to solve your problems
- x.com
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3 October
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14 September
From one piece some things I’ve learned about relationships 3 beliefs · avabear.xyz
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Their words
Being honest earlier is always better than being honest later.
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Their words
If you consistently get the same particular negative reaction from people, it's best to model your own affect/behavior as the cause.
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Their words
anything that feels like a way to get out of doing the work will come back to bite you. You have to go through yourself to get anywhere good.
11 September
10 September
From one piece going fast and slow 2 beliefs · avabear.xyz
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Their words
Many model it as game theory, but the interesting thing about Jane Austen is that she understands that marrying well is also about virtue ethics.
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Their words
But also going slow does not mean things will work out for you: just look at Lily Bart.
8 September
From one piece bridging the gap 3 beliefs · avabear.xyz
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korrents.com
Love makes it possible to bridge the fundamental gap between two people; alienation is refusing to try.Their words
To me, the possibility of partnership is the feeling that despite the fundamental chasm between two human beings, love allows us to bridge the gap; alienation is the feeling that the gap cannot be bridged, and moreover, that I do not want to.
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Their words
it is very bad to take on total responsibility for a capable adult human being; we are each responsible for our own psyche, our own life.
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Their words
I've noticed that people are significantly more likely to work through major life problems when they have even one or two people they can tell everything to, who care about them and give them sage counsel.
2 September
From one piece notes on the brothers karamazov 3 beliefs · avabear.xyz
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Their words
In fact, like many others, I've lately been hyperfixated on the idea that our problems are astonishingly religious in nature.
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korrents.com
The purpose of novels is to bear witness to the inexplicability of human life, not to solve it.Their words
But novels are about bearing witness to something we fundamentally cannot solve, which is to say the inexplicability and incomprehensibility of human life.
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korrents.com
Witnessing suffering, rather than solving it, may be the only way we can truly comprehend it.Their words
Seeing suffering, being made to witness it, is not of course a solution to suffering. But perhaps, it's the only comprehension we can really possess.
11 August
2 August
22 July
19 July
Nothing matches.
Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 11 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
Each is a — compiled by korrents.com, not by them: the one-line wordings are korrents', the quotes are theirs.
Recent
Trying to shortcut past necessary personal work always backfires, and real progress requires confronting oneself directly.
anything that feels like a way to get out of doing the work will come back to bite you. You have to go through yourself to get anywhere good.
some things I’ve learned about relationships Said 14 Sept 2026
When someone gets the same negative reaction from many different people, the more likely explanation is their own behavior, not everyone else's.
If you consistently get the same particular negative reaction from people, it's best to model your own affect/behavior as the cause.
some things I’ve learned about relationships Said 14 Sept 2026
Being honest earlier is always better than being honest later.
Being honest earlier is always better than being honest later.
some things I’ve learned about relationships Said 14 Sept 2026
Show 8 more
Going slowly through life is no guarantee that things will work out.
But also going slow does not mean things will work out for you: just look at Lily Bart.
going fast and slow Said 10 Sept 2026
Choosing a partner well is a matter of virtue ethics, not just game theory.
Many model it as game theory, but the interesting thing about Jane Austen is that she understands that marrying well is also about virtue ethics.
going fast and slow Said 10 Sept 2026
People are more likely to work through major life problems when they have at least one person they can confide in and who supports them.
I've noticed that people are significantly more likely to work through major life problems when they have even one or two people they can tell everything to, who care about them and give them sage counsel.
bridging the gap Said 8 Sept 2026
Taking on total responsibility for another capable adult's life is wrong; each person is responsible for their own psyche and life.
it is very bad to take on total responsibility for a capable adult human being; we are each responsible for our own psyche, our own life.
bridging the gap Said 8 Sept 2026
Love makes it possible to bridge the fundamental gap between two people; alienation is refusing to try.
To me, the possibility of partnership is the feeling that despite the fundamental chasm between two human beings, love allows us to bridge the gap; alienation is the feeling that the gap cannot be bridged, and moreover, that I do not want to.
bridging the gap Said 8 Sept 2026
Witnessing suffering, rather than solving it, may be the only way we can truly comprehend it.
Seeing suffering, being made to witness it, is not of course a solution to suffering. But perhaps, it's the only comprehension we can really possess.
notes on the brothers karamazov Said 2 Sept 2026
The purpose of novels is to bear witness to the inexplicability of human life, not to solve it.
But novels are about bearing witness to something we fundamentally cannot solve, which is to say the inexplicability and incomprehensibility of human life.
notes on the brothers karamazov Said 2 Sept 2026
The problems of contemporary society are fundamentally religious in nature.
In fact, like many others, I've lately been hyperfixated on the idea that our problems are astonishingly religious in nature.
notes on the brothers karamazov Said 2 Sept 2026
What is a korrent?
A korrent is a belief a person has stated in their own words: one sentence stating the claim, backed by a quote and a source, kept at korrents.com.
Under a name here, the quoted block is what they actually said. The korrent beneath it is the claim those words support, in korrents' wording — tap it to see the record, its source, and who else holds it.
Nobody here wrote their own korrents. They are compiled from public statements, and a person can change their mind, which is recorded too.
Recommends rcmnd
rcmnd What they recommend 12 things — each backed by an exact quote.
Compiled by rcmnd.app, not by them: the quotes are theirs, and each links to the post it was copied from.
Recent
Liked COLOR WOW Raise the Root spray
COLOR WOW Raise the Root spray. I found out about this on TikTok. I spray when damp and it DOES give my flat Asian hair volume. I don't know how it works, but it does.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
Loved Clarins lip comfort oil
Clarins lip comfort oil. Maybe my favorite lip tint, and I own like 35.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
Loved Nippon Kodo Mori-no-KOH incense
Nippon Kodo Mori-no-KOH incense. I love this! Incredible bang for your buck, the little box feels so fancy, it smells insane. I'm burning it right now as I write.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
Show 9 more
Liked Olaplex conditioner
Olaplex conditioner. I have the shampoo too but I'm pretty sure the conditioner is what makes my hair bizarrely soft.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
Loved NARS soft matte concealer
NARS soft matte concealer. This is the BEST concealer. I've used this for many years and I will never quit it. There is no comparable one for acne.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
Liked DedCool Milk detergent
DedCool Milk detergent. Yes, it's probably all over your Instagram ads. Yes, it is good! This scent is what originally kicked off my lactonic fixation.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
Recommends Uniqlo v-neck cashmere sweater
Uniqlo v-neck cashmere sweater. It is very, very, very important to own at least one of these. I suggest the black one in one size larger than your normal size.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
Liked Brandy Melville underwear and sweaters
Brandy Melville underwear and sweaters. 100% cotton and I can't believe how good they are for how cheap they are. I've owned a couple of their sweaters for like eight years and they really hold up.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
What others say about Brandy Melville underwear and sweaters →
Loved Comme Si workout socks
Comme Si workout socks. These come in amazing colors and are too cute to really work out in but I love them.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
Loved Dyson vacuum
Dyson vacuum. The laser light thing makes me happy. I never vacuumed before I got this, which meant my apartment was constantly in dire straits since I am the proud owner of two extremely fluffy dogs. I love it.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
Recommends PanOxyl pimple patches
PanOxyl pimple patches. These are not as fun as Starface/my cute anime character patches but ridiculously better than any other ones on the market.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
Loved Oura ring
My Oura ring. I hesitated for a long time but it sparks joy. I think Apple Watches are ugly and I didn't like the Whoop nearly as much. I love checking the app every day.
avabear.xyz 9 Dec 2025
Where they publish
Newsletter bookbear express Her newsletter on psychology, relationships and self-knowledge.
Recent
- living to know 19 Oct 2026
- how to solve your problems 5 Oct 2026 a quick guide
- trading off 1 Oct 2026 love is freedom
Show 17 more
- Bookbear Local 9/20/26 20 Sept 2026 odds and ends
- what unclenching feels like for me 18 Sept 2026
- normalcy 15 Sept 2026 Joan Mitchell, Wood, Wind, No Tuba, 1979
- some things I’ve learned about relationships 14 Sept 2026 Richard Diebenkorn, Landscape with Figure, 1956
- some quotes 11 Sept 2026
- going fast and slow 10 Sept 2026 on novel logic
- bridging the gap 8 Sept 2026 love, closeness, alienation
- notes on the brothers karamazov 2 Sept 2026 Chuck Palahniuk once wrote: “To begin a new novel, I look for the biggest problem in my life that I can’t solve or tolerate.
- no two things the same 11 Aug 2026 Tony Feher, Come Out and Play Stephen Jay (detail), 2013
- safe and alive 2 Aug 2026 both at once!
- we were girls together 22 Jul 2026 I saw a daddy longlegs on the ceiling while I was showering and didn’t panic, even when it started slowly descending in my direction on an invisible silken thread.
- taiwan travelogue 19 Jul 2026
- easy 9 Jul 2026 Hilma af Klint, Eros, Group II, No.
- "no such thing as the world becoming an easy place to save your soul in" 24 Jun 2026 On the phone in France, he said: “It’s not worth it.” I was being so negative, too negative, and he stopped me in my tracks.
- sometimes you get stuck in a sinkhole for a few years 19 Jun 2026 tales from the bog
- late nights in the middle of june 15 Jun 2026 David Hockney, Red Celia, 1984
- kinks in other people 5 Jun 2026 on things that feel both necessary and bad
Link verified 5 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
x.com @noampomsky The X account she names as hers on her own About page.
Recent
- 50 ppl showed up to the open house of the apartment next to me so I asked my new neighbor how he got it and he said “I overbid but also I wrote her an essay.” actually multiple people overbid and wrote essays but I guess he wrote the best one. this is why prose style matters 17 Oct 2026
- judgment is a way I make feeling love safer when I don’t trust my own boundaries. when you trust your boundaries you can drop the evaluative layer 17 Oct 2026
- nothing lovelier than a balmy mid-october summer night in san francisco 17 Oct 2026
Show 17 more
- it makes me so mad when people send personal messages that have clearly been drafted/edited by claude. I don't care that you asked claude, but it's crazy you think I can't tell who wrote this! 16 Oct 2026
- is there a term for the road rage you experience when a waymo drives badly 13 Oct 2026
- if you watch closely the part of your thinking that’s useful always necessarily happens before rumination starts bc rumination is by its nature repetitive 12 Oct 2026
- neurotic hypervigilance is what for the most part gives people their edge. but there is truly nothing sexier than being unaffectedly relaxed in all situations. this suggests the only reasonable path is to spend 20 to 30 years being neurotic and then get over it 11 Oct 2026
- love is just gravity. constant pull in only one direction, totalizing force that feels like the negation of free will, obliteration of the self, the opposite of freedom. makes the idea of boredom irrelevant. only real way to sneak outside time 9 Oct 2026
- HUGE day for the glass essay superfans!!!!!!!!!! 8 Oct 2026
- the holy grail 8 Oct 2026
- feel your feelings so you can do less more accurately 6 Oct 2026
- luckily this does not happen to most people. most people who start trying to “feel their feelings” can only feel 8% of their feelings at once 5 Oct 2026
- if you can learn to sit with and *feel* your discomfort instead of managing it, distracting yourself, analyzing it, or trying to fix it you will make more progress much faster 5 Oct 2026
- we're all going to be reheating max weber's nachos for a long time 3 Oct 2026
- I think a really important relationship integrity thing is to never press your advantage. as in: only do things when you really mean them, never to provoke a reaction from the other person or correct some perceived power balance 3 Oct 2026
- the main problem with the level of optionality/"wild west"-ness in modern dating is that it really does take some people 20+ years to figure out their attachment issues 3 Oct 2026
- big autism ethics collides with normie ethics moment for those of us who care 3 Oct 2026
- completed all three ILIT shots. it’s actually pretty disturbing having a good sense of smell. a lot of things in this world do not smell great. for ex I did not realize people had so much body odor. however having perfect airflow through both nostrils is an amazing feeling 3 Oct 2026
- my job is ruining my ability to read confessional nonfiction. halfway through a memoir and I just want to put her on my couch and therapize her so bad 3 Oct 2026
- the only game that matters is inner game. the reason outer game is important is bc it’s objectively easier to become secure if you’re conventionally attractive, can behave normally on a date, are liked bc… we all feel safer when people are nice to us. but lots of very desirable people have terrible relationships bc they do not fundamentally like or respect themselves and people can sense and exploit that 2 Oct 2026
Link verified 5 Sept 2026. Recent items update automatically from the channel.
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