“I felt no shame in these activities, because I understood what almost no one else seemed to grasp: that there was only an infinitesimal difference, a difference so small that it barely existed except as a figment of the human imagination, between working in a tall green glass building on Park Avenue and collecting litter in a park. In fact, there may have been no difference at all.”
― A Visit from the Goon Squad
― A Visit from the Goon Squad
“After that, the book will fade, the way all books fade in your mind. But I hope you will remember this:
A man walking fast down a dark lonely street. Quick steps and hard breathing, all wonder and need. A bell above a door and the tinkle it makes. A clerk and a ladder and warm golden light, and then: the right book exactly, at exactly the right time.”
― Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
A man walking fast down a dark lonely street. Quick steps and hard breathing, all wonder and need. A bell above a door and the tinkle it makes. A clerk and a ladder and warm golden light, and then: the right book exactly, at exactly the right time.”
― Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
“Where does it all lead? What will become of us? These were our young questions, and young answers were revealed. It leads to each other. We become ourselves.”
― Just Kids
― Just Kids
“He experienced the singular pleasure of watching people he loved fall in love with other people he loved.”
― A Little Life
― A Little Life
“Friendship was witnessing another’s slow drip of miseries, and long bouts of boredom, and occasional triumphs. It was feeling honored by the privilege of getting to be present for another person’s most dismal moments, and knowing that you could be dismal around him in return.”
― A Little Life
― A Little Life
Carolyn’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Carolyn’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Carolyn
Lists liked by Carolyn




























