657 books
—
515 voters


“El hombre desea mucho y necesita poco, vista la brevedad de su vida.”
― Hermann und Dorothea
― Hermann und Dorothea

“How do you wake up? It was one thing to know that you had been asleep all your life, but something else to wake up from it, to find out you were really alive and it wasn't anybody's fault but your own. Of course that was the problem.
All right. Everything is a dream. Nothing hangs together. You move from one dream to another and there is no reason for the change. Your eyes see things and your ears hear, but nothing has any reason behind it. It would be easier to believe in God. Then you could wake up and yawn and stretch and grin at a world that was put together on a plan of mercy and death, punishment for evil, joy for good, and if the game was crazy at least it had rules. But that didn't make sense. It had never made any sense. The trouble was, now that he was not asleep and not awake, what he saw and heard didn't make sense either.
Mishmash, he thought. You know enough to know how you feel is senseless, but you don't know enough to know why.”
― Hard Rain Falling
All right. Everything is a dream. Nothing hangs together. You move from one dream to another and there is no reason for the change. Your eyes see things and your ears hear, but nothing has any reason behind it. It would be easier to believe in God. Then you could wake up and yawn and stretch and grin at a world that was put together on a plan of mercy and death, punishment for evil, joy for good, and if the game was crazy at least it had rules. But that didn't make sense. It had never made any sense. The trouble was, now that he was not asleep and not awake, what he saw and heard didn't make sense either.
Mishmash, he thought. You know enough to know how you feel is senseless, but you don't know enough to know why.”
― Hard Rain Falling

“I’m having a hard time writing about Sunday. Getting the long hollow feeling of Sundays. No mail and faraway lawn mowers, the hopelessness.”
― A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories
― A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories

“Il suo amore non mi offende, signor Bigum, ma io la condanno. Lei ha fatto quello che fanno tanti altri. Si chiudono gli occhi davanti alla vita reale, non si vuole udire il no che grida contro ai nostri desideri, si vuol ignorare I'abisso che si spalanca fra la propria brama e l'oggetto bramato. Si vuol sognare fino in fondo il proprio sogno. Ma la vita non tiene conto dei sogni, non v'è un solo ostacolo che si possa allontanare dalla realtà con un sogno, e infine ci si trova gementi all'orlo dell'abisso, che non s'è mutato, ma è com'è sempre stato. Ma noi, sì, siamo mutati, perché coi sogni si sono accesi i pensieri ed eccitati i desideri fino alla massima tensione. L'abisso però non s'è ristretto, e tutto il nostro essere tende dolorosamente a valicarlo. Invece no, sempre no, null'altro che no; oh, si fosse badato a sé a tempo, ma ora è troppo tardi, ormai si è infelici!”
―
―

“Tal como nos conocemos, somos objetos falsos, imposturas, ramilletes de ilusiones”
“Los juicios sobre las personas no son jamás decisivos, surgen de resúmenes que inmediatamente hacen pensar en la necesidad de una reconsideración. Los arreglos humanos no son otra cosa que cabos sueltos y cálculos nebulosos, independientemente de cualquier cosa que para consolarnos pueda fingir el arte”
― The Sea, the Sea
“Los juicios sobre las personas no son jamás decisivos, surgen de resúmenes que inmediatamente hacen pensar en la necesidad de una reconsideración. Los arreglos humanos no son otra cosa que cabos sueltos y cálculos nebulosos, independientemente de cualquier cosa que para consolarnos pueda fingir el arte”
― The Sea, the Sea

This is a group for readers of books in Enlgish to share their thoughts, books and whatever else group members wish to share. This group is designed f ...more

Este grupo, creado en el 2007, nace de una iniciativa colectiva para abrir un espacio a los hispanohablantes dentro de la amplia red de intercambio qu ...more

For those attempting the crazy feat of reading all 1001 books! For discerning bibliophiles and readers who enjoy unforgettable classic literature, 10 ...more

A chance to discuss the work of Alain de Botton, especially the latest title, A Week at the Airport. Dates, October 18-24

The group discusses the philosophy and psychology, poetry and science, medicine! As well as an opportunity to prove themselves in the cause of peace a ...more
Blanca’s 2022 Year in Books
Take a look at Blanca’s Year in Books. The good, the bad, the long, the short—it’s all here.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Blanca
Lists liked by Blanca