3,205 books
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7,752 voters


“When you grow up you tend to get told that the world is the way it is and your life is just to live your life inside the world. Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. That’s a very limited life. Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use... Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same again.”
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“We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men – not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular”
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“If you're going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don't even start. This could mean losing girlfriends, wives, relatives and maybe even your mind. It could mean not eating for three or four days. It could mean freezing on a park bench. It could mean jail. It could mean derision. It could mean mockery--isolation. Isolation is the gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it. And, you'll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds. And it will be better than anything else you can imagine. If you're going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will be alone with the gods, and the nights will flame with fire. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It's the only good fight there is.”
― What Matters Most is How Well You Walk Through the Fire
― What Matters Most is How Well You Walk Through the Fire

“Friendship is a priceless gift
That cannot be bought nor sold,
But its value is far greater
Than a mountain made of gold.
For gold is cold & lifeless -
It can neither see nor hear,
In time of trouble its powerless to cheer -
It has no ears to listen, no heart to understand,
It cannot bring you comfort
Or reach out a helping hand.
So when you ask God for a gift,
Be thankful if he sends
Not diamonds, pearls or riches
But the love of real true friends”
―
That cannot be bought nor sold,
But its value is far greater
Than a mountain made of gold.
For gold is cold & lifeless -
It can neither see nor hear,
In time of trouble its powerless to cheer -
It has no ears to listen, no heart to understand,
It cannot bring you comfort
Or reach out a helping hand.
So when you ask God for a gift,
Be thankful if he sends
Not diamonds, pearls or riches
But the love of real true friends”
―

“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.”
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Blair’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Blair’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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