“Find who’s fun and smart and safe, and stick with them.”
― This Is How It Always Is
― This Is How It Always Is
“At one point he brushed my hand and there was electricity, but I think that was the combination of the deep carpet outside the restaurant and my new cardigan.”
― The Bullet That Missed
― The Bullet That Missed
“If you don’t worry about something until it’s already a problem,’ said Rosie, ‘that’s not worry. That’s observation.”
― This Is How It Always Is
― This Is How It Always Is
“It's so strange that we don't want spoilers in our stories but we seek them in our lives. ... We want it all mapped out. We want to know everything ends well. We want it all spoiled, with as little mystery as possible. But where is the fun in that? ... Embrace the mystery would be my advice. Embrace the impossibility of it all. Enjoy the not-knowing.”
― The Life Impossible
― The Life Impossible
“Out West all the smells are sucked up out of the baked land by the sun. And it’s as if all the colors in the ground are gobbled up by their sunsets, and so is the blue of the sky. The sky is high and pale and impersonal and you get the feeling it doesn’t belong to you at all, but that it is the property of the chamber of commerce. In the South the sky is humid and low and rich and it’s yours to smell and feel. In the West you’re only an observer. In the West someone sees a flower growing on a mountain and he writes a whole damned pamphlet about it.”
― Black Wings Has My Angel
― Black Wings Has My Angel
Beth J Shaffer’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Beth J Shaffer’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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