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"Chapter one talks about the idea that one can drown in selfhood, that to give all one's energy to the self, self-improvement, self-achievement will yield less and less satisfaction after a certain point. But if we choose to love another and experience life through the lens of other, in as much as we can, we weaken the drive of selfhood and simultaneously strengthen our spirit, our will to live, our fulfillment." — Feb 19, 2026 08:08AM
"Chapter one talks about the idea that one can drown in selfhood, that to give all one's energy to the self, self-improvement, self-achievement will yield less and less satisfaction after a certain point. But if we choose to love another and experience life through the lens of other, in as much as we can, we weaken the drive of selfhood and simultaneously strengthen our spirit, our will to live, our fulfillment." — Feb 19, 2026 08:08AM
“Fortunately there is gin, the sole glimmer in this darkness. Do you feel the golden, copper-coloured light it kindles in you? I like walking through the city of an evening in the warmth of gin.”
― The Fall
― The Fall
“The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to oneself.”
― The Complete Essays
― The Complete Essays
“First, he says, you have to go out into the world. This is not a simple matter of going outside one's door. No, that is simply going out. That's what one does when one is on the way to the store to buy a loaf of bread, some cheese, and a bottle of wine. When one goes out into the world, one is shedding preconceptions of past paths and ideas of past paths, and trying to move freely through an unsubstantiated and new geography.”
― The Way Through Doors
― The Way Through Doors
“The human race is a monotonous thing. Most people work most of the time in order to live, and the little freedom they have left over frightens them so, that they will do anything to get rid of it. Oh, the regimentation of mankind!”
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“Let everything that's been planned come true. Let them believe. And let them have a laugh at their passions. Because what they call passion actually is not some emotional energy, but just the friction between their souls and the outside world. And most important, let them believe in themselves. Let them be helpless like children, because weakness is a great thing, and strength is nothing. When a man is just born, he is weak and flexible. When he dies, he is hard and insensitive. When a tree is growing, it's tender and pliant. But when it's dry and hard, it dies. Hardness and strength are death's companions. Pliancy and weakness are expressions of the freshness of being. Because what has hardened will never win.”
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Ben’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Ben’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
136 books
|
40 friends
1,538 books
|
9 friends
687 books
|
80 friends
353 books
|
51 friends
1,172 books
|
10 friends
50 books
|
41 friends
321 books
|
114 friends
876 books
|
80 friends
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Ben
Lists liked by Ben
