Sarah left GR

“Outside, she thought that there ought to be a word for it: the air temperature that was perfectly neither hot nor cold. One degree lower, and she might have felt a faint misgiving about not having brought a jacket. One degree higher, and a skim of sweat might have glistened at her hairline. But at this precise degree, she required neither wrap nor breeze. Were there a word for such a temperature, there would have to be a corollary for the particular ecstasy of greeting it - the heedlessness, the needlessness, the suspended lack of urgency, as if time could stop, or should. Usually temperature was a battle; only at this exact fulcrum was it an active delight.”
― Lionel Shriver, The Post-Birthday World

“One afternoon in early August I was sitting in my backyard with a group of friends chatting over drinks, and one of them asked what was going on with me.

I imparted a few of my dating escapades from the weeks prior -- using all of the ridiculous monikers I'd given all my OkCupid paramours, like Weirdly-Obsessed-with-Sake Guy or Pretty-Sure-He-Hates-Me Guy.

She listened for a while, then said, "Okay, well, do you have any stories that don't revolve around looking for a man? Like, stories about other stuff you're doing with your life?"

Her message was clear. She thought I was better than this.

But I wasn't. I'm not.”
― Courtenay Hameister, Okay Fine Whatever: The Year I Went from Being Afraid of Everything to Only Being Afraid of Most Things

“The object we call a book is not the real book, but its potential, like a musical score or seed. It exists fully only in the act of being read; and its real home is inside the head of the reader, where the symphony resounds, the seed germinates. A book is a heart that only beats in the chest of another.”
― Rebecca Solnit, The Faraway Nearby

“In a way fighting was just like using magic. You said the words, and they altered the universe. By merely speaking you could create damage and pain, cause tears to fall, drive people away, make yourself feel better, make your life worse.”
― Lev Grossman, The Magicians