“First of all, let's get one thing straight. Your Italy and our Italia are not the same thing. Italy is a soft drug peddled in predictable packages, such as hills in the sunset, olive groves, lemon trees, white wine, and raven-haired girls. Italia, on the other hand, is a maze. It's alluring, but complicated. It's the kind of place that can have you fuming and then purring in the space of a hundred meters, or in the course of ten minutes. Italy is the only workshop in the world that can turn out both Botticellis and Berlusconis.”
― La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind
― La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
― The Alchemist
― The Alchemist
“For those who believe in God, most of the big questions are answered. But for those of us who can't readily accept the God formula, the big answers don't remain stone-written. We adjust to new conditions and discoveries. We are pliable. Love need not be a command nor faith a dictum. I am my own god. We are here to unlearn the teachings of the church, state, and our educational system. We are here to drink beer. We are here to kill war. We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”
―
―
“I wanted the whole world or nothing.”
― Post Office
― Post Office
Paola’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Paola’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by Paola
Lists liked by Paola




















