396 books
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597 voters
“When one has once had the good luck to love intensely, life is spent in trying to recapture that ardor and that illumination. Forsaking
beauty and the sensual happiness attached to it, exclusively serving
misfortune, calls for a nobility I lack. But, after all, nothing is true that forces one to exclude.”
― The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays
beauty and the sensual happiness attached to it, exclusively serving
misfortune, calls for a nobility I lack. But, after all, nothing is true that forces one to exclude.”
― The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays
“You were talking about the wind," the Fillyjonk said suddenly. "A wind that carries off your washing. But I'm speaking about cyclones. Typhoons, Gaffsie dear. Tornadoes, whirlwinds, sandstorms... Flood waves that carry houses away... But most of all I'm talking about myself and my fears, even if I know that's not done. I know everything will turn out badly. I think about that all the time. Even while I'm washing my carpet. Do you understand that? Do you feel the same way?”
― Tales from Moominvalley
― Tales from Moominvalley
“''Just think, never to be glad or disappointed. Never to like anyone and get cross at him and forgive him. Never to sleep or feel cold, never to make a mistake and have a stomach-ache and be cured from it, never to have a birthday party, drink beer, and have a bad conscience...
How terrible.”
― Tales from Moominvalley
How terrible.”
― Tales from Moominvalley
“I Go Down To The Shore
I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall—
what should I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.”
― A Thousand Mornings: Poems
I go down to the shore in the morning
and depending on the hour the waves
are rolling in or moving out,
and I say, oh, I am miserable,
what shall—
what should I do? And the sea says
in its lovely voice:
Excuse me, I have work to do.”
― A Thousand Mornings: Poems
“Imagine that the world is made out of love. Now imagine that it isn’t. Imagine a story where everything goes wrong, where everyone has their back against the wall, where everyone is in pain and acting selfishly because if they don’t, they’ll die. Imagine a story, not of good against evil, but of need against need against need, where everyone is at cross-purposes and everyone is to blame.”
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Barbara’s 2025 Year in Books
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