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Native Son
by
These were the rhythms of his life: indifference and violence; periods of abstract brooding and periods of intense desire; moments of silence and moments of anger—like water ebbing and flowing from the tug of a far-away, invisible force.
lost in play
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality.
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
―
To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
―
“Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp,
Or what's a heaven for?”
― Men and Women and Other Poems
Or what's a heaven for?”
― Men and Women and Other Poems
“If this is coffee, please bring me some tea; but if this is tea, please bring me some coffee.”
―
―
“I care not for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.”
―
―
“TO BE HOPEFUL in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness.
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
―
What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction.
And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.”
―
James’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at James’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
353 books
|
52 friends
122 books
|
5 friends
33 books
|
1 friend
790 books
|
6 friends
159 books
|
3 friends
15 books
|
1 friend
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