David

Add friend
Sign in to Goodreads to learn more about David.


Presumed Guilty
Rate this book
Clear rating

progress: 
 
  (54%)
Jan 05, 2026 07:46PM

 
The Fellowship of...
Rate this book
Clear rating

progress: 
 
  (page 156 of 432)
Dec 06, 2025 07:29PM

 
See all 6 books that David is reading…
Loading...
Bede
“The present life of man upon earth, O King, seems to me in comparison with that time which is unknown to us like the swift flight of a sparrow through the mead-hall where you sit at supper in winter, with your Ealdormen and thanes, while the fire blazes in the midst and the hall is warmed, but the wintry storms of rain or snow are raging abroad. The sparrow, flying in at one door and immediately out at another, whilst he is within, is safe from the wintry tempest, but after a short space of fair weather, he immediately vanishes out of your sight, passing from winter to winter again. So this life of man appears for a little while, but of what is to follow or what went before we know nothing at all.”
St. Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People

“You can study the rules until your eyes fall out of your head, but if you cannot recall which rule fits your particular situation just before some large ship hits you broadside, then a study of the rules has failed you at the worst possible time.”
Captain John W. Trimmer

David Foster Wallace
“God seems to have a kind of laid-back management style I’m not crazy about.”
David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

G.K. Chesterton
“The horrible thing about all legal officials, even the best, about all judges, magistrates, barristers, detectives, and policeman, is not that they are wicked (some of them are good), not that they are stupid (several of them are quite intelligent), it is simply that they have got used to it. Strictly they do not see the prisoner in the dock; all they see is the usual man in the usual place. They do not see the awful court of judgment; they only see their own workshop.”
G.K. Chesterton

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
Ira Glass

4862 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.
year in books
Jonathan
1,794 books | 67 friends

Kyle
445 books | 40 friends

Kist
767 books | 2,036 friends

Bryan Heck
1,384 books | 11 friends

Tonya
792 books | 51 friends

Matt
780 books | 657 friends

Matt Bi...
610 books | 19 friends

Celine ...
2,320 books | 583 friends

More friends…


Polls voted on by David

Lists liked by David