Discover new books on Goodreads
Meet your next favorite book
Gareth Harding
https://www.goodreads.com/grrarrth
“It's strange because sometimes, I read a book, and I think I am the people in the book.”
― The Perks of Being a Wallflower
― The Perks of Being a Wallflower
“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”
―
―
“We need, in love, to practice only this: letting each other go. For holding on comes easily; we do not need to learn it.”
― Translations from the Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke
― Translations from the Poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke
“And on the subject of burning books: I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength or their powerful political connections or their great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and have refused to reveal to thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.
So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.”
― A Man Without a Country
So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House or the Supreme Court or the Senate or the House of Representatives or the media. The America I love still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.”
― A Man Without a Country
“Young Castle called me "Scoop." "Good Morning, Scoop. What's new in the word game?"
"I might ask the same of you," I replied.
"I'm thinking of calling a general strike of all writers until mankind finally comes to its senses. Would you support it?"
"Do writers have a right to strike? That would be like the police or the firemen walking out."
"Or the college professors."
"Or the college professors," I agreed. I shook my head. "No, I don't think my conscience would let me support a strike like that. When a man becomes a writer, I think he takes a sacred obligation to produce beauty and enlightenment and comfort at top speed."
"I just can't help thinking what a real shake up it would give people if, all of a sudden, there were no new books, new plays, new histories, new poems..."
"And how proud would you be when people started dying like flies?" I demanded.
"They'd die more like mad dogs, I think--snarling & snapping at each other & biting their own tails."
I turned to Castle the elder. "Sir, how does a man die when he's deprived of the consolation of literature?"
"In one of two ways," he said, "petrescence of the heart or atrophy of the nervous system."
"Neither one very pleasant, I expect," I suggested.
"No," said Castle the elder. "For the love of God, both of you, please keep writing!”
― Cat’s Cradle
"I might ask the same of you," I replied.
"I'm thinking of calling a general strike of all writers until mankind finally comes to its senses. Would you support it?"
"Do writers have a right to strike? That would be like the police or the firemen walking out."
"Or the college professors."
"Or the college professors," I agreed. I shook my head. "No, I don't think my conscience would let me support a strike like that. When a man becomes a writer, I think he takes a sacred obligation to produce beauty and enlightenment and comfort at top speed."
"I just can't help thinking what a real shake up it would give people if, all of a sudden, there were no new books, new plays, new histories, new poems..."
"And how proud would you be when people started dying like flies?" I demanded.
"They'd die more like mad dogs, I think--snarling & snapping at each other & biting their own tails."
I turned to Castle the elder. "Sir, how does a man die when he's deprived of the consolation of literature?"
"In one of two ways," he said, "petrescence of the heart or atrophy of the nervous system."
"Neither one very pleasant, I expect," I suggested.
"No," said Castle the elder. "For the love of God, both of you, please keep writing!”
― Cat’s Cradle
The Doctor Rules!!!!!!
— 721 members
— last activity Mar 08, 2019 01:19PM
All Doctor Who fans(you know who you are) need to join! Discuss your fav doctors, your fav companions, etc. PLEASE JOIN!
The Next Best Book Club
— 26326 members
— last activity 2 hours, 15 min ago
Are you searching for the NEXT best book? Are you willing to kiss all your spare cash goodbye? Are you easily distracted by independent bookshops, bi ...more
Our Shared Shelf
— 222831 members
— last activity Jul 30, 2026 09:56AM
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
Harry Potter
— 17388 members
— last activity 7 hours, 28 min ago
We're fans of Rowling's series because we know that it is more than just a children's fantasy story. ...more
Raymond E. Feist Fans
— 115 members
— last activity Feb 06, 2019 12:42PM
For anybody who enjoys REF's books. ...more
Gareth’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Gareth’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
7 books
|
1,663 friends
2,563 books
|
457 friends
1,781 books
|
2,416 friends
464 books
|
3,741 friends
2,674 books
|
323 friends
1,585 books
|
387 friends
753 books
|
63 friends
848 books
|
175 friends
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Gareth
Lists liked by Gareth