“One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn't have to understand something to feel it. By the time the mind is able to comprehend what has happened, the wounds of the heart are already too deep.”
― The Shadow of the Wind
― The Shadow of the Wind
“Don't you find it odd," she continued, "that when you're a kid, everyone, all the world, encourages you to follow your dreams. But when you're older, somehow they act offended if you even try.”
― The Hottest State
― The Hottest State
“If only she could be so oblivious again, to feel such love without knowing it, mistaking it for laughter. ”
― The Book Thief
― The Book Thief
“But the hearts of small children are delicate organs. A cruel beginning in this world can twist them into curious shapes. The heart of a hurt child can shrink so that forever afterward it is hard and pitted as the seed of a peach. Or again, the heart of such a child may fester and swell until it is a misery to carry within the body, easily chafed and hurt by the most ordinary things.”
― The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories
― The Ballad of the Sad Café and Other Stories
“Once upon a time, there was a boy. He lived in a village that no longer exists, in a house that no longer exists, on the edge of a field that no longer exists, where everything was discovered, and everything was possible. A stick could be a sword, a pebble could be a diamond, a tree, a castle. Once upon a time, there was a boy who lived in a house across the field, from a girl who no longer exists. They made up a thousand games. She was queen and he was king. In the autumn light her hair shone like a crown. They collected the world in small handfuls, and when the sky grew dark, they parted with leaves in their hair.
Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.”
― The History of Love
Once upon a time there was a boy who loved a girl, and her laughter was a question he wanted to spend his whole life answering.”
― The History of Love
Raj’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Raj’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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