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Abby Lay
https://www.goodreads.com/abbylay
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"Oedipus Rex mentioned! this greek epic is revealing to me HOW MUCH western society is totally influenced by and in reference of and inspired by greek and roman mythology. I'm truly blown by this. So many cities and schools and streets are named after greek gods. so many concepts find their root words to be a god or goddesses name. the freaking planets are all the names of gods. the fucking days of the week!" — Sep 11, 2026 12:37AM
"Oedipus Rex mentioned! this greek epic is revealing to me HOW MUCH western society is totally influenced by and in reference of and inspired by greek and roman mythology. I'm truly blown by this. So many cities and schools and streets are named after greek gods. so many concepts find their root words to be a god or goddesses name. the freaking planets are all the names of gods. the fucking days of the week!" — Sep 11, 2026 12:37AM
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.”
― Clippings from My Notebook
― Clippings from My Notebook
“Never does Nature say one thing and Wisdom another.”
― The Sixteen Satires
― The Sixteen Satires
“The Genius Of The Crowd
there is enough treachery, hatred violence absurdity in the average
human being to supply any given army on any given day
and the best at murder are those who preach against it
and the best at hate are those who preach love
and the best at war finally are those who preach peace
those who preach god, need god
those who preach peace do not have peace
those who preach peace do not have love
beware the preachers
beware the knowers
beware those who are always reading books
beware those who either detest poverty
or are proud of it
beware those quick to praise
for they need praise in return
beware those who are quick to censor
they are afraid of what they do not know
beware those who seek constant crowds for
they are nothing alone
beware the average man the average woman
beware their love, their love is average
seeks average
but there is genius in their hatred
there is enough genius in their hatred to kill you
to kill anybody
not wanting solitude
not understanding solitude
they will attempt to destroy anything
that differs from their own
not being able to create art
they will not understand art
they will consider their failure as creators
only as a failure of the world
not being able to love fully
they will believe your love incomplete
and then they will hate you
and their hatred will be perfect
like a shining diamond
like a knife
like a mountain
like a tiger
like hemlock
their finest art”
― The Roominghouse Madrigals: Early Selected Poems, 1946-1966
there is enough treachery, hatred violence absurdity in the average
human being to supply any given army on any given day
and the best at murder are those who preach against it
and the best at hate are those who preach love
and the best at war finally are those who preach peace
those who preach god, need god
those who preach peace do not have peace
those who preach peace do not have love
beware the preachers
beware the knowers
beware those who are always reading books
beware those who either detest poverty
or are proud of it
beware those quick to praise
for they need praise in return
beware those who are quick to censor
they are afraid of what they do not know
beware those who seek constant crowds for
they are nothing alone
beware the average man the average woman
beware their love, their love is average
seeks average
but there is genius in their hatred
there is enough genius in their hatred to kill you
to kill anybody
not wanting solitude
not understanding solitude
they will attempt to destroy anything
that differs from their own
not being able to create art
they will not understand art
they will consider their failure as creators
only as a failure of the world
not being able to love fully
they will believe your love incomplete
and then they will hate you
and their hatred will be perfect
like a shining diamond
like a knife
like a mountain
like a tiger
like hemlock
their finest art”
― The Roominghouse Madrigals: Early Selected Poems, 1946-1966
Abby’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Abby’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
258 books
|
13 friends
1,053 books
|
133 friends
602 books
|
5 friends
13 books
|
3 friends
219 books
|
14 friends
392 books
|
15 friends
51 books
|
8 friends
155 books
|
16 friends
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Abby
Lists liked by Abby