“Because not all monsters were monsters in the beginning. Some are monsters born of sorrow.”
― My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises
― My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises
“You miss the strangest things when you lose someone. Little things. Smiles. The way she turned over in her sleep. Even repainting a room for her.”
― A Man Called Ove
― A Man Called Ove
“People in the real world always say, when something terrible happens, that the sadness and loss and aching pain of the heart will “lessen as time passes,” but it isn’t true. Sorrow and loss are constant, but if we all had to go through our whole lives carrying them the whole time, we wouldn’t be able to stand it. The sadness would paralyze us. So in the end we just pack it into bags and find somewhere to leave it.”
― My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
― My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry
“All people at root are time optimists. We always think there's enough time to do things with other people. Time to say things to them. And then something happens and then we stand there holding on to words like 'if'.”
― A Man Called Ove
― A Man Called Ove
“To love someone is like moving into a house," Sonja used to say. "At first you fall in love in everything new, you wonder every morning that this is one's own, as if they are afraid that someone will suddenly come tumbling through the door and say that there has been a serious mistake and that it simply was not meant to would live so fine. But as the years go by, the facade worn, the wood cracks here and there, and you start to love this house not so much for all the ways it is perfect in that for all the ways it is not. You become familiar with all its nooks and crannies. How to avoid that the key gets stuck in the lock if it is cold outside. Which floorboards have some give when you step on them, and exactly how to open the doors for them not to creak. That's it, all the little secrets that make it your home.”
― A Man Called Ove
― A Man Called Ove
Our Shared Shelf
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— last activity Apr 30, 2026 03:29PM
OUR SHARED SHELF IS CURRENTLY DORMANT AND NOT MANAGED BY EMMA AND HER TEAM. Dear Readers, As part of my work with UN Women, I have started reading ...more
Alexandra Maria’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Alexandra Maria’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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