36 books
—
44 voters
to-read
(241)
currently-reading (11)
read (1430)
did-not-finish (0)
new-zealand (155)
waiting-upstairs (78)
poetry-shelf (49)
short-story-shelf (47)
favorites (42)
in-my-library (42)
james-bond (27)
scandi-noir (26)
currently-reading (11)
read (1430)
did-not-finish (0)
new-zealand (155)
waiting-upstairs (78)
poetry-shelf (49)
short-story-shelf (47)
favorites (42)
in-my-library (42)
james-bond (27)
scandi-noir (26)
art-shelf
(24)
john-berger-shelf (20)
mcewan-shelf (19)
french (18)
booker-prize-winners (17)
byatt-shelf (16)
mythology (16)
alex-miller-shelf (14)
danish (14)
first-world-war (14)
greene-shelf (14)
le-carre-shelf (14)
john-berger-shelf (20)
mcewan-shelf (19)
french (18)
booker-prize-winners (17)
byatt-shelf (16)
mythology (16)
alex-miller-shelf (14)
danish (14)
first-world-war (14)
greene-shelf (14)
le-carre-shelf (14)
“People disappear when they die. Their voice, their laughter, the warmth of their breath. Their flesh. Eventually their bones. All living memory of them ceases. This is both dreadful and natural. Yet for some there is an exception to this annihilation. For in the books they write they continue to exist. We can rediscover them. Their humor, their tone of voice, their moods. Through the written word they can anger you or make you happy. They can comfort you. They can perplex you. They can alter you. All this, even though they are dead. Like flies in amber, like corpses frozen in the ice, that which according to the laws of nature should pass away is, by the miracle of ink on paper, preserved. It is a kind of magic.”
― The Thirteenth Tale
― The Thirteenth Tale
“I love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.”
― The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time
― The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time
“If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
―
―
“To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact you must give it to no one, not even an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements. Lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket, safe, dark, motionless, airless, it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. To love is to be vulnerable.”
― The Four Loves
― The Four Loves
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Discover and share your discovery of the most recently published literary fiction. If you love reading novels before anyone else decides they are good ...more
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We read literary fiction from 2000 to present, with the intent of finding those literary gems of timeless and enduring quality. We're less focused o ...more
The Mookse and the Gripes
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Forum for spirited and convivial discussion of fiction from around the world, with particular though not exclusive focus on 20th and 21st century fict ...more
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— 166 members
— last activity May 13, 2026 06:05AM
What oldish unread stuff should more people be reading? Do you love riveting out compelling stories from the back shelves of used bookstores? Are you ...more
Homer's The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson
— 199 members
— last activity Aug 15, 2025 01:06PM
In this group, we will read and discuss Emily Wilson's new translation of Homer's The Odyssey, published in November 2017 by Norton. We also welcome d ...more
Marcus’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Marcus’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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