“There is no means of testing which decision is better, because there is no basis for comparison. We live everything as it comes, without warning, like an actor going on cold. And what can life be worth if the first rehearsal for life is life itself? That is why life is always like a sketch. No, "sketch" is not quite a word, because a sketch is an outline of something, the groundwork for a picture, whereas the sketch that is our life is a sketch for nothing, an outline with no picture.”
― The Unbearable Lightness of Being
― The Unbearable Lightness of Being
“Keeing busy" is the remedy for all the ills in America. It's also the means by which the creative impulse is destroyed.”
― The Journal of Joyce Carol Oates: 1973-1982
― The Journal of Joyce Carol Oates: 1973-1982
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away.”
― I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon
― I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon
“The goals we pursue are always veiled. A girl who longs for marriage longs for something she knows nothing about. The boy who hankers after fame has no idea what fame is. The thing that gives our every move its meaning is always totally unknown to us.”
― The Unbearable Lightness of Being
― The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Edie’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Edie’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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