Syifa Luthfianingsih’s Reviews > Days at the Morisaki Bookshop > Status Update

"I don't think it really matters whether you know a lot about books or not. That said, I don't know that much myself. But I think what matters far more with a book is how it affects you."

"It's only in secondhand books that you can savor encounters like this, connections that transcend time. And that's how I learned to love the secondhand bookstore that handled these books, our Morisaki Bookshop. I realized how precious a chance I'd been given, to be a part of that little place, where you can feel the quiet flow of time."

"For example, on a page of Motojirō Kajii's Landscapes of the Heart, I came across this passage:
'The act of seeing is no small thing. To see something is to be possessed by it. Sometimes it carries off a part of you, sometimes it's your whole soul.'"

"Little by little, I felt something wash over me, a feeling of peace that words can't express. If I had to explain it, I'd say it could only have come from the writer's fervent love for life. When I looked up, I realized the night was fading, and the day was beginning to dawn. I read on, turning one page after another."

"It's important to stand still sometimes. Think of it as a little rest in the long journey of your life. This is your harbor. And your boat is just dropping anchor here for a little while. And after you're well rested, you can set sail again."

"Maybe it takes a long time to figure out what you're truly searching for. Maybe you spend your whole life just to figure out a small part of it."

"When I finally regained my presence of mind, I felt grief. A grief that was so violent, so intensely palpable, that I felt like I could reach out and touch it."