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Shelby Marshall

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Shelby’s Bookshelves

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“I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? So that it will make us happy, as you write? Good Lord, we would be happy precisely if we had no books, and the kind of books that make us happy are the kind we could write ourselves if we had to. But we need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is my belief.”
― Franz Kafka

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“This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety. Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals–sounds that say listen to this, it is important.”
― Gary Provost

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Shelby’s Groups

Queereaders — 21436 members — last activity 20 hours, 39 min ago
A group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals and supporters interested in fun and stimulating conversation about books, movies, art, ...more

The Feminist Orchestra Bookclub — 4576 members — last activity Mar 11, 2026 05:04AM
Discover and recommend more feminist reads here: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/96419.The_Feminist_Orchestra_Potential_Reading_List We're also o ...more

Music — 53 members — last activity May 30, 2019 07:51PM
We welcome everyone's music tastes! ...more

Review Group — 5739 members — last activity 34 minutes ago
Reviews are very important for Self-Published (SP), and Indie authors, just as they are for others. Unfortunately, though, many SP/Indie books don't g ...more

Writers and Readers — 3105 members — last activity Apr 23, 2026 03:48AM
A group for writers and readers to meet and discuss books and the writing process. The group allows promotion of books, but please post in the designa ...more

More of Shelby’s groups…