1,234 books
—
4,086 voters
to-read
(1086)
currently-reading (12)
read (3986)
japan (152)
alternate-history (142)
eschatology (127)
collection-anthology (124)
currently-reading (12)
read (3986)
japan (152)
alternate-history (142)
eschatology (127)
collection-anthology (124)
slipstream
(124)
biography (108)
horror (98)
occult-esque (98)
history (73)
superhero-fiction (72)
biopunk (68)
biography (108)
horror (98)
occult-esque (98)
history (73)
superhero-fiction (72)
biopunk (68)


“Friends are God's way of apologizing for your family.”
― The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way
― The Power of Intention: Learning to Co-Create Your World Your Way

“The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.”
― The Last Battle
― The Last Battle

“We will go out into the world and plant gardens and orchards to the horizons, we will build roads through the mountains and across the deserts, and terrace the mountains and irrigate the deserts until there will be garden everywhere, and plenty for all, and there will be no more empires or kingdoms, no more caliphs, sultans, emirs, khans, or zamindars, no more kings or queens or princes, no more quadis or mullahs or ulema, no more slavery and no more usury, no more property and no more taxes, no more rich and no more poor, no killing or maiming or torture or execution, no more jailers and no more prisoners, no more generals, soldiers, armies or navies, no more patriarchy, no more caste, no more hunger, no more suffering than what life brings us for being born and having to die, and then we will see for the first time what kind of creatures we really are.”
― The Years of Rice and Salt
― The Years of Rice and Salt

“The world is a huge space, but the space that will take you in - and it doesn't have to be very big - is nowhere to be found. You seek a voice, but what do you get? Silence. You look for silence, but guess what? All you hear over and over and over is the voice of this omen. And sometimes this prophetic voice pushes a secret switch hidden deep inside your brain.
Your heart is like a great river after a long spell of rain, spilling over its banks. All signposts that once stood on the ground are gone, inundated and carried away by that rush of water. And still the rain beats down on the surface of the river. Every time you see a flood like that on the news you tell yourself: That's it. That's my heart.”
― Kafka on the Shore
Your heart is like a great river after a long spell of rain, spilling over its banks. All signposts that once stood on the ground are gone, inundated and carried away by that rush of water. And still the rain beats down on the surface of the river. Every time you see a flood like that on the news you tell yourself: That's it. That's my heart.”
― Kafka on the Shore

“No intellect is needed to see those figures who wait beyond the void of death – every child is aware of them, blazing with glories dark or bright, wrapped in authority older than the universe. They are the stuff of our earliest dreams, as of our dying visions. Rightly we feel our lives guided by them, and rightly too we feel how little we matter to them, the builders of the unimaginable, the fighters of wars beyond the totality of existence.
The difficulty lies in learning that we ourselves encompass forces equally great. We say, “I will,” and “I will not,” and imagine ourselves (though we obey the orders of some prosaic person every day) our own masters, when the truth is that our masters are sleeping. One wakes within us and we are ridden like beasts, though the rider is but some hitherto unguessed part of ourselves.”
― Shadow & Claw
The difficulty lies in learning that we ourselves encompass forces equally great. We say, “I will,” and “I will not,” and imagine ourselves (though we obey the orders of some prosaic person every day) our own masters, when the truth is that our masters are sleeping. One wakes within us and we are ridden like beasts, though the rider is but some hitherto unguessed part of ourselves.”
― Shadow & Claw

Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more

Described credibly as the greatest living writer of English, Gene Wolfe writes, fulfills, and transcends genres such Science Fiction, Speculative Fict ...more

Since Twitter may soon become a dreary place, I've created this refuge for comics talk. Just comic talk, no politics. Try not to be a dick. Invite any ...more
Michael’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Michael’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Michael
Lists liked by Michael