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“That’s a shame that adulthood killed your ability to have fun.” Her cheeks flush. “I know how to have fun.” “I’ll believe it when I see it.”
“He said that if culture is a house, then language was the key to the front door; to all the rooms inside. Without it, he said, you ended up wayward, without a proper home or a legitimate identity.”
― And the Mountains Echoed
― And the Mountains Echoed
“You can clear out whatever obstacles are preventing you from living your most creative life, with the simple understanding that whatever is bad for you is probably also bad for your work.”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
“You're not required to save the world with your creativity. Your art not only doesn't have to be original, in other words, it also doesn't have to be important. For example, whenever anyone tells me that they want to write a book in order to help other people I always think 'Oh, please don't. Please don't try to help me.' I mean it's very kind of you to help people, but please don't make it your sole creative motive because we will feel the weight of your heavy intention, and it will put a strain upon our souls.”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
“I believe that our planet is inhabited not only by animals and plants and bacteria and viruses, but also by ideas. Ideas are a disembodied, energetic life-form. They are completely separate from us, but capable of interacting with us—albeit strangely. Ideas have no material body, but they do have consciousness, and they most certainly have will. Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest. And the only way an idea can be made manifest in our world is through collaboration with a human partner. It is only through a human’s efforts that an idea can be escorted out of the ether and into the realm of the actual.”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
“Creativity is sacred, and it is not sacred. What we make matters enormously, and it doesn’t matter at all. We toil alone, and we are accompanied by spirits. We are terrified, and we are brave. Art is a crushing chore and a wonderful privilege. Only when we are at our most playful can divinity finally get serious with us. Make space for all these paradoxes to be equally true inside your soul, and I promise—you can make anything. So please calm down now and get back to work, okay? The treasures that are hidden inside you are hoping you will say yes.”
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
― Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Discovering Russian Literature
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— last activity Mar 02, 2026 04:52PM
Whether you are a newbie or an expert or simply love Russian literature... Welcome! This is a friendly group where you can share your thoughts an ...more
Conway's Book Club
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— last activity Nov 05, 2020 09:53AM
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The Cozy Coffee Shop
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— last activity Apr 24, 2026 09:20AM
A community of cozy readers ☕ 🍂
¡ POETRY !
— 22531 members
— last activity May 01, 2026 10:49AM
No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read ...more
Kelsey’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Kelsey’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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