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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;
“What constitutes the freedom, the soul of an individual life, is its uniqueness. The reflection of the universe in someone’s consciousness is the foundation of his or her power, but life only becomes happiness, is only endowed with freedom and meaning when someone exists as a whole world that has never been repeated in all eternity. Only then can they experience the joy of freedom and kindness, finding in others what they have already found in themselves.”
― 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
“Our identities are given but also made. We can’t choose our parents, but we can choose who we become. ‘Basically I’m Chinese,’ Franz Kafka wrote in a postcard to his fiancée. If I say ‘basically I’m a central European’ I’m not literally claiming descent from the central European Yiddish writer Asch, but declaring an elective affinity.”
― Homelands: A Personal History of Europe
― Homelands: A Personal History of Europe
“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
“Before traveling east, start advancing your body clock as many days before your trip as the number of time zones you’ll be crossing. Get into sunlight early in the day, or use a sunlight lamp. Once you’re on the plane eastbound, wear eyeshades to cover your eyes two hours or so before sunset in your destination city, to acclimate yourself to the new “dark” time.”
― The Changing Mind: A Neuroscientist's Guide to Ageing Well
― The Changing Mind: A Neuroscientist's Guide to Ageing Well
Reading the 20th Century
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Welcome to 'Reading the 20th Century', a friendly and inclusive group that explores and discusses the literature, history, culture and music of the ye ...more
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Around the Year in 52 Books
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~ 2026 Reading Challenge ~ 52 books for 52 weeks. Each week, members read the book of their choice for that week's challenge requirement. ▶︎ CURREN ...more
Never too Late to Read Classics
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NTLTRC will help you find your love of Classcis! Find intrigue, well-developed characters, prose that is complex and beautiful, compelling stories tha ...more
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Reading takes you places. Where in the world will your next book take you? If you love world literature, translated works, travel writing, or explorin ...more
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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