Some parts were quite slow and not that interesting to me, but I especially loved the story of Tar-Aldarion and Erendis (always the tragic ones that sSome parts were quite slow and not that interesting to me, but I especially loved the story of Tar-Aldarion and Erendis (always the tragic ones that stick with me) and also getting to know more about Gandalf and the origin of the Istari. There’s more details on stories from the books and Silmarillion — I swear this is the third time I’ve read Turin’s story. But all in all a great expansion of Tolkien’s world and a glimpse into his mind. I admit I skimmed over some of the language origin parts though I appreciate all the work Tolkien put into building them. Still got some very good quotes from here, and I have included some commentary below.
Quotes: (view spoiler)[ It is said that he was the first of Men to reach the Great Sea, and that none, save the Eldar, have ever felt more deeply the longing that it brings. (On Tuor)
'If I choose to send thee, Tuor son of Huor, then believe not that thy one sword is not worth the sending. For the valour of the Edain the Elves shall ever remember as the ages lengthen, marvelling that they gave life so freely of which they had on earth so little. But it is not for thy valour only that I send thee, but to bring into the world a hope beyond thy sight, and a light that shall pierce the darkness.
And the sun glittered on fifty blades as they leaped forth, and the court rang with the battle-cry of the Edain of the North: Lacho calad! Drego morn! Flame Light! Flee Night!
Never would Erendis take less, that she might not lose all; and fearing the Sea, and begrudging to all ships the felling of trees which she loved, she determined that she must utterly defeat the Sea and the ships, or else be herself defeated utterly.
'All or nothing, Erendis, said Nuneth. 'So you were as a child. But you love this man, and he is a great man, not to speak of his rank; and you will not cast out your love from your heart so easily, nor without great hurt to yourself. A woman must share her husband's love with his work and the fire of his spirit, or make him a thing not loveable. (Hmm is this what Tolkien thought..)
we cannot dwell in the time that is to come, lest we lose our now for a phantom of our own design!
Then taking suddenly the jewel from her throat she asked him: 'Would you have me trade this to buy me other goods that I desire?' 'No!' said he. 'But you do not lock it in hoard. Yet I think you set it too high; for it is dimmed by the light of your eyes! Then he kissed her on the eyes, and in that moment she put aside fear, and accepted him; and their troth was plighted upon the steep path of the Meneltarma.
We also are daughters of the great, and we have wills and courage of our own. Therefore do not bend, Ancalimë. Once bend a little, and they will bend you further until you are bowed down. Sink your roots into the rock, and face the wind, though it blow away all your leaves. (Love this though, probably my favorite quote of the book)
'That is true in part. I contrived indeed to meet the Lady whose ways were so strange that I was curious to see more of her. But then I loved Emerwen, and I care not now who she may be. Do not think that I pursue your high place; for far rather would I have that you were Emer-wen only. I rejoice but in this, that I also am of the Line of Elros, because otherwise I deem that we could not wed.' (Not that into the keeping it within the family… hmmm)
We might now only hope to return from the victory here to ruin and ash. But that has been averted - because I met Thorin Oakenshield one evening on the edge of spring not far from Bree. A chance-meeting, as we say in Middle-earth!'
So naturally thinking over the Hobbits that I knew, I said to myself: "I want a dash of the Took" (but not too much, Master Peregrin) "and I want a good foundation of the stolider sort, a Baggins perhaps." That pointed at once to Bilbo. And I had known him once very well, almost up to his coming of age, better than he knew me. I liked him then.
Emissaries they were from the Lords of the West, the Valar, who still took counsel for the governance of Middle-earth, and when the shadow of Sauron began first to stir again took this means of resisting him. For with the consent of Eru they sent members of their own high order, but clad in bodies as of Men, real and not feigned, but subject to the fears and pains and weariness of earth, able to hunger and thirst and be slain; though because of their noble spirits they did not die, and aged only by the cares and labours of many long years.
Mostly he journeyed unwearyingly on foot, leaning on a staff; and so he was called among Men of the North Gandalf, 'the Elf of the Wand'.
In Sauron's final overthrow, Elves were not effectively concerned at the point of action. Legolas probably achieved least of the Nine Walkers. (Such slander!!) (hide spoiler)]...more
It has taken a very long time to finish The Silmarillion, but I'm glad I read it. Now Tolkien's world feels so much more full and epic to me. When theIt has taken a very long time to finish The Silmarillion, but I'm glad I read it. Now Tolkien's world feels so much more full and epic to me. When the school year starts I will go back to my Inklings book club having a much better understanding of all the lore. I particularly liked the story of Beren and Luthien and the fall of Numenor. The story of The Children of Hurin is also included in here, so now I don't really see the point of it being extended into a full novel, which I read before reading LOTR...
I also finished watching Lord of the Rings movies extended cuts for the first time and really enjoyed them, but don't really have an interest in watching the Hobbit movies after hearing how they stray too much from the book. Also don't want to accept seeing on screen Legolas having a love interest because I'm selfish that way haha...
Quotes: (view spoiler)[ But once upon a time (my crest has long since fallen) I had a mind to make a body of more or less connected legend, ranging from the large and cosmogonic, to the level of romantic fairy-story - the larger founded on the lesser in contact with the earth, the lesser drawing splendour from the vast backcloths - which I could dedicate simply to: to England; to my country.
Now the Children of Ilúvatar are Elves and Men, the Firstborn and the Followers.
And it is said by the Eldar that in water there lives yet the echo of the Music of the Ainur more than in any substance else that is in this Earth; and many of the Children of Ilúvatar hearken still unsated to the voices of the Sea, and yet know not for what they listen.
But this condition Ilúvatar made, or it is the necessity of their love, that their power should thenceforward be contained and bounded in the World, to be within it for ever, until it is complete, so that they are its life and it is theirs. And therefore they are named the Valar, the Powers of the World.
The names of the Lords in due order are: Manwe, Ulmo, Aulë, Orome, Mandos, Lórien, and Tulkas; and the names of the Queens are: Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Este, Vaire, Vána, and Nessa. Melkor is counted no longer among the Valar, and his name is not spoken upon Earth.
Of all the Great Ones who dwell in this world the Elves hold Varda most in reverence and love. Elbereth they name her, and they call upon her name out of the shadows of Middle-earth, and uplift it in song at the rising of the stars.
Last of all is set the name of Melkor, He who arises in Might. But that name he has forfeited; and the Noldor, who among the Elves suffered most from his malice, will not utter it, and they name him Morgoth, the Dark Enemy of the World.
Dreadful among these spirits were the Valaraukar, the scourges of fire that in Middle-earth were called the Balrogs, demons of terror.
Among those of his servants that have names the greatest was that spirit whom the Eldar called Sauron, or Gorthaur the Cruel.
Therefore he willed that the hearts of Men should seek beyond the world and should find no rest therein; but they should have a virtue to shape their life, amid the powers and chances of the world, beyond the Music of the Ainur, which is as fate to all things else; and of their operation everything should be, in form and deed, completed, and the world fulfilled unto the last and smallest.
Since they were to come in the days of the power of Melkor, Aulë made the Dwarves strong to endure. Therefore they are stone-hard, stub-born, fast in friendship and in en-mity, and they suffer toil and hunger and hurt of body more hardily than all other speaking peoples; and they live long, far beyond the span of Men, yet not for ever.
Then befell the first sundering of the Elves. For the kindred of Ingwe, and the most part of the kindreds of Finwe and Elwe, were swayed by the words of their lords, and were willing to depart and follow Oromë: and these were known ever after as the Eldar, by the name that Oromë gave to the Elves in the beginning, in their own tongue. But many refused the summons, preferring the starlight and the wide spaces of Middle-earth to the rumour of the Trees; and these are the Avari, the Unwilling, and they were sundered in that time from the Eldar, and met never again until many ages were past.
The Vanyar were his people; they are the Fair Elves, the beloved of Manwe and Varda, and few among Men have spoken with them. Next came the Noldor, a name of wisdom, the people of Finwe. They are the Deep Elves, the friends of Aule; and they are renowned in song, for they fought and laboured long and grievously in the northern lands of old. The greatest host came last, and they are named the Teleri, for they tarried on the road, and were not wholly of a mind to pass from the dusk to the light of Valinor.
But they obeyed the judgement of Manwe; for those who will defend authority against rebellion must not themselves rebel.
Galadriel his sister went not with him to Nargothrond, for in Doriath dwelt Celeborn, kinsman of Thingol, and there was great love between them. Therefore she remained in the Hidden Kingdom, and abode with Melian, and of her learned great lore and wisdom concerning Middle-earth.
The Eldar wedded not with kin so near, nor ever before had any desired to do so. And however that might be, Idril loved Maeglin not at all; and knowing his thought of her she loved him the less. For it seemed to her a thing strange and crooked in him, as indeed the Eldar ever since have deemed it: an evil fruit of the Kinslaying, whereby the shadow of the curse of Mandos fell upon the last hope of the Noldor. But as the years passed still Maeglin watched Idril, and waited, and his love turned to darkness in his heart. And he sought the more to have his will in other matters, shirking no toil or burden, if he might thereby have power.
But when after a year had passed Felagund wished to return to his own country, Beor begged leave to come with him; and he remained in the service of the King of Nargothrond while his life lasted. In this way he got his name, Beor, whereas his name before had been Balan; for Beor signified 'Vassal' in the tongue of his people.
And Haleth dwelt in Brethil until she died; and her people raised a green mound over her in the heights of the forest, Tûr Haretha, the Lady-barrow, Haudh-en-Arwen in the Sindarin tongue.
But the son of Barahir was Beren One-hand, who won the love of Luthien Thingol's daughter, and returned from the Dead; from them came Elwing the wife of Eärendil, and all the Kings of Numenor after.
So died in the deep places of Menegroth Elwe Singollo, King of Doriath, who alone of all the Children of Ilúvatar was joined with one of the Ainur; and he who, alone of the Forsaken Elves, had seen the light of the Trees of Valinor, with his last sight gazed upon the Silmaril.
Bright Eärendil was then lord of the people that dwelt nigh to Sirion's mouths; and he took to wife Elwing the fair, and she bore to him Elrond and Elros, who are called the Half-elven.
Now these were the Three that had last been made, and they possessed the greatest powers. Narya, Nenya, and Vilya, they were named, the Rings of Fire, and of Water, and of Air, set with ruby and adamant and sapphire; and of all the Elven-rings Sauron most desired to possess them, for those who had them in their keeping could ward off the decays of time and postpone the weariness of the world.
In that time the last of the Noldor set sail from the Havens and left Middle-earth for ever. And latest of all the Keepers of the Three Rings rode to the Sea, and Master Elrond took there the ship that Cirdan had made ready. In the twilight of autumn it sailed out of Mithlond, until the seas of the Bent World fell away beneath it, and the winds of the round sky troubled it no more, and borne upon the high airs above the mists of the world it passed into the Ancient West, and an end was come for the Eldar of story and of song.
To me this is the best of the series because all the action was PACKED in here and everything is wrapped up so nicely. All the characters get to fulfiTo me this is the best of the series because all the action was PACKED in here and everything is wrapped up so nicely. All the characters get to fulfill their destinies and have happy endings. (view spoiler)[Never thought Sam would have 13 kids though, lol (hide spoiler)]
Quotes: (view spoiler)[ 'And why should such songs be unfit for my halls, or for such hours as these? We who have lived long under the Shadow may surely listen to echoes from a land untroubled by it? Then we may feel that our vigil was not fruitless, though it may have been thankless!
See, you have spoken skilfully, as ever; but I, have I not seen your eye fixed on Mithrandir, seeking whether you said well or too much? He has long had your heart in his keeping.
'For Boromir was loyal to me and no wizard's pupil. He would have remembered his father's need, and would not have squandered what fortune gave. He would have brought me a mighty gift.'
'But no living man am I! You look upon a woman. Éowyn I am, Éomund's daughter. You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.'
And the stars flamed in the sunlight, for they were wrought of gems by Arwen daughter of Elrond; and the crown was bright in the morning, for it was wrought of mithril and gold.
Thus came Aragorn son of Arathorn, Elessar, Isildur's heir, out of the Paths of the Dead, borne upon a wind from the Sea to the kingdom of Gondor; and the mirth of the Rohirrim was a torrent of laughter and a flashing of swords, and the joy and wonder of the City was a music of trumpets and a ringing of bells.
And Aragorn hearing him, turned and said: 'Verily, for in the high tongue of old I am Elessar, the Elf-stone, and Envinyatar, the Renewer': and he lifted from his breast the green stone that lay there. 'But Strider shall be the name of my house, if that be ever established. In the high tongue it will not sound so ill, and Telcontar I will be and all the heirs of my body.'
But deep in the hearts of all my kindred lies the sea-longing, which it is perilous to stir. Alas! for the gulls. No peace shall I have again under beech or under elm.'
But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed the Ring. The Quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end. So let us forgive him! For the Quest is achieved, and now all is over. I am glad you are here with me. Here at the end of all things, Sam.'
'Then, Éowyn of Rohan, I say to you that you are beautiful. In the valleys of our hills there are flowers fair and bright, and maidens fairer still; but neither flower nor lady have I seen till now in Gondor so lovely, and so sorrowful. It may be that only a few days are left ere darkness falls upon our world, and when it comes I hope to face it steadily; but it would ease my heart, if while the Sun yet shines, I could see you still. For you and I have both passed under the wings of the Shadow, and the same hand drew us back.'
"Then if you will have it so, lady, he said: 'you do not go, because only your brother called for you, and to look on the Lord Aragorn, Elendil's heir, in his triumph would now bring you no joy. Or because I do not go, and you desire still to be near me. And maybe for both these reasons, and you yourself cannot choose between them. Éowyn, do you not love me, or will you not?'
'But if you would know, I am turning aside soon. I am going to have a long talk with Bombadil: such a talk as I have not had in all my time. He is a moss-gatherer, and I have been a stone doomed to rolling. But my rolling days are ending, and now we shall have much to say to one another.
Thain Peregrin has been there many times; and so has Master Samwise the Mayor. His daughter Elanor the Fair is one of the maids of Queen Evenstar.'
He was named Elf-friend because of the great love that grew between him and Legolas, son of King Thranduil, and because of his reverence for the Lady Galadriel. (hide spoiler)]...more
Aww I'm gonna miss these characters. Such a great dynamic and friendship. Wish we got more Easen and Bob scenes though.Aww I'm gonna miss these characters. Such a great dynamic and friendship. Wish we got more Easen and Bob scenes though....more
This was really good but somehow I didn't like the ending as much as I thought I would. But, each episode always left me wanting more and there were lThis was really good but somehow I didn't like the ending as much as I thought I would. But, each episode always left me wanting more and there were lots of yearning moments that I liked. (view spoiler)[Wish Philia could have had both the prince and Diati but I guess I get why the prince had to be let go (hide spoiler)]...more
Finally got around to reading this before the miniseries comes out soon. I really had no idea what to expect going in and I'm glad I did it that way- Finally got around to reading this before the miniseries comes out soon. I really had no idea what to expect going in and I'm glad I did it that way- the twist was a pleasant surprise and I had much fun guessing what it was going to be. Also striking commentary on social and class issues.
Quotes: (view spoiler)[ "Be a little kinder than you have to." We are all silenced by that. It seems impossible to argue with.
"You know what I am to your grandfather? What I've always been?" "What?" "Heathcliff. In Wuthering Heights. Have you read it?"
If you want to live where people are not afraid of mice, you must give up living in palaces.
Now, at the breakfast table, watching him eat my toast, "Don't take no for an answer" seemed like the attitude of a privileged guy who didn't care who got hurt, so long as his wife had the cute statues she wanted to display in her summer-houses.
Carrie lived with Ed. The two of them bought art that might or might not be valuable later. Johnny and Will went to private school. Carrie had started a jewelry boutique with her trust and ran it for a number of years until it failed. Ed earned money, and he supported her, but Carrie didn't have an income of her own. And they weren't married. He owned their apartment and she didn't. Bess was raising four kids on her own. She had some money from her trust, like Mummy and Carrie did, but when she got divorced Brody kept the house. She hadn't worked since she got married, and before that she'd only been an assistant in the offices of a magazine. Bess was living off the trust money and spending through it. And Mummy. The dog breeding business doesn't pay much, and Dad wanted us to sell the Burlington house so he could take half. I knew Mummy was living off her trust. We. We were living off her trust. It wouldn't last forever.
My mother and her sisters were dependent on Granddad and his money. They had the best educations, a thousand chances, a thousand connections, and still they'd ended up unable to support themselves. None of them did anything useful in the world. Nothing necessary. Nothing brave. They were still little girls, trying to get in good with Daddy. He was their bread and butter, their cream and honey, too.
"I'm not saying he wants to be the guy who only likes white people," Gat went on. "He knows he's not supposed to be that guy. He's a Democrat, he voted for Obama-but that doesn't mean he's comfortable having people of color in his beautiful family."
She confused being spartan with being charitable, and gave away her possessions without truly doing good with them. She confused being sick with being brave, and suffered agonies while imagining she merited praise for it. She confused wit with intelligence, and made people laugh rather than lightening their hearts or making them think.
One night, two summers ago, on a warm July evening, Gatwick Matthew Patil, Mirren Sinclair Sheffield, and Jonathan Sinclair Dennis perished in a house fire thought to be caused by a jug of motorboat fuel that overturned in the mudroom.
I cry for my aunts, who lost their firstborn children. For Will, who lost his brother. For Liberty, Bonnie, and Taft, who lost their sister. For Granddad, who saw not just his palace burn to the ground, but his grandchildren perish. For the dogs, the poor naughty dogs. I cry for the vain, thoughtless complaints I've made all summer. For my shameful self-pity. For my plans for the future. (hide spoiler)]...more
I forgot how much I loved the thrill of this series and the genius of the author's twisting and turning plots.
Quotes: (view spoiler)[ Heads I kiss you,I forgot how much I loved the thrill of this series and the genius of the author's twisting and turning plots.
Quotes: (view spoiler)[ Heads I kiss you, he'd told me once, tails you kiss me, and either way, it means something.
Like the sun and the moon I loved her. Saint Avery. Until death and beyond.
"What are your thoughts," he asked me loftily, "on scarred men?" "Men?" I gave him a look. "If I see any, I'll let you know."
"Sometimes, when I look at you," Harry said, his voice rougher now, as it echoed through the night, "I feel you, like a hum in my bones, whispering that we are the same."
"I always knew," Kaylie said. Her movements were slowing, like gravity couldn't touch her quite so much, like she was dancing on a different plane. "I knew that I was going to burn bright and fast. And, Hannah? If you loved me, you won't waste a second of your life regretting a damn thing."
Max had always pictured herself with someone dark and broody. A rogue assassin. A vampire of questionable morals. Someone with a checkered past and a heart in need of healing. But there Xander was, with his blankets and his plushies and an entire ceiling covered in books. (hide spoiler)]...more
Beautifully simple writing with gems of wisdom and touching portraits of lives treading waters of different worlds. The past and present narratives weBeautifully simple writing with gems of wisdom and touching portraits of lives treading waters of different worlds. The past and present narratives were strung together perfectly like beads on a string, and the life stories of the characters all held elements I could relate to. The themes of family and love felt very real.
Quotes: (view spoiler)[ Lina had spoken English because she associated speaking English with the act of pretending she was someone she was not. Down there in the lobby, she had already felt that way—as though she were putting on.
Aptitude for language was one thing that Karen did have. Most bilingual kids could talk in their second language about school, families, food, and not much else. But Karen was always a surprise. Idioms, proverbs, obscure nouns-Karen knew them all.
Get Qiang to talk, Wei's father had begged him, but Wei didn't know how. He had always been more like a third parent than an older brother to Qiang, and their relationship was further strained by their parents pleading with Qiang to behave more like Wei: to study hard, sit still, stand straight, speak up. During the moments of closeness the brothers did share-playing basketball at the recreational center or fetching water from the local pond-Wei could not figure out a way to start the conversation.
If Qiang didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be. The only way for the Zhens to see him again was to wait for Qiang to change his mind and come back of his own accord.
If he had stayed the night of the party, and if Wei had been making more of an effort to include him in his own circle of friends all along, would things have turned out differently? Would Qiang have been adopted by Wei's crowd rather than by a band of miscreants who valued neither honor nor education?
Now, he was worried their reunion would remind Qiang of the reasons he'd left in the first place. Wei didn't know how to be the kind of brother Qiang needed. He had never known how to withhold judgment or project the right balance of patience and understanding.
How to make a person understand that family members were not things to be handled? That people were not problems, and the thing to fear wasn't whatever his brother had done in the past or Whatever urgent meeting he had waiting for him at the office. It was right there between them. It was what she might do to their marriage today, or tomorrow.
His need to forgive was greater than his need to understand. He would rather move past pain by shutting it out than by determining its source.
Women were the ones left to exercise caution, to pretend things were fine when they were not.
"Not only to learn but to be astounded. To read about the world and want to be a part of it. To work to understand someone else's ideas with the help of two languages and to feel as though you have nothing to lose but time."
But Rose's stealing that bracelet was as good as admitting that these women's belongings had power over her, that their wealth was worth exactly what they wanted it to be worth.
If her mother had been there, she would have told her to use her head. The heart was the most senseless organ there was—yet the most essential. No wonder people were doomed to be fools from the beginning.
She could pretend to be as loose, fashionable, and freethinking as she wanted, but only because it was so easy to appear the opposite of what young, marriageable women were supposed to be when you had a fiancé waiting for you back home.
The minutes bloomed like a flower, closed back up into a fist. She knew then that it was love, because what else could have such a multiplying effect? The whole world had opened up around them in duplicate.
The Hong Kong clothier Shanghai Tang made modern takes on Chinese classics, and that was just how Lina wanted to be seen, modern but classic, as she stood with one hand held across her brow, taking in the expanse of the Expo grounds.
I'm not a worker like Boss Zhen. To be honest, l'm a bit like Taitai. A dreamer. Driving around lets me think my thoughts. It's really an okay outcome.
When we go out, it's important to end the night somewhere like this. Spend our own money in a place that's never heard the name Medora Group. That way we don't forget what it means to really be Shanghainese, right? That this is ours. It was ours long before those foreign bastards got here."
So Qiang had done the right thing after all. It would have been impossible for him to marry Lina. As selfish as Lina was capable of being, she could never have allowed her mother to look into the face of her son-in-law and see the face of her husband's mistress.
Really, though, I'd known pure love all along. I'd known it from Zhen Hong, my true father, and Meng-hua, my second mother. To take in a child and give love so willingly like that, with no obligation-isn't that the most generous love of all? I didn't see that at the time. All I saw was the love that was withheld from me. Love I thought I was entitled to. Your father's love. And, later, your love. There is so much love that we throw away so easily for not understanding it. So don't do that. Don't find a way to doubt him."
"Why do our minds fixate on the kinds of love we're not getting instead of the kinds of love we are? We expect it to be the thing we want it to be. And we're blind to every other form of it."
It was no good imagining the other choices she might have made. Dreams of a life lived differently were just that-dreams.
These objects of luxury they handled-how easy it was to fill them with meaning, to let them represent what you did or didn't have. How difficult, in fact, to know what you wanted in the first place. (hide spoiler)]...more
Very thrilling, though some parts definitely don’t go well with modern views (D’artagnan thinking beating his lackey is a great thing, women’s hands mVery thrilling, though some parts definitely don’t go well with modern views (D’artagnan thinking beating his lackey is a great thing, women’s hands must be idle to be beautiful, etc). Not sure if I have the willpower to finish the rest of the series though.
Quotes: (view spoiler)[ In addition to this, d'Artagnan possessed that invincible stock of resolution which the counsels of his father had implanted in his heart: "Endure nothing from anyone but the king, the cardinal, and Monsieur de Treville."
"And now, gentlemen," said d'Artagnan, without stopping to explain his conduct to Porthos, "All for one, one for all—that is our motto, is it not?"
"And we say, 'Proud as a Gascon,'' replied d'Artagnan. "The Gascons are the Scots of France."
"Monsieur was already such a good theologian," said Bazin, almost weeping; "he might have become a bishop, and perhaps a cardinal."
"And now, my young friend, for you will permit me, I hope, to give you that name," said Lord de Winter, "on this very evening, if agreeable to you, I will present you to my sister, Milady Clarik, for I am desirous that she should take you into her good graces; and as she is not in bad odor at court, she may perhaps on some future day speak a word that will not prove useless to you."
D'Artagnan looked at the two women, one after the other, and was forced to acknowledge that in his opinion Dame Nature had made a mistake in their formation. To the great lady she had given a heart vile and venal; to the SOUBRETTE she had given the heart of a duchess.
"Yes, Milady," replied Athos; "the Comte de la Fere in person, who comes expressly from the other world to have the pleasure of paying you a visit. Sit down, madame, and let us talk, as the cardinal said."
"You believed me to be dead, did you not, as I believed you to be? And the name of Athos as well concealed the Comte de la Fere, as the name Milady Clarik concealed Anne de Breuil. Was it not so you were called when your honored brother married us?
"Do you know," said Porthos, "that to twist that damned Milady's neck would be a smaller sin than to twist those of these poor devils of Huguenots, who have committed no other crime than singing in French the psalms we sing in Latin?"
"But when you held her in your power, why did you not drown her, strangle her, hang her?" said Porthos. "It is only the dead who do not return." "You think so, Porthos?" replied the Musketeer, with a sad smile which d'Artagnan alone understood.
"We want," said Athos, "Charlotte Backson, who first was called Comtesse de la Fere, and afterwards Milady de Winter, Baroness of Sheffield." (hide spoiler)]...more
This was a great historical fantasy set in WWII. I enjoyed learning more about Jewish mythology turned reality and the author's interpretation of whatThis was a great historical fantasy set in WWII. I enjoyed learning more about Jewish mythology turned reality and the author's interpretation of what it means to be human and sense of self. Vera's internal conflict is very thought provoking as she seeks to claim her own identity even as she remembers and feels all of Chaya's memories. Ultimately she's able to reconcile that Chaya will always be a part of her while continuing to live and form new ones. This was also a touching portrait of Jewish life and resilience during the war.
Quotes (view spoiler)[ I was the daughter of two dozen different scribes and a murdered girl. I was the daughter of the Vokė River.
"I told him to just look how we destroy each other, and to tell me who the real monsters are."
It dawned on me that she saw me as l was. There was no doubt in my identity. I was not just a monster to her, but a girl and a Jew.
"Our history... Our faith. It's written all over you. As long as you survive, so will we." (hide spoiler)]...more
I really like this guy and his ideas but it’s hard for me to imagine a reality where it could all come true… especially when it’s just so hard to chanI really like this guy and his ideas but it’s hard for me to imagine a reality where it could all come true… especially when it’s just so hard to change people’s minds.
Quotes: (view spoiler)[ Whatever we may tell ourselves about freedom of speech, our values are suspiciously close to those touted by precisely the companies that can pay for prime-time advertising.
All the while, the market and commercial interests are enjoying free rein. The food industry supplies us with cheap garbage loaded with salt, sugar, and fat, putting us on the fast track to the doctor and dietitian. Advancing technologies are laying waste to ever more jobs, sending us back again to the job coach. And the ad industry encourages us to spend money we don't have on junk we don't need in order to impress people we can't stand. Then we can go cry on our therapist's shoulder. That's the dystopia we are living in today.
In the 1950s, only 12% of young adults agreed with the statement "I'm a very special person." Today 80% do, when the fact is, we're all becoming more and more alike. We all read the same bestsellers, watch the same blockbusters, and sport the same sneakers.
"The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads," a former math whiz at Facebook recently lamented.
It is capitalism that opened the gates to the Land of Plenty, but capitalism alone cannot sustain it. Progress has become synonymous with economic prosperity, but the twenty-first century will challenge us to find other ways of boosting our quality of life.
"Poverty is fundamentally about a lack of cash. It's not about stupidity," stresses the economist Joseph Hanlon. "You can't pull yourself up by your bootstraps if you have no boots."
Capitalist or communist, it all boils down to a pointless distinction between two types of poor, and to a major misconception that we almost managed to dispel some forty years ago-the fallacy that a life without poverty is a privilege you have to work for, rather than a right we all deserve.
As the Nobel laureate James Tobin said back in 1984, "We are throwing more and more of our resources, including the cream of our youth, into financial activities remote from the production of goods and services, into activities that generate high private rewards disproportionate to their social productivity."
Research suggests that someone who is constantly drawing on their creative abilities can, on average, be productive for no more than six hours a day.
Or spent the best years of their lives duplicating existing pharmaceuticals in a way that's infinitesimally different enough to warrant a new patent application by a brainy lawyer so a brilliant PR department can launch a brand-new marketing campaign for the not-so-brand-new drug.
In the U.S., the gap between rich and poor is already wider than it was in ancient Rome-an economy founded on slave labor. (hide spoiler)]...more
It's like the scenario from the first book was flipped and that was fun to read. Lots of big heroic moments in this one, but also tender ones interspeIt's like the scenario from the first book was flipped and that was fun to read. Lots of big heroic moments in this one, but also tender ones interspersed. The prose flows beautifully and the love story is so pure. Quotes: (view spoiler)[ For anyone who sought a different realm through a wardrobe door, Who wrote a letter and is still waiting for a reply, Or who dreams of stories and bleeds words.
There was a right and wrong answer, and Roman hesitated, torn between the typewriter that had reminded him of his name and the one that reminded him that he was alive.
The magic still gathers, and the past is gilded; I see the beauty in what has been but only because I have tasted both sorrow and joy in equal measures.
"Write me a story where there is no ending, Kitt. Write to me and fill my empty spaces."
"I don't think we know what we're made of until the worst moment possible happens. Then we must decide who we truly are and what is most important to us. I think we're often surprised by what we become." (hide spoiler)]...more
I really felt for David but he really should have listened to Romain in the beginning haha. That said, I still really enjoyed reading this. Though I aI really felt for David but he really should have listened to Romain in the beginning haha. That said, I still really enjoyed reading this. Though I agree with others that the recipes included didn’t really flow well with the story, and I wish the story had more “show not tell.”...more