Every work of art falls short of what the artist envisioned. It is precisely that gap between their intention and their execution that opens up the door for the next work.
“Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. The road goes upward towards the light; but the laden traveler may never reach the end of it.”
― The Tombs of Atuan
― The Tombs of Atuan
“Love doesn't just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.”
― The Lathe of Heaven
― The Lathe of Heaven
“To be radical is to grasp things by the root.”
― Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right
― Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right
“We fear death, we shudder at life's instability, we grieve to see the flowers wilt again and again, and the leaves fall, and in our hearts we know that we, too, are transitory and will soon disappear. When artists create pictures and thinkers search for laws and formulate thoughts, it is in order to salvage something from the great dance of death, to make something last longer than we do.”
― Narcissus and Goldmund
― Narcissus and Goldmund
“Anyone whose goal is 'something higher' must expect someday to suffer vertigo. What is vertigo? Fear of falling? No, Vertigo is something other than fear of falling. It is the voice of the emptiness below us which tempts and lures us, it is the desire to fall, against which, terrified, we defend ourselves.”
― The Unbearable Lightness of Being
― The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Michelle’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Michelle’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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