to-read
(513)
currently-reading (7)
read (198)
did-not-finish (1)
something-new (110)
english-literature (80)
italian-literature (57)
writing (54)
american-literature (44)
biografie (42)
poetry (35)
short-stories (34)
currently-reading (7)
read (198)
did-not-finish (1)
something-new (110)
english-literature (80)
italian-literature (57)
writing (54)
american-literature (44)
biografie (42)
poetry (35)
short-stories (34)
politics
(29)
non-fiction (25)
french-literature (19)
russian-literature (16)
gothic (15)
photography (15)
consigli-di-scrittori (14)
bloomsbury (13)
latin-and-greek (12)
art (10)
london (9)
children (8)
non-fiction (25)
french-literature (19)
russian-literature (16)
gothic (15)
photography (15)
consigli-di-scrittori (14)
bloomsbury (13)
latin-and-greek (12)
art (10)
london (9)
children (8)
“Spring passes and one remembers one's innocence.
Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.”
―
Summer passes and one remembers one's exuberance.
Autumn passes and one remembers one's reverence.
Winter passes and one remembers one's perseverance.”
―
“But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”
― Middlemarch
― Middlemarch
“By hook or by crook, I hope that you will possess yourselves of money enough to travel and to idle, to contemplate the future or the past of the world, to dream over books and loiter at street corners and let the line of thought dip deep into the stream”
―
―
“If the book we are reading does not wake us, as with a fist hammering on our skulls, then why do we read it? Good God, we also would be happy if we had no books and such books that make us happy we could, if need be, write ourselves. What we must have are those books that come on us like ill fortune, like the death of one we love better than ourselves, like suicide. A book must be an ice axe to break the sea frozen inside us.
What we need are books that hit us like a most painful misfortune, like the death of someone we loved more than we love ourselves, that make us feel as though we had been banished to the woods, far from any human presence, like a suicide. A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us.”
―
What we need are books that hit us like a most painful misfortune, like the death of someone we loved more than we love ourselves, that make us feel as though we had been banished to the woods, far from any human presence, like a suicide. A book must be the ax for the frozen sea within us.”
―
“I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? So that it will make us happy, as you write? Good Lord, we would be happy precisely if we had no books, and the kind of books that make us happy are the kind we could write ourselves if we had to. But we need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is my belief.”
―
―
Reading the 20th Century
— 1639 members
— last activity 43 minutes 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
Virginia’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Virginia’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Virginia
Lists liked by Virginia





































