“How many people today live in a language that is not their own? Or no longer, or not yet, even know their own and know poorly the major language that they are forced to serve? This is the problem of immigrants, and especially of their children, the problem of minorities, the problem of a minor literature but also a problem for all of us: how to tear a minor literature away from its own language, allowing it to challenge the language and making it follow a sober revolutionary path? How to become a nomad and an immigrant and a gypsy in relation to one's own language? Kafka answers: steal the baby from its crib, walk the tight rope.”
― Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature
― Kafka: Toward a Minor Literature
“Maybe the world isn't full of signs so much as it's full of people trying to use whatever evidence they can find to convince themselves of what they hope to be true.”
― Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
― Hello, Goodbye, and Everything in Between
“Who you are today . . . that’s who you are. Be brave. Be amazing. Be worthy. And every single time you get the chance? Stand up in front of people. Let them see you. Speak. Be heard. Go ahead and have the dry mouth. Let your heart beat so, so fast. Watch everything move in slow motion. So what. You what? You pass out, you die, you poop? No. (And this is really the only lesson you’ll ever need to know.)”
― Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
― Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person
“Hopefully as you get older, you start to learn how to live with your demon. It’s hard at first. Some people give their demon so much room that there is no space in their head or bed for love. They feed their demon and it gets really strong and then it makes them stay in abusive relationships or starve their beautiful bodies. But sometimes, you get a little older and get a little bored of the demon. Through good therapy and friends and self-love you can practice treating the demon like a hacky, annoying cousin. Maybe a day even comes when you are getting dressed for a fancy event and it whispers, “You aren’t pretty,” and you go, “I know, I know, now let me find my earrings.” Sometimes you say, “Demon, I promise you I will let you remind me of my ugliness, but right now I am having hot sex so I will check in later.”
― Yes Please
― Yes Please
“تعرفينَ أنني أغارُ وأحترقُ وأشتهي وأتعذّب. تعرفينَ إنني حائرٌ وإنني غارقٌ في ألف شوكةٍ بريّة.. تعرفين.. ورغم ذلك فأنتِ، فوق ذلك كله، تُحولينني أحياناً إلى مجرد تافهٍ آخر، تصغرين ذلك النابض القاتل الذي يهزني كالقصبة، معكِ وبدونك.”
― رسائل غسان كنفاني الى غادة السمان
― رسائل غسان كنفاني الى غادة السمان
Israa’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Israa’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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Biography, Classics, Crime, Fiction, Memoir, Mystery, Psychology, Romance, Spirituality, Thriller, and Young-adult
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