Bayan Ala'abed
https://www.goodreads.com/bayan96
‘I don’t believe that love is meant to be like an explosion. It is not meant to be dramatic, or ravenous, or any of the silly words ascribed it by writers and musicians. But I do believe that when you know, you know. And I knew, and I let
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“I missed you even when I was with you. That’s been my problem. I miss what I already have, and I surround myself with things that are missing.”
― Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
― Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
“He awoke each morning with the desire to do right, to be a good and meaningful person, to be, as simple as it sounded and as impossible as it actually was, happy. And during the course of each day his heart would descend from his chest into his stomach. By early afternoon he was overcome by the feeling that nothing was right, or nothing was right for him, and by the desire to be alone. By evening he was fulfilled: alone in the magnitude of his grief, alone in his aimless guilt, alone even in his loneliness. I am not sad, he would repeat to himself over and over, I am not sad. As if he might one day convince himself. Or fool himself. Or convince others--the only thing worse than being sad is for others to know that you are sad. I am not sad. I am not sad. Because his life had unlimited potential for happiness, insofar as it was an empty white room. He would fall asleep with his heart at the foot of his bed, like some domesticated animal that was no part of him at all. And each morning he would wake with it again in the cupboard of his rib cage, having become a little heavier, a little weaker, but still pumping. And by the midafternoon he was again overcome with the desire to be somewhere else, someone else, someone else somewhere else. I am not sad.”
― Everything is Illuminated
― Everything is Illuminated
“Feminism has certainly helped me find my voice. Feminism has helped me believe my voice matters, even in this world where there are so many voices demanding to be heard.”
― Bad Feminist: Essays
― Bad Feminist: Essays
“Letting go. Everyone talks about it like it's the easiest thing. Unfurl your fingers one by one until your hand is open.”
― Where She Went
― Where She Went
“She didn't care that people called her a bitch. 'It's just another word for feminist,' she told me with pride.”
― If I Stay
― If I Stay
Bayan’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Bayan’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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Favorite Genres
Biography, Crime, Ebooks, Fiction, Historical fiction, History, Horror, Memoir, Mystery, Non-fiction, Psychology, Religion, and Thriller
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