“If you know the art of finding some things in a quite empty street, then you know the art of happiness!”
―
―
“I had been continually exhorted to define my purpose in life, but I was now beginning to doubt whether life might not be too complex a thing to be kept within the bounds of a single formulated purpose, whether it would not burst its way out, or if the purpose were too strong, perhaps grow distorted like an oak whose trunk has been encircled with an iron band. I began to guess that my self’s need was for an equilibrium, for sun, but not too much, for rain, but not always… So I began to have an idea of my life, not as the slow shaping of achievement to fit my preconceived purposes, but as the gradual discovery and growth of a purpose which I did not know. I wrote: “It will mean walking in a fog for a bit, but it’s the only way which is not a presumption, forcing the self into a theory.”
― A Life of One's Own
― A Life of One's Own
“We set our own limits on love. Some of us bind our hearts like Chinese women bind their feet. The binding is painful at first but eventually you get used to it and the pain goes away. The saddest part of all is that by binding yourself to the choices you make, you forget that there was ever another way to live.”
―
―
“My ability to make up lies on the spot chills me as much as it saves me.”
― Sympathy
― Sympathy
“The whole city was richer because he was in it, and every street, and turn of a road held the possibility of his appearance.”
― Sunlight on a Broken Column
― Sunlight on a Broken Column
Alcan’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Alcan’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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