“[T]he truth is that fullness of soul can sometimes overflow in utter vapidity of language, for none of us can ever express the exact measure of his needs or his thoughts or his sorrows; and human speech is like a cracked kettle on which we tap crude rhythms for bears to dance to, while we long to make music that will melt the stars.”
― Madame Bovary
― Madame Bovary
“Love is never any better than the lover. Wicked people love wickedly, violent people love violently, weak people love weakly, stupid people love stupidly, but the love of a free man is never safe. There is no gift for the beloved. The lover alone possesses his gift of love. The loved one is shorn, neutralized, frozen in the glare of the lover’s inward eye.”
― The Bluest Eye
― The Bluest Eye
“Of all the preposterous assumptions of humanity over humanity, nothing exceeds most of the criticisms made on the habits of the poor by the well-housed, well- warmed, and well-fed.”
―
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“Evil is unspectacular and always human,
And shares our bed and eats at our own table ....”
― Collected Poems
And shares our bed and eats at our own table ....”
― Collected Poems
“My loathings are simple. stupidity, oppression, crime, cruelty, soft music. My pleasures are the most intense known to man: writing and butterfly hunting.”
― Strong Opinions
― Strong Opinions
Kristina’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Kristina’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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