Sign in with Facebook
“It is hard enough to remember my opinions, without also remembering my reasons for them!”
―
―
“TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
―
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
―
“The alcohol smell is on my fingers, cold and remote, piercing like a steel pin going in. It smells like white enamel basins. When I look up at the stars in the nighttime, cold and white and sharp, I think they must smell like that.”
― Cat’s Eye
― Cat’s Eye
“It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.”
― A Tale of Two Cities
― A Tale of Two Cities
“I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.”
―
―
Quoth the Raven’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Quoth the Raven’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Quoth the Raven hasn't connected with their friends on Goodreads, yet.
Favorite Genres
Art, Business, Classics, Historical fiction, Spirituality, Travel, chess, math, law, coffee, magical realism, surrealism, film, psychedelia, Italy, Italian American, sweaters, unreliable narrators, troubled creative geniuses, former gifted children, women's relationships, folktales, fairy tales, ancient belief systems, naturalism, dance, old street communities, gondolas, gargoyles, Russian, mafia, 'Ndrangheta, Istanbul, revolutions in coffeehouses, revolution, French revolution, Camille desmoulins, Antoine de saint exupery, Romani people, accordions, counterculture, mountain villages, fishermen, judaism, unconscious mind, self esteem, spanish inquisition, cannolis, chocolate babkas, ancient Egypt, eve as a historical figure and spiritual symbol, the Rosetta Stone, espresso, history of canals, mandolins, Gabor Szabo, properties of flowers, mayan, and japan
Polls voted on by Quoth the Raven
Lists liked by Quoth the Raven
