Alok Kumar
http://framesandstories.wixsite.com/welcome
“Love is blind, they say; sex is impervious to reason and mocks the power of all philosophers. But, in fact, a person's sexual choice is the result and sum of their fundamental convictions. Tell me what a person finds sexually attractive and I will tell you their entire philosophy of life. Show me the person they sleep with and I will tell you their valuation of themselves. No matter what corruption they're taught about the virtue of selflessness, sex is the most profoundly selfish of all acts, an act which they cannot perform for any motive but their own enjoyment - just try to think of performing it in a spirit of selfless charity! - an act which is not possible in self-abasement, only in self-exultation, only on the confidence of being desired and being worthy of desire. It is an act that forces them to stand naked in spirit, as well as in body, and accept their real ego as their standard of value. They will always be attracted to the person who reflects their deepest vision of themselves, the person whose surrender permits them to experience - or to fake - a sense of self-esteem .. Love is our response to our highest values - and can be nothing else.”
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“What do you think an artist is? An imbecile who only has eyes, if he is a painter, or ears if he is a musician, or a lyre in every chamber of his heart if he is a poet, or even, if he is a boxer, just his muscles? Far from it: at the same time he is also a political being, constantly aware of the heartbreaking, passionate, or delightful things that happen in the world, shaping himself completely in their image. How could it be possible to feel no interest in other people, and with a cool indifference to detach yourself from the very life which they bring to you so abundantly? No, painting is not done to decorate apartments. It is an instrument of war.”
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“[Dean] “My dear fellow, who will let you?”
[Roark] “That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”
― The Fountainhead
[Roark] “That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”
― The Fountainhead
2026 Reading Challenge
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Alok’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Alok’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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Favorite Genres
Art, Biography, Classics, Comics, Crime, Fiction, Gay and Lesbian, Graphic novels, Historical fiction, History, Horror, Humor and Comedy, Memoir, Music, Mystery, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Poetry, Psychology, Religion, Romance, Science, Science fiction, Suspense, Spirituality, Thriller, and Young-adult
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