3,651 books
—
6,974 voters
“I’m forty now, and the hilarious thing about being forty is this: I don’t know anything. Before you try to convince me otherwise or try to make me feel better, you should know that I know that YOU’RE forty and trying to reassure yourself that YOU know something. You don’t!”
― Wow, No Thank You.: Essays
― Wow, No Thank You.: Essays
“So your own self, your personality and existence are reflected within the mind of each of the people whom you meet and live with, into a likeness, a caricature of yourself, which still lives on and pretends to be, in some way, the truth about you.”
― Seven Gothic Tales
― Seven Gothic Tales
“This is the great trap of life: One day rolls into the next, and a year goes by, and we still haven’t had that conversation we always meant to have. Still haven’t created that peak moment for our students. Still haven’t seen the northern lights. We walk a flatland that could have been a mountain range. It’s not easy to snap out of this tendency. It took a terminal illness for Gene O’Kelly to do it.”
― The Power of Moments: Why Certain Moments Have Extraordinary Impact
― The Power of Moments: Why Certain Moments Have Extraordinary Impact
“But for an individual human being, moments are the thing. Moments are what we remember and what we cherish. Certainly we might celebrate achieving a goal, such as completing a marathon or landing a significant client—but the achievement is embedded in a moment. Every culture has its prescribed set of big moments: birthdays and weddings and graduations, of course, but also holiday celebrations and funeral rites and political traditions. They seem “natural” to us. But notice that every last one of them was invented, dreamed up by anonymous authors who wanted to give shape to time. This is what we mean by “thinking in moments”: to recognize where the prose of life needs punctuation.”
― The Power of Moments: Why Certain Moments Have Extraordinary Impact
― The Power of Moments: Why Certain Moments Have Extraordinary Impact
“Hello, 911? I am the first person at this party.”
― Wow, No Thank You.: Essays
― Wow, No Thank You.: Essays
Books on the Nightstand
— 6094 members
— last activity Jan 05, 2026 04:46AM
A group to discuss books and topics mentioned on Books on the Nightstand, a blog and podcast about books and reading.
Lynne’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Lynne’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Lynne
Lists liked by Lynne

























