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485 books
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63 voters
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(2035)
currently-reading (5)
read (2809)
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currently-reading (5)
read (2809)
did-not-finish (0)
keeping-in-mind (2421)
tsundoku (644)
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à-la-recherche (12)
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graphic-novels-comics (494)
france (285)
short-stories-novella (262)
2017 (231)
russia (230)
o-dierbaar-belgië (218)
history (214)
uk (199)
2019 (171)
netherlands (170)
2018 (158)
progress:
(page 16 of 318)
"A classic is something that tends to relegate the concerns of the moment to the status of background noise, but at the same time this background noise is something we cannot do without.
A classic is something that persists as a background noise even when the most incompatible momentary concerns are in control of the situation." — Mar 21, 2026 05:46AM
"A classic is something that tends to relegate the concerns of the moment to the status of background noise, but at the same time this background noise is something we cannot do without.
A classic is something that persists as a background noise even when the most incompatible momentary concerns are in control of the situation." — Mar 21, 2026 05:46AM
Ilse
is currently reading
progress:
(page 72 of 402)
"Ma belle amie, l'homme le plus adroit ne peut encore se tenir au niveau de la femme la plus vraie." — Feb 28, 2026 04:09AM
"Ma belle amie, l'homme le plus adroit ne peut encore se tenir au niveau de la femme la plus vraie." — Feb 28, 2026 04:09AM
Ilse
is currently reading
progress:
(page 8 of 276)
"Flaubert believed it was impossible to explain one art form in terms of another & great paintings required no words of explanation.Braque thought the ideal state would be reached when we said nothing at all in front of a painting.But we are very far from reaching that state.We remain incorrigibly verbal creatures who love to explain things, to form opinions.It is a rare picture which stuns,or argues, us into silence." — Jan 21, 2026 08:47AM
"Flaubert believed it was impossible to explain one art form in terms of another & great paintings required no words of explanation.Braque thought the ideal state would be reached when we said nothing at all in front of a painting.But we are very far from reaching that state.We remain incorrigibly verbal creatures who love to explain things, to form opinions.It is a rare picture which stuns,or argues, us into silence." — Jan 21, 2026 08:47AM
“Jezelf verliezen in een boek is de beste manier om je terug te vinden in de wereld. Leestijd is nooit verloren tijd. Na het lezen sta je vaak dichter bij jezelf en ook dichter bij de buitenwereld. Dat is een afdaling en een stilte die eigenlijk je gesprek met de wereld vergroot en versterkt.”
―
―
“Awareness has infinite gradations, like light.”
― Bread and Wine
― Bread and Wine
“To a Depressed Friend
Sometimes, to make sure
You're still here,
Look up for cloud sustenance.
Be sure they are
Different from yesterday,
From an hour ago,
From when you were 15
And sky didn't matter
Because only pretty girls did.
Note how cumulus
Will be looking down
And naming what
Kind of human you're
Shaped like: mailman,
Archaeologist, student of rain.
On clear nights, rely on starlight.
Pentacles. Pulses.
Further proof of existence.”
― Reincarnation & Other Stimulants: Life, Death, & In-Between Poems
Sometimes, to make sure
You're still here,
Look up for cloud sustenance.
Be sure they are
Different from yesterday,
From an hour ago,
From when you were 15
And sky didn't matter
Because only pretty girls did.
Note how cumulus
Will be looking down
And naming what
Kind of human you're
Shaped like: mailman,
Archaeologist, student of rain.
On clear nights, rely on starlight.
Pentacles. Pulses.
Further proof of existence.”
― Reincarnation & Other Stimulants: Life, Death, & In-Between Poems
“Wage Du zu irren und zu träumen!”
―
―
“At least let me now deceive myself with illusions
so as not to feel my empty life.
And yet I came so close so many times.
And yet how paralyzed I was, how cowardly;
why did I keep my lips sealed
while my empty life wept inside me,
my desires wore robes of mourning?
To have been so close so many times
to those sensual eyes, those lips,
to that body I dreamed of, loved.
To have been so close so many times.
September 1903”
―
so as not to feel my empty life.
And yet I came so close so many times.
And yet how paralyzed I was, how cowardly;
why did I keep my lips sealed
while my empty life wept inside me,
my desires wore robes of mourning?
To have been so close so many times
to those sensual eyes, those lips,
to that body I dreamed of, loved.
To have been so close so many times.
September 1903”
―
Elizabeth Taylor - Just one to begin with . . .
— 12 members
— last activity Jan 26, 2024 04:25AM
Hi Friends - completed A Game of Hide and Seek - and moving on...
The Short Story Club
— 567 members
— last activity 3 hours, 27 min ago
The purpose of this group is to read and discuss one short story a week. For the the first couple of years, we read from specific anthologies, but fro ...more
Homer's The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson
— 199 members
— last activity Aug 15, 2025 01:06PM
In this group, we will read and discuss Emily Wilson's new translation of Homer's The Odyssey, published in November 2017 by Norton. We also welcome d ...more
Tessa Hadley Fans
— 6 members
— last activity Feb 04, 2024 03:44PM
A small group to read Tessa Hadley's latest novel - Free Love. Start date - tentative - January 2024 ...more
Girl by Edna O'Brien - Starting 10 January 2025
— 5 members
— last activity Apr 11, 2025 04:01PM
Buddy Read
Ilse’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Ilse’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
7,434 books
|
196 friends
4,405 books
|
1,051 friends
568 books
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91 friends
4,101 books
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879 friends
5,968 books
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465 friends
854 books
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128 friends
3,069 books
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553 friends
1,176 books
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374 friends
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