18 books
—
81 voters
Alexander Weber
http://www.dontdontoperate.wordpress.com
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“I woke up as the sun was reddening; and that was the one distinct time in my life, the strangest moment of all, when I didn't know who I was - I was far away from home, haunted and tired with travel, in a cheap hotel room I'd never seen, hearing the hiss of steam outside, and the creak of the old wood of the hotel, and footsteps upstairs, and all the sad sounds, and I looked at the cracked high ceiling and really didn't know who I was for about fifteen strange seconds. I wasn't scared; I was just somebody else, some stranger, and my whole life was a haunted life, the life of a ghost.”
― On the Road
― On the Road
“I know not all that may be coming, but be it what it will, I'll go to it laughing.”
― Moby-Dick or, The Whale
― Moby-Dick or, The Whale
“For instance? Well, for instance, what it means to be a man. In a city. In a century. In transition. In a mass. Transformed by science. Under organized power. Subject to tremendous controls. In a condition caused by mechanization. After the late failure of radical hopes. In a society that was no community and devalued the person. Owing to the multiplied power of numbers which made the self negligible. Which spent military billions against foreign enemies but would not pay for order at home. Which permitted savagery and barbarism in its own great cities. At the same time, the pressure of human millions who have discovered what concerted efforts and thoughts can do. As megatons of water shape organisms on the ocean floor. As tides polish stones. As winds hollow cliffs. The beautiful supermachinery opening a new life for innumerable mankind. Would you deny them the right to exist? Would you ask them to labor and go hungry while you yourself enjoyed old-fashioned Values? You—you yourself are a child of this mass and a brother to all the rest. or else an ingrate, dilettante, idiot. There, Herzog, thought Herzog, since you ask for the instance, is the way it runs.”
― Herzog
― Herzog
“In every community there is a class of people profoundly dangerous to the rest. I don't mean the criminals. For them we have punitive sanctions. I mean the leaders. Invariably the most dangerous people seek the power. While in the parlors of indignation the right-thinking citizen brings his heart to a boil. (p. 51)”
― Herzog
― Herzog
“I want
To do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.”
― Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair
To do with you what spring does with the cherry trees.”
― Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair
William T Vollmann Central
— 283 members
— last activity Apr 20, 2026 11:22AM
This corner of goodreads shall serve the needs of rainbow readers of Mr Vollmann's indulgent body of work. We welcome the veteran and the fresh flesh ...more
Reading RURD -- Muslim & American
— 13 members
— last activity Oct 10, 2018 01:36PM
A micro reading=group ; a daughter group of Vollmann Central. We will be reading several essays from volume VI of RURD, from "The Muslim World" and "N ...more
Brain Pain
— 1243 members
— last activity Oct 10, 2023 09:29AM
NOTE: This group is intermittently active, but you are welcome to revive past discussions if you're currently reading any of those books. We read ch ...more
Women and Men
— 232 members
— last activity Mar 22, 2026 12:56AM
Women and Men began as a reading group for Joseph McElroy's masterpiece. It has developed into All Things McElroy. We have chapter threads for discuss ...more
The BURIED Book Club
— 951 members
— last activity Feb 27, 2026 06:22PM
TODAY BOOKS ARE NOT BURNED. THEY ARE BURIED. WE SHALL UNEARTH THEM.
Alexander’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Alexander’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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