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“Sometimes when you're in a dark place you think you've been buried, but you've actually been planted.”
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“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.”
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“How should we be able to forget those ancient myths that are at the beginning of all peoples, the myths about dragons that at the last moment turn into princesses; perhaps all the dragons of our lives are princesses who are only waiting to see us once beautiful and brave. Perhaps everything terrible is in its deepest being something helpless that wants help from us.
So you must not be frightened if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloudshadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any miseries, or any depressions? For after all, you do not know what work these conditions are doing inside you.”
― Letters to a Young Poet
So you must not be frightened if a sadness rises up before you larger than any you have ever seen; if a restiveness, like light and cloudshadows, passes over your hands and over all you do. You must think that something is happening with you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand; it will not let you fall. Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any miseries, or any depressions? For after all, you do not know what work these conditions are doing inside you.”
― Letters to a Young Poet
“You read something which you thought only happened to you, and you discover that it happened 100 years ago to Dostoyevsky. This is a very great liberation for the suffering, struggling person, who always thinks that he is alone. This is why art is important.”
― Conversations with James Baldwin (Literary Conversations Series)
― Conversations with James Baldwin (Literary Conversations Series)
Our Shared Shelf
— 222797 members
— last activity 6 hours, 4 min ago
OUR SHARED SHELF IS CURRENTLY DORMANT AND NOT MANAGED BY EMMA AND HER TEAM. Dear Readers, As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading ...more
New Adult Book Club
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— last activity May 28, 2026 01:58PM
This group is for everyone to share their love of New Adult fiction - the rapidly growing catagory for books that have the same coming of age feel as ...more
Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club
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— last activity Jun 17, 2026 11:46AM
You just found the Official unofficial Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club. We will read the Goodreads Choice Awards winning books throughout the year b ...more
The Perks Of Being A Book Addict
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— last activity 14 hours, 25 min ago
This group is for anyone who loves books from different genres. Every month we have group Books of the Month which you can join, reading challenges, a ...more
The Procrastinators Book Club
— 4681 members
— last activity 16 hours, 28 min ago
Welcome to the Procrastinators!! Do you have a book or series you always wanted to read but never got around to it? Were you procrastinating it becau ...more
Val’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Val’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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