to-read
(1012)
currently-reading (320)
read (1554)
religion (52)
history (38)
fiction (37)
classics (35)
computer-programming (24)
software-engineering (21)
biography (15)
science-fiction (14)
currently-reading (320)
read (1554)
religion (52)
history (38)
fiction (37)
classics (35)
computer-programming (24)
software-engineering (21)
biography (15)
science-fiction (14)
victorian
(14)
immigration (12)
memoirs (12)
old-computer-books (11)
science (11)
historical-fiction (10)
oracle-database (9)
politics (9)
biology (5)
personal-connection (5)
poetry (5)
immigration (12)
memoirs (12)
old-computer-books (11)
science (11)
historical-fiction (10)
oracle-database (9)
politics (9)
biology (5)
personal-connection (5)
poetry (5)
Such statements can best be understood as a kind of theology. Israel is righteous by definition. Its war in Gaza remains moral even when its crimes are documented for all to see. More than sixty years ago, Hannah Arendt warned that Jewish
...more
“Come indoors then, and open the books on your library shelves. For you have a library and a good one. A working library, a living library; a library where nothing is chained down and nothing is locked up; a library where the songs of the singers rise naturally from the lives of the livers.”
―
―
“For books continue each other, in spite of our habit of judging them separately.”
― A Room of One's Own and Three Guineas
― A Room of One's Own and Three Guineas
“The only advice, indeed, that one person can give another about reading is to take no advice, to follow your own instincts, to use your own reason, to come to your own conclusions. If this is agreed between us, then I feel at liberty to put forward a few ideas and suggestions because you will not allow them to fetter that independence which is the most important quality that a reader can possess. After all, what laws can be laid down about books? The battle of Waterloo was certainly fought on a certain day; but is Hamlet a better play than Lear? Nobody can say. Each must decide that question for himself. To admit authorities, however heavily furred and gowned, into our libraries and let them tell us how to read, what to read, what value to place upon what we read, is to destroy the spirit of freedom which is the breath of those sanctuaries. Everywhere else we may be bound by laws and conventions-there we have none.”
― The Second Common Reader
― The Second Common Reader
“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! I went in and found the table laden with books. I looked in and sniffed them all. I could not resist carrying this one off and broaching it. I think I could happily live here and read forever.”
― A Writer's Diary
― A Writer's Diary
“Few people ask from books what books can give us. Most commonly we come to books with blurred and divided minds, asking of fiction that it shall be true, of poetry that it shall be false, of biography that it shall be flattering, of history that it shall enforce our own prejudices. If we could banish all such preconceptions when we read, that would be an admirable beginning.”
― The Second Common Reader
― The Second Common Reader
#ClassicsCommunity 2021 Reading Challenge
— 2697 members
— last activity Aug 20, 2025 03:13PM
In 2021, I'm hosting a year-long readathon where I - and hopefully you! - will be reading as many classics as possible. The #ClassicsCommunity is an ...more
The book you like most
— 49192 members
— last activity 3 hours, 56 min ago
This group (ranked in the TOP 100 most popular groups on Goodreads) is dedicated to the "Vision and Story" project. Additionally, the group THE BOOK ...more
Photography
— 147 members
— last activity Feb 24, 2013 11:03PM
A group to discuss available books on photography, what they talk about, what you can learn, and which seem to be the most popular and why. Also a ch ...more
Nonfiction November
— 2638 members
— last activity Oct 12, 2025 12:31PM
**Note** This event is no longer active. Thank you for 10 wonderful years! Please feel free to keep using this page as a resource. Welcome to Nonfict ...more
The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910
— 3758 members
— last activity 14 hours, 19 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
Barry’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Barry’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Barry
Lists liked by Barry



















































