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30 books
—
116 voters
Oliver Bateman
rated a book it was amazing
Reading for the 2nd time
Oliver Bateman said:
"
If you grew up in the deep, dreamy south, this glorious collection of essays--once considered an important cultural statement--is bucolic nostalgia nonpareil.
"
the speech for the local newspaper, the Cincinnati Enquirer. Why was Kanyon so important? In the late ’90s he had been one of the most famous wrestlers on the planet. He’d appeared on national television multiple times a week, made more
...more
“You pigs, you. You rut like pigs, is all. You got the most in you, and you use the least. You hear me, you? Got a million in you and spend pennies. Got a genius in you and think crazies. Got a heart in you and feel empties. All a you. Every you...”
― The Stars My Destination
― The Stars My Destination
“There was no particular point at which I stopped being promising.”
―
―
“When he was in school he longed to be out, and when he was out he longed to be in. On the way he thought about coming home, and coming home he thought about going. Wherever he was he wished he were somewhere else, and when he got there he wondered why he'd even bothered.”
― The Phantom Tollbooth
― The Phantom Tollbooth
“When they were introduced, he made a witticism, hoping to be liked. She laughed extremely hard, hoping to be liked. Then each drove home alone, staring straight ahead, with the very same twist to their faces.
The man who'd introduced them didn't much like either of them, though he acted as if he did, anxious as he was to preserve good relations at all times. One never knew, after all, now did one now did one now did one.”
― Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
The man who'd introduced them didn't much like either of them, though he acted as if he did, anxious as he was to preserve good relations at all times. One never knew, after all, now did one now did one now did one.”
― Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
“…you know, sometimes an electric lightbulb goes out all of a sudden. Fizzles, you say. And this burned-out bulb, if you shake it, it flashes again and it’ll burn a little longer. Inside the bulb it’s a disaster. The wolfram filaments are breaking up, and when the fragments touch, life returns to the bulb. A brief, unnatural, undeniably doomed life—a fever, a too-bright incandescence, a flash. The comes the darkness, life never returns, and in the darkness the dead, incinerated filaments are just going to rattle around. Are you following me? But the brief flash is magnificent!
“I want to shake…
“I want to shake the heart of a fizzled era. The lightbulb of the heart, so that the broken pieces touch…
“…and produce a beautiful, momentary flash…”
― Envy
“I want to shake…
“I want to shake the heart of a fizzled era. The lightbulb of the heart, so that the broken pieces touch…
“…and produce a beautiful, momentary flash…”
― Envy
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Oliver’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Oliver’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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666 friends
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