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Maria
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Once an empire has become convinced of its worldview, anything that evidences the contrary must be erased.
It was not founded in military strategy. It was not because of a shortage of food rations, or because of the risk of insurgency or backlash. It was, simply, what happened when one race decided that the other was insignificant.
“My teacher said once that every man faces seven enemies in his lifetime. Sickness, hunger, betrayal, envy, greed, old age, and then death...”
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“There is, in fact, not much point in writing a novel unless you can show the possibility of moral transformation, or an increase in wisdom, operating in your chief character or characters. Even trashy bestsellers show people changing. When a fictional work fails to show change, when it merely indicates that human character is set, stony, unregenerable, then you are out of field of the novel and into that of the fable or the allegory.
- from the introduction of the 1986 Norton edition”
― A Clockwork Orange
- from the introduction of the 1986 Norton edition”
― A Clockwork Orange
“Often, we may feel a wave of inspiration come over us, but then it passes, sometimes too quickly for us to act on it. Waiting for inspiration is like waiting for a bus that has stopped running on a particular route; you've got to find the new route if you want to catch a bus and get to where you want to go.”
― Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How to Stop
― Crave: Why You Binge Eat and How to Stop
“...by the time you've finished naming a thing, it has already changed and the name you gave it no longer defines it exactly...”
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“Although he had used it very sparingly, the perfume that he had mixed in Montpellier was slowly was slowly running out. He created a new one. But this time he was not content simply to imitate basic human odor by hastily tossing together some ingredients; he made it a matter of pride to acquire a personal odor, or better yet, a number of personal odors...
Protected by these various odors, which he changed like clothes as the situation demanded and which permitted him to move undisturbed in the world of men and to keep his true nature from them, Grenouille devoted himself to his real passion: the subtle pursuit of scent.”
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Protected by these various odors, which he changed like clothes as the situation demanded and which permitted him to move undisturbed in the world of men and to keep his true nature from them, Grenouille devoted himself to his real passion: the subtle pursuit of scent.”
―
Maria’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Maria’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
995 books
|
161 friends
498 books
|
231 friends
854 books
|
77 friends
709 books
|
133 friends
94 books
|
4 friends
1,657 books
|
132 friends
2,481 books
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17 friends
1,200 books
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146 friends
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