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You don't get on by being original. You don't get on by being bright. You don't get on by being strong. You get on by being a subtle crook;
“He is shown to a car as small, bland, and white as a hospital dessert”
― Less
― Less
“He has nothing personal against Christ; though raised Unitarian—with its glaring omission of Jesus and a hymnal so unorthodox that it was years before Less understood “Accentuate the Positive” was not in the Book of Common Prayer—Less is technically Christian. There is really no other word for someone who celebrates Christmas and Easter, even if only as craft projects.”
― Less
― Less
“Nationalists prop themselves up by imagining they are living in a circle of virtue outside which shamble those not so blessed, despite their having near-identical beliefs and stews. Perhaps a distinction can be made between patriotism, which is a legitimate, sometimes vexed affection for and pride in the world one grows up in and knows well, and nationalism, where that central space tends to be hollow but given shape by the imagined foibles, vices and plots of those others about which, in practice, one knows little or nothing.”
― Lotharingia: A Personal History of France, Germany and the Countries In Between
― Lotharingia: A Personal History of France, Germany and the Countries In Between
“Strange to be almost fifty, no? I feel like I just understood how to be young.” “Yes! It’s like the last day in a foreign country. You finally figure out where to get coffee, and drinks, and a good steak. And then you have to leave. And you won’t ever be back.”
― Less
― Less
“Zhenevyeva, we often make fun of intellectuals for their doubts, their split personalities, their Hamlet-like indecisiveness. When I was young I despised that side of myself. Now, though, I’ve changed my mind: humanity owes many great books and great discoveries to people who were indecisive and full of doubts; they have achieved at least as much as the simpletons who never hesitate. And when it comes to the crunch, they too are prepared to go to the stake; they stand just as firm under fire as the people who are always strong-willed and resolute.”
― Life and Fate (Vintage Classic Russians Series): As heard on BBC Radio 4
― Life and Fate (Vintage Classic Russians Series): As heard on BBC Radio 4
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Clare’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Clare’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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