75,719 books
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281,548 voters
“The herd instinct of the mob was not yet as offensively powerful in public life as it is today; freedom in what you did or did not do in private life was taken for granted - which is hardly imaginable now - and toleration was not, as it is today, deplored as a weakness and debility, but was praised as an ethical force.”
― The World of Yesterday
― The World of Yesterday
“I preferred to read about ancient times, distant lands. Knowledge of anything current or faddish made me feel I was just a victim of isolation. If I avoided all that on purpose I could believe I was in control.”
― Eileen
― Eileen
“Quite often I’m terribly disappointed by how things turn out, but that’s usually my own fault for the simple reason that I’m too quick to conclude that things have turned out as fully as it is possible for them to turn, when in fact, quite often, they are still on the turn and have some way to go until they have turned out completely.”
― Pond: Stories
― Pond: Stories
“He regarded his success as a mere illusion, a trick of the devil aimed only to raise his expectations before dashing them.”
― The Coffee Trader
― The Coffee Trader
“Nationalism emerged to agitate the world only after the war, and the first visible phenomenon which this intellectual epidemic of our century brought about was xenophobia; morbid dislike of the foreigner, or at least fear of the foreigner. The world was on the defensive against strangers, everywhere they got short shrift. The humiliations which once had been devised with criminals alone in mind now were imposed upon the traveler, before and during every journey. There had to be photographs from right and left, in profile and full face, one’s hair had to be cropped sufficiently to make the ears visible; fingerprints were taken, at first only the thumb but later all ten fingers; furthermore, certificates of health, of vaccination, police certificates of good standing, had to be shown; letters of recommendation were required, invitations to visit a country had to be procured; they asked for the addresses of relatives, for moral and financial guarantees, questionnaires, and forms in triplicate and quadruplicate needed to be filled out,”
― The World of Yesterday
― The World of Yesterday
The Short Story Club
— 545 members
— last activity 9 hours, 29 min ago
The purpose of this group is to read and discuss one short story a week. For the the first couple of years, we read from specific anthologies, but fro ...more
Xenia’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Xenia’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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