Owen

Add friend
Sign in to Goodreads to learn more about Owen.

https://boxd.it/1A3tH

All We Say: The B...
Rate this book
Clear rating

progress: 
 
  (1%)
"Intro✔️ my inaugural book of my newly renewed Spotify account, as my as the 800th book on my current “currently reading” shelf" 19 hours, 26 min ago

 
Joseph Smith: The...
Rate this book
Clear rating

progress: 
 
  (4%)
"Chapter 1. Very Low Circumstances (1805-1816)✔️" 10 hours, 19 min ago

 
Crisis of the Com...
Rate this book
Clear rating

progress: 
 
  (page 26 of 304)
"Introduction✔️*" May 28, 2026 05:07AM

 
See all 800 books that Owen is reading…
Loading...
George R.R. Martin
“Oh, I think not,” Varys said, swirling the wine in his cup. “Power is a curious thing, my lord. Perchance you have considered the riddle I posed you that day in the inn?”
“It has crossed my mind a time or two,” Tyrion admitted. “The king, the priest, the rich man—who lives and who dies? Who will the swordsman obey? It’s a riddle without an answer, or rather, too many answers. All depends on the man with the sword.”
“And yet he is no one,” Varys said. “He has neither crown nor gold nor favor of the gods, only a piece of pointed steel.”
“That piece of steel is the power of life and death.”
“Just so… yet if it is the swordsmen who rule us in truth, why do we pretend our kings hold the power? Why should a strong man with a sword ever obey a child king like Joffrey, or a wine-sodden oaf like his father?”
“Because these child kings and drunken oafs can call other strong men, with other swords.”
“Then these other swordsmen have the true power. Or do they?” Varys smiled. “Some say knowledge is power. Some tell us that all power comes from the gods. Others say it derives from law. Yet that day on the steps of Baelor’s Sept, our godly High Septon and the lawful Queen Regent and your ever-so-knowledgeable servant were as powerless as any cobbler or cooper in the crowd. Who truly killed Eddard Stark, do you think? Joffrey, who gave the command? Ser Ilyn Payne, who swung the sword? Or… another?”
Tyrion cocked his head sideways. “Did you mean to answer your damned riddle, or only to make my head ache worse?”
Varys smiled. “Here, then. Power resides where men believe it resides. No more and no less.”
“So power is a mummer’s trick?”
“A shadow on the wall,” Varys murmured, “yet shadows can kill. And ofttimes a very small man can cast a very large shadow.”
Tyrion smiled. “Lord Varys, I am growing strangely fond of you. I may kill you yet, but I think I’d feel sad about it.”
“I will take that as high praise.”
George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings

George R.R. Martin
“The common people pray for rain, healthy children, and a summer that never ends," Ser Jorah told her. "It is no matter to them if the high lords play their game of thrones, so long as they are left in peace." He gave a shrug. "They never are.”
George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

Sun Tzu
“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”
Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Abraham Lincoln
“I am slow to learn and slow to forget that which I have learned. My mind is like a piece of steel, very hard to scratch any thing on it and almost impossible after you get it there to rub it out.”
Abraham Lincoln

Stephen Kinzer
“It is a great tool of dictators and tyrants, who want to get masses of people to do what they want, to make sure there are no libraries...The fact that there was no public library in Rwanda is one reason why genocide was possible.”
Stephen Kinzer

169034 Non Fiction Book Club — 5115 members — last activity 33 minutes ago
This group is for anyone who enjoys Non Fiction. Genres discussed here include Histories, Autobiographies, Biographies, Memoirs, Science and Technolog ...more
277227 Reading the 20th Century — 1637 members — last activity 1 hour, 2 min ago
Welcome to 'Reading the 20th Century', a friendly and inclusive group that explores and discusses the literature, history, culture and music of the ye ...more
1285231 Adapting novels into films directed on Hollywood sets — 2505 members — last activity Mar 17, 2026 11:15PM
Hello, I have started the journey to adapt books, into a film. Our target is Hollywood. That is why I am offering the written story for those interest ...more
7263808 Theology, Meaning, and Morality — 214 members — last activity May 27, 2026 01:07PM
A space for thoughtful discussion on theology and beyond: meaning, morality, and the depths to understanding human life. This group welcomes diverse ...more
7265546 The Universal Book Haven — 5918 members — last activity 22 hours, 2 min ago
Where every story finds a reader, and every reader finds a home. A welcoming community for readers who believe that every book, no matter the genre, ...more
More of Owen’s groups…
year in books
Davy Be...
3,809 books | 96 friends

Carlex
3,268 books | 790 friends

Michael...
725 books | 775 friends

Graham ...
324 books | 823 friends

LA
LA
1,587 books | 55 friends

Trix
65 books | 137 friends

Lorie
3,650 books | 3,325 friends

Heidi W...
1,848 books | 202 friends

More friends…
43 by Barbara A.  PerryNimitz at War by Craig L. SymondsThe 48 Laws of Power by Robert GreeneAmerican Ulysses by Ronald C. White Jr.Oliver Wendell Holmes by Stephen Budiansky
Best History Books
3,944 books — 4,174 voters
The Dictator's Handbook by Bruce Bueno de MesquitaWatergate by Garrett M. GraffChaos by Tom O'NeillG-Man by Beverly GageImpeachment by Jeffrey A. Engel
Corruption in High Places
450 books — 341 voters

More…

Favorite Genres



Polls voted on by Owen

Lists liked by Owen