“Sadly I write in my quiet room, alone as I have always been, alone as I will always be. And I wonder if my apparently negligible voice might not embody the essence of thousands of voices, the longing for self expression of thousands of lives, the patience of millions of souls resigned like my own to their daily lot, their useless dreams, and their hopeless hopes.”
―
―
“She did not care for children’s books in which the children grew up, as what “growing up” entailed (in life as in books) was a swift and inexplicable dwindling of character; out of a clear blue sky the heroes and heroines abandoned their adventures for some dull sweetheart, got married and had families, and generally started acting like a bunch of cows.”
― The Little Friend
― The Little Friend
“It is a terrible thing, this kindness that human beings do not lose. Terrible, because when we are finally naked in the dark and cold, it is all we have. We who are so rich, so full of strength, we end up with that small change.”
― The Left Hand of Darkness
― The Left Hand of Darkness
“Achilles makes a sound like choking. “There are no bargains between lions and men. I will kill you and eat you raw.” His spearpoint flies in a dark whirlwind, bright as the evening-star, to catch the hollow at Hector’s throat.”
― The Song of Achilles
― The Song of Achilles
“When history is written as it ought to be written, it is the moderation and long patience of the masses at which men will wonder, not their ferocity.”
― The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution
― The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution
Madeleine’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Madeleine’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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