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“The truth of a myth...is not in its words but its patterns.”
― The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
― The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
“Three or four times only in my youth did I glimpse the Joyous Isles, before they were lost to fogs, depressions, cold fronts, ill winds, and contrary tides... I mistook them for adulthood. Assuming they were a fixed feature in my life's voyage, I neglected to record their latitude, their longitude, their approach. Young ruddy fool. What wouldn't I give now for a never-changing map of the ever-constant ineffable? To possess, as it were, an atlas of clouds.”
― Cloud Atlas
― Cloud Atlas
“A book,
a book full
of human touches,
of shirts,
a book
without loneliness, with men
and tools,
a book
is victory.”
― Odes to Common Things
a book full
of human touches,
of shirts,
a book
without loneliness, with men
and tools,
a book
is victory.”
― Odes to Common Things
“Books don't offer real escape, but they can stop a mind scratching itself raw.”
― Cloud Atlas
― Cloud Atlas
“Sonnet XVII
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way than this:
where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. ”
―
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way than this:
where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep. ”
―
Classics and the Western Canon
— 4961 members
— last activity Jun 04, 2026 06:08PM
This is a group to read and discuss those books generally referred to as “the classics” or “the Western canon.” Books which have shaped Western though ...more
readers advisory for all
— 5731 members
— last activity Mar 10, 2026 04:29AM
life's too short to read crappy books. this is why readers' advisory exists. feel free to join if you are looking for "a book like____" or "a book tha ...more
Grace Tjan’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Grace Tjan’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
2,282 books
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1,182 books
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325 friends
3,678 books
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2,471 books
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71 friends
8,322 books
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1,171 friends
6,199 books
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1,070 books
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56 friends
225 books
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8 friends
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