“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”
― The Bell Jar
― The Bell Jar
“Odi et amo; quare fortasse requiris, nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.
(my translation: I hate and I love, you ask why I do this, I do not know, but I feel and I am tormented)”
― The Complete Poems
(my translation: I hate and I love, you ask why I do this, I do not know, but I feel and I am tormented)”
― The Complete Poems
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
― Norwegian Wood
― Norwegian Wood
“He was a man who formed opinions as he spoke them, or perhaps afterward, requiring him to ramble at length to grasp what he believed.”
― The Rise & Fall of Great Powers
― The Rise & Fall of Great Powers
You Debate, We De Sharks
— 141 members
— last activity Apr 23, 2015 10:44PM
This is our debate team! Come and make your voice heard regarding major issues in our world, or the just latests fads.
This is our debate team! Come and make your voice heard regarding major issues in our world, or the just latests fads.
Crime, Mysteries & Thrillers
— 23005 members
— last activity Dec 15, 2024 09:05PM
Welcome and join us for our monthly group reads. We read Mysteries, Thrillers, and a variety of subgenres. True Crime, Cozy Mysteries, and Series are ...more
Welcome and join us for our monthly group reads. We read Mysteries, Thrillers, and a variety of subgenres. True Crime, Cozy Mysteries, and Series are ...more
European Royalty
— 1540 members
— last activity Jun 08, 2024 12:49PM
This is a group for anyone who enjoys fiction and non-fiction books about European royalty and history in general. We have a wide variety of discussio ...more
This is a group for anyone who enjoys fiction and non-fiction books about European royalty and history in general. We have a wide variety of discussio ...more
Classic Literature Lovers
— 38 members
— last activity Nov 20, 2013 06:12AM
This is a group where you can talk about any classical literature you've read or want to read. Like I recently read 'A Tale of Two Cities' and 'Les Mi ...more
This is a group where you can talk about any classical literature you've read or want to read. Like I recently read 'A Tale of Two Cities' and 'Les Mi ...more
The Book Vipers
— 1588 members
— last activity Jun 02, 2022 02:33AM
A friendly, informal and established group with a diverse range of members. We read the classics, contemporary fiction and non-fiction. Come and join ...more
More of Michelle’s groups…
A friendly, informal and established group with a diverse range of members. We read the classics, contemporary fiction and non-fiction. Come and join ...more
Michelle’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Michelle’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
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