“Challenge a person's beliefs, and you challenge his dignity, standing, and power. And when those beliefs are based on nothing but faith, they are chronically fragile. No one gets upset about the belief that rocks fall down as opposed to up, because all sane people can see it with their own eyes. Not so for the belief that babies are born with original sin or that God exists in three persons or that Ali is the second-most divinely inspired man after Muhammad. When people organize their lives around these beliefs, and then learn of other people who seem to be doing just fine without them--or worse, who credibly rebut them--they are in danger of looking like fools. Since one cannot defend a belief based on faith by persuading skeptics it is true, the faithful are apt to react to unbelief with rage, and may try to eliminate that affront to everything that makes their lives meaningful.”
― The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
― The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has Declined
“I'm always happy," Sasha said. "Sometimes I just forget.”
― A Visit from the Goon Squad
― A Visit from the Goon Squad
“Seeing the woman as she was made them remember the envy they had stored up from other times. so they chewed up the back parts of their minds and swallowed with relish. They made burning statements with questions, and killing tools out of laughs. It was mass cruelty. A mood come alive. Words walking without masters; walking altogether like harmony in a song. (2)”
― Their Eyes Were Watching God
― Their Eyes Were Watching God
“Not all those who wander are lost.”
― The Fellowship of the Ring
― The Fellowship of the Ring
“Don't put your wand there, boy! What if it ignited? Better wizards than you have lost buttocks, you know."
"Who d'you know who's lost a buttock?"
"Never you mind...”
― Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
"Who d'you know who's lost a buttock?"
"Never you mind...”
― Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Straykatstrut’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Straykatstrut’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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