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Melissa
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“In the beginning of the twentieth century you could not see the ground for clever men. They were so common that a stupid man was quite exceptional, and when they found him, they followed him in crowds down the street and treasured him up and gave him some high post in the State.”
― The Napoleon of Notting Hill
― The Napoleon of Notting Hill
“Though neither happiness nor respect are worth anything, because unless both are coming from the truest motives, they are simply deceits. A successful man earns the respect of the world never mind what is the state of his mind, or his manner of earning. So what is the good of such respect, and how happy will such a man be in himself? And if he is what passes for happy, such a state is lower than the self-content of the meanest animal.”
― How Green Was My Valley
― How Green Was My Valley
“Apart from the peace and emptiness of the landscape, there is a special smell about winter in Provence which is accentuated by the wind and the clean, dry air. Walking in the hills, I was often able to smell a house before I could see it, because of the scent of woodsmoke coming from an invisible chimney. It is one of the most primitive smells in life, and consequently extinct in most cities, where fire regulations and interior decorators have combined to turn fireplaces into blocked-up holes or self-consciously lit "architectural features." The fireplace in Provence is still used - to cook on, to sit around, to warm the toes, and to please the eye - and fires are laid in the early morning and fed throughout the day with scrub oak from the Luberon or beech from the foothills of Mont Ventoux. Coming home with the dogs as dusk fell, I always stopped to look from the top of the valley at the long zigzag of smoke ribbons drifting up from the farms that are scattered along the Bonnieux road. It was a sight that made me think of warm kitchens and well-seasoned stews, and it never failed to make me ravenous.”
― A Year in Provence
― A Year in Provence
“The world has room for many people who are content to live as humans, but only for a relative few intent upon living as giants or as gods.”
― The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture
― The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture
“Hope is the cheering in triumph for what others deem a lost cause. Hope denies that our lives don’t matter. Hope is currency in the land of melancholy. Hope is the dancing when the music has long ceased. Hope is bread for the starved soul. Hope is the voice that whispers to us that “all things are possible.” Hope is the grace to face our fears knowing that there is someone greater than the sum of all fears. Hope holds out a light rather than curses the dark. Hope is the physician of a terrified soul. Hope is the hero of the weak. Hope is defiance in the face of the tyrant.”
― Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew about the Bible
― Seven Things I Wish Christians Knew about the Bible
Melissa’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Melissa’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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