John
https://www.goodreads.com/jpbacon
On my fifth trip to France I limited myself to the words and phrases that people actually use. From the dog owners I learned “Lie down,” “Shut up,” and “Who shit on this carpet?” The couple across the road taught me to ask questions
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“Like most people who proclaim themselves free spirits, she was fiercely conventional.”
― A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
― A Spy Among Friends: Kim Philby and the Great Betrayal
“If you read an essay in Esquire and don’t like it, there could be something wrong with the essay. If it’s in The New Yorker, on the other hand, and you don’t like it, there’s something wrong with you.”
― The Best of Me
― The Best of Me
“I don't know if I've come of age, but I'm certainly older now. I feel shrunken, as if there's a tiny ancient Oliver Tate inside me operating the levers of a life-size Oliver-shaped shell. A shell on which a decrepit picture show replays the same handful of images. Every night I come to the same place and wait till the sky catches up with my mood. The pattern is set. This is, no doubt, the end.”
― Submarine
― Submarine
“I have realized that the past and future are real illusions, that they exist in the present, which is what there is and all there is.”
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“Hello, you must be Alan.’ It was production runner, Paula. ‘I’m the production runner, Paula.’ ‘That’s a nice name.’ This was my go-to compliment when meeting people for the first time. ‘Oh, really? Do you think so?’ Problem was, it worked less well with what one might call the shitter names, such as Paula, when it could sound dangerously sarcastic. ‘Absolutely, my mum was called Paula.’ My mum was not called Paula, but by lying I had stopped sounding like I was being sarcastic.”
― Alan Partridge: Big Beacon: The hilarious memoir from the nation's favourite broadcaster, perfect for Christmas
― Alan Partridge: Big Beacon: The hilarious memoir from the nation's favourite broadcaster, perfect for Christmas
John’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at John’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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