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“Here I am, proud as Greek god, and yet standing debtor to this blockhead for a bone to stand on! Cursed be that mortal inter-indebtedness which will not do away with ledgers. I would be free as air; and I'm down in the whole world's books. I am so rich, I could have given bid for bid with the wealthiest Praetorians at the auction of the Roman empire (which was the world's); and yet I owe for the flesh in the tongue I brag with. By heavens! I'll get a crucible, and into it, and dissolve myself down to one small, compendious vertebra.”
― Moby-Dick or, The Whale
― Moby-Dick or, The Whale
“Perhaps all our loves are merely hints and symbols; vagabond-language scrawled on gate-posts and paving-stones along the weary road that others have tramped before us; perhaps you and I are types and this sadness which sometimes falls between us springs from disappointment in our search, each straining through and beyond the other, snatching a glimpse now and then of the shadow which turns the corner always a pace or two ahead of us.”
― Brideshead Revisited
― Brideshead Revisited
“Do you also believe that what gives our lives their meaning is the passion that suddenly invades us heart, soul, and body, and burns in us forever, no matter what else happens in our lives? And that if we have experienced this much, then perhaps we haven’t lived in vain? Is passion so deep and terrible and magnificent and inhuman? Is it indeed about desiring any one person, or is it about desiring desire itself? That is the question. Or perhaps, is it indeed about desiring a particular person, a single, mysterious other, once and for always, no matter whether that person is good or bad, and the intensity of our feelings bears no relation to that individual’s qualities or behavior?”
― Embers
― Embers
“You fight your superficiality, your shallowness, so as to try to come at people without unreal expectations, without an overload of bias or hope or arrogance, as untanklike as you can be, sans cannon and machine guns and steel plating half a foot thick; you come at them unmenacingly on your own ten toes instead of tearing up the turf with your caterpillar treads, take them on with an open mind, as equals, man to man, as we used to say, and yet you never fail to get them wrong. You might as well have the brain of a tank. You get them wrong before you meet them, while you're anticipating meeting them; you get them wrong while you're with them; and then you go home to tell somebody else about the meeting and you get them all wrong again. Since the same generally goes for them with you, the whole thing is really a dazzling illusion. ... The fact remains that getting people right is not what living is all about anyway. It's getting them wrong that is living, getting them wrong and wrong and wrong and then, on careful reconsideration, getting them wrong again. That's how we know we're alive: we're wrong. Maybe the best thing would be to forget being right or wrong about people and just go along for the ride. But if you can do that -- well, lucky you.”
― American Pastoral
― American Pastoral
“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”
― Mother Night
― Mother Night
The Novella Club
— 971 members
— last activity Mar 18, 2026 03:29PM
A book group devoted to reading and discussing novellas (one a month). Definition of NOVELLA 1) a story with a compact and pointed plot 2) a work of ...more
The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910
— 3763 members
— last activity 2 hours, 46 min ago
This is a group for discerning readers looking to discover, explore, and critically discuss some of the World’s literature, with a primary emphasis on ...more
Newbery Medal Winners, 1922 - Present
— 3 members
— last activity Sep 23, 2012 09:34AM
For anyone to check their reading list against the Newbery winners (excluding honors books)
What's the Name of That Book???
— 120449 members
— last activity 2 hours, 34 min ago
Can't remember the title of a book you read? Come search our bookshelves and discussion posts. If you don’t find it there, post a description on our U ...more
The Edgar Awards Panel
— 263 members
— last activity Mar 16, 2020 06:02AM
Join us on Monday, April 23, for a discussion with some of the finest mystery and crime writers on the scene today. This group is in celebration of th ...more
Ensiform’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Ensiform’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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