“No mother is ever, completely, a child's idea of what a mother should be, and I suppose it works the other way around as well. But despite everything, we didn't do too badly by one another, we did as well as most.”
― The Handmaid’s Tale
― The Handmaid’s Tale
“Let us try to teach generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what our own selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have the chance to upset their designs, something that no other species has ever aspired to do.”
― The Selfish Gene
― The Selfish Gene
“It's not a big thing, but I guess it's true--big things are often just small things that are noticed.”
― I Am the Messenger
― I Am the Messenger
“A movement’s call for action evokes an eager response in the frustrated, for they see in action a cure for all that ails them. It brings self-forgetting and gives them a sense of purpose and worth. Indeed it seems that frustration stems chiefly from an inability to act, and that the most poignantly frustrated are those whose talents and temperament equip them ideally for a life of action but are condemned by circumstances to rust away in idleness.”
― The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
― The True Believer: Thoughts on the Nature of Mass Movements
“The central inner conflict is one between the constructive forces of the real self and the obstructive forces of the pride system, between healthy growth and the drive to prove in actuality the perfection of the idealized self.”
― Neurosis and Human Growth: The Struggle Towards Self-Realization
― Neurosis and Human Growth: The Struggle Towards Self-Realization
Martin’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Martin’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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