Emi > Emi's Quotes

“You think you're so impressive – you built this ridiculous, pretentious showroom just so that everyone can see how many books you've read.”
― Sōsuke Natsukawa, The Cat Who Saved Books

“Do you know what Henry David Thoreau believed? ‘Happiness is like a butterfly; the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”
― B.A. Paris, The Therapist

“The brain, as busy as it can be, is actually very lazy...It sees what it expects to see”
― James R. Doty

“What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in the face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being!”
― Kate Chopin, The Story of an Hour

“Behind a big impressive gate lives many a sorry excuse for a man.”
― Sōsuke Natsukawa, The Cat Who Saved Books

“People see only what they think is there rather than what's actually there.”
― James R. Doty, Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart

“Another mystery of the brain is that it will always choose what is familiar over what is unfamiliar. By visualizing my own future success, I was making this success familiar to my brain. Intention is a funny thing, and whatever the brain puts its intention on is what it sees.”
― James R. Doty, Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets ofthe Heart

“Everything didn't have to be broken just because something was broken. I didn't have to be broken.”
― James R. Doty, Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets of the Heart

“Books can't live your life for you. The reader who forgets to walk on his own two feet is like an old encyclopaedia, his head stuffed with out-of-date information. Unless someone else opens it up, it's nothing but a useless antique.”
― Sōsuke Natsukawa, Il gatto che voleva salvare i libri

“Research has shown that the more connected we are socially, the longer we will live and the faster we will recover when we get ill. In truth, isolation and loneliness puts us at a greater risk for early disease and death than smoking. Authentic social connection has a profound effect on your mental health—it even exceeds the value of exercise and ideal body weight on your physical health. It makes you feel good. Social connection triggers the same reward centers in your brain that are triggered when people do drugs, or drink alcohol, or eat chocolate. In other words, we get sick alone, and we get well together.”
― James R. Doty, Into the Magic Shop: A Neurosurgeon's Quest to Discover the Mysteries of the Brain and the Secrets ofthe Heart

“Books have tremendous power. But take care. It’s the book that holds the power, not you.”
― Sōsuke Natsukawa, The Cat Who Saved Books

“It’s not true that the more you read, the more you see of the world. No matter how much knowledge you cram into your head, unless you think with your own mind, walk with your own feet, the knowledge you acquire will never be anything more than empty and borrowed.”
― Sōsuke Natsukawa, The Cat Who Saved Books

“It’s all very well to read a book, but when you’ve finished, it’s time to set foot in the world.”
― Sōsuke Natsukawa, The Cat Who Saved Books

“Don't condemn the mountain because its trails are steep. It's also a valuable and enjoyable part of climbing to struggle up a mountain step by step…If you're going to climb, make it a tall mountain. The view will be so much better.”
― Sōsuke Natsukawa, The Cat Who Saved Books

“If you find a book easy to read, that means it’s all stuff that you already know,” he went on. “That’s why it’s easy. If you find it difficult, then that’s proof it’s something brand new.”
― Sōsuke Natsukawa, The Cat Who Saved Books

“It is your job to choose the shame that you prefer, though the ghost of the other one might remain.”
― Olivia Atwater, The Lord Sorcier

“I write entirely to find out what I'm thinking, what I'm looking at, what I see and what it means. What I want and what I fear.”
― Joan Didion

“Write honestly. Write with effort. With honesty, and sincerity. Then whatever comes out of it will be properly written.”
― Hwang Bo-reum, Welcome to the Hyunam-dong Bookshop

“To read is to see things from someone else's perspective, and that naturally leads you to stop and look out for other people, rather than chase after success in the rat race. If more people read, I think the world would become a better place.”
― Hwang Bo-Reum, Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop