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eebada7 Loneliness is the price we have to pay for being born in this modern world, so full of freedom, independence and our own egotistical selves." The young man can't think of anything to say in response. The truth of the statement is too stark for him." Will Schwalbe
b0f42eb What I suddenly understood was that a thank-you note isn't the price you pay for receiving a gift, as so many children think it is, a kind of minimum tribute or toll, but an opportunity to count your Will Schwalbe
2f35ece Dante Alighieri, Purgatorio W. H. Auden, "Musee des Beaux Arts," from Collected Poems Jane Austen Russell Banks, Continental Drift Muriel Barbery, The Elegance of the Hedgehog, translated by Alison Anderson Ishmael Beah, A Long Way Gone Alan Bennett, The Uncommon Reader The Holy Bible Elizabeth Bishop Roberto Bolano, The Savage Detectives, translated by Natasha Wimmer" -- Will Schwalbe
f65e052 I can't see giving up real books," she said. "And I love that I can give away my books after I've read them. Think of the first edition of The Magic Mountain I'm giving Nico. It was printed along with the first copy that went to Mann himself. It's got a history." Will Schwalbe
2338efa Capitalism always draws from the cheap labor pool; the profit is greater when the expense is limited Michael Schwalbe
7abb15a all over the world, the people always asked for the same thing: books. Sometimes even before medicine or shelter--they wanted books for their children. Will Schwalbe
8c3b0c2 How does a doctor tell you that it's over, that there are things they could do but probably shouldn't, and that if your aim is quality of life and not quantity of life, there simply are no good next treatments? Will Schwalbe
f47826f I was learning that when you're with someone who is dying, you may need to celebrate the past, live the present, and mourn the future all at the same time. Yet Will Schwalbe
4526759 That day at chemo, we talked once more about the ending of The Reluctant Fundamentalist. "I just really want to know which character dies. I've read the ending again and again," I said. "I hate not knowing." "I do too. That's why I always read endings first. But sometimes you just can't know what's going to happen, even when you know everything there is to know. So you prepare for the worst but hope for the best." Will Schwalbe
0e77fb1 did manage to read some pages from a book that's also about how people can find strength they didn't know they had." "What book was that?" "The Book of Common Prayer," Mom answered. "Didion?" "No, Will." Mom's voice was somewhere between amused and exasperated. "The other one." And then she added, smiling: "Besides, I think the Didion is A Book of Common Prayer, not 'The Book.' " Will Schwalbe
d5fc9c9 I did manage to read some pages from a book that's also about how people can find strength they didn't know they had." "What book was that?" "The Book of Common Prayer," Mom answered. "Didion?" "No, Will." Mom's voice was somewhere between amused and exasperated. "The other one." And then she added, smiling: "Besides, I think the Didion is A Book of Common Prayer, not 'The Book.' " Will Schwalbe
6ad9aef a philosophy called Naikan, developed by Ishin Yoshimoto. Naikan reminds people to be grateful for everything. If you are sitting in a chair, you need to realize that someone made that chair, and someone sold it, and someone delivered it--and you are the beneficiary of all that. Just because they didn't do it especially for you doesn't mean you aren't blessed to be using it and enjoying it. The idea is that if you practice the Naikan part o.. Will Schwalbe
a02fac6 We would also have to say goodbye to the joy of watching this next generation soak up the massive quantities of love their grandmother would have given them, and seeing them learn that there was someone in the world who loved them as much as their parents did: a grandmother who was delighted by all their quirks and who thought they were the most amazing creatures on earth. It was an idealized view of the future-but it was the one I carried .. Will Schwalbe
92ea5b1 I gave people who didn't know what to say the best advice I could muster, which was that it was better to say anything rather than pretend that nothing was wrong. My hunch was that Mom would simply appreciate knowing that people were thinking of her. Will Schwalbe
6b80b9a I asked: "And I was very surprised by the ending. Were you?" "Of course not--I'd read it first." Will Schwalbe
053d20b asked: "And I was very surprised by the ending. Were you?" "Of course not--I'd read it first. I don't think I could have stood the suspense if I hadn't known what was going to happen. I'd have been way too worried." Will Schwalbe
bf4288a You can truly miss characters. Not like you miss people, but you can still miss them. Will Schwalbe
a4fb262 You can truly miss characters. Not like you miss people, but you can still miss them. I don't think I'll ever get over Melanie's death in Gone With the Wind. But I'm still so glad I got to know her. Will Schwalbe
c7a95e6 But people can be cruel in lots of ways, some very subtle. Will Schwalbe
73ee650 Mom was often asked to give speeches about why she felt so committed to the cause of refugees. She would say, "Just imagine that you are awakened tonight by someone in your family who says to you, 'Put the things you treasure most in one small bag that you can carry. And be ready in a few minutes. We have to leave our home and we will have to make it to the nearest border.' What mountains would you need to cross? How would you feel? How wou.. Will Schwalbe
a9a9f5c Everyone doesn't have to do everything... People forget you can also express yourself by what you choose to admire and support. I've had so much pleasure from beautiful and challenging things created by other people, things I could never made or do. I wouldn't trade that for anything. Will Schwalbe
c9c1506 A father and his son are in a terrible car crash. The father is killed instantly--but the son survives, barely, his life hanging in the balance. He's rushed to the hospital and into surgery, but there's only one doctor there, and as soon as the doctor sees the boy, the doctor says, 'I can't operate on my own son!' How could this be, if the boy's father was killed in the crash? Will Schwalbe
ce248af Reading isn't the opposite of doing; it's the opposite of dying. Will Schwalbe
002a80c Reading isn't the opposite of doing, it's the opposite of dying Will Schwalbe
fb58413 Pass the time?" said the Queen. "Books are not about passing the time. They're about other lives. Other worlds. Far from wanting time to pass, Sir Kevin, one just wishes one had more of it. If one wanted to pass the time one could go to New Zealand." Will Schwalbe
14d3981 And a piece of advice that she thought was one of the most important things she wanted to pass on: You should tell your family every day that you love them. And make sure they know that you're proud of them too. Will Schwalbe
46bfc08 As we were talking, a social worker came in with a questionnaire. Did Mary (I thought it was odd that they always called her Mary even though her name was Mary Anne, and odder that Mom refused to correct them) have time for some questions? They were doing a study and wanted to see if she might be a fit. Will Schwalbe
a870a27 This was not even a particularly big offense in the pantheon of book club crimes, where the worst sin one could commit was not to read the book in question--or, even worse, to lie about having read the book when, in fact, you'd simply seen the movie, a lie usually uncovered when you used the actor's name by accident. ("I love the part where Daniel Day-Lewis ...")" pantheon Will Schwalbe
98788c0 Mom agreed but pointed out that she'd been doing the same with others too--talking about books with my sister and brother and some of her friends. "I guess we're all in it together," she said. And I couldn't help but smile at the other meaning of the phrase. We're all in the end-of-our-life book club, whether we acknowledge it or not; each book we read may well be the last, each conversation the final one." Will Schwalbe
0528d4f We all owe everyone for everything that happens in our lives. But it's not owing like a debt to one person- it's really that we owe everyone for everything. Our whole lives can change in an instance- so each person who keeps that from happening, no matter how small a role they play, is also responsible for all of it. Just by giving friendship and love, you keep the people around you from giving up- and each expression of friendship or love .. Will Schwalbe
2a37531 a thank-you note isn't the price you pay for receiving a gift, as so many children think it is, a kind of minimum tribute or toll, but an opportunity to count your blessings. And gratitude isn't what you give in exchange for something; it's what you feel when you are blessed--blessed to have family and friends who care about you, and who want to see you happy. Hence the joy from thanking. Will Schwalbe
f0fdf84 Trust is all about instinct. If you had all the facts, you wouldn't need trust. Trust is what is required in the absence of proof. But I believe you can strengthen your instincts by testing them; every time you prove yourself right or wrong, they grow stronger. trust Will Schwalbe
62abd6d But the thing that made it most interesting is what it had to say about books and religion. I love how Brooks shows that every great religion shares a love of books, of reading, of knowledge. The individual books may be different, but reverence for books is what we all have in common. Books are what bring all the different people in the novel together, Muslims and Jews and Christians. That's why everyone in the book goes to such lengths to .. Will Schwalbe
d65472b One of the many things I love about bound books is their sheer physicality. Electronic books live out of sight and out of mind. But printed books have body, presence. Sure, sometimes they'll elude you by hiding in improbable places: in a box full of old picture frames, say, or in the laundry basket, wrapped in a sweatshirt. But at other times they'll confront you, and you'll literally stumble over some tomes you hadn't thought about in week.. Will Schwalbe
234e718 everyone doesn't have to do everything." she told me ."people forget you can also express yourself by what you choose to admire and support. i've had so much pleasure from beautiful things created by other people, things i could never make or do." Will Schwalbe
007322e One of the many things i love about bound books is their sheer physicality. Electronic books live out of sight and out of mind. But printed books have body, presence. Sure, sometimes they'll elude you by hiding in improbable places: in a box full of old pictures frames,say, or in the laundry basket, wrapped in a sweatshirt. But at other times they'll confront you, and you'll literally stumble over some tomes you hadn't thought about in week.. Will Schwalbe
0c03154 It was the women of afghanistan,my mother believed,who-once they'd been granted access to books and education- would be the salvation of the country Will Schwalbe
ecc0a3a lHlm l'mryk~ ljdyd 'n tSbH f~ Gy@ lthr wynZr lyk `l~ lrGm mn dhlk bwSfk DHy@ Charles Simic
0f28fdb He thought how strange life was. The certainties vanish. What takes their place is resourcefulness and thanking God for life. Rita Mae Brown
f10cf13 Well?" He thought about it now. "I think a woman's sphere can be taxing, and perhaps for you, as you indicate, boring. I would hate to think of you being bored! I-- I am rather afraid I would bore you. I am not a wealthy or an educated man." "But you are a brave one. You fought, and I suppose you will again." Catherine stared intently into his eyes. "Captain Schuyler, if you would let me be me, you would never bore me. I truly do want to ri.. Rita Mae Brown
cf871b2 You'll see. You think you can do what boys do but you're going to be a nurse, no two ways about it. It doesn't matter about brains, brains don't count. What counts is whether you're a boy or a girl. Rita Mae Brown
0d8c8a1 Cazenovia Rita Mae Brown
26b230f PAST CLAWS AND EFFECT Rita Mae Brown
52a2c46 Given that 80 percent plus of the U.S. population lives in cities and suburbs, the connection with nature is fading to the detriment of all living creatures. Rita Mae Brown