Books, books, books!!

[JustUrEyeCandy]

It seems like now days, the younger generations graduate high school or college and never pick up a book again. It's all about social media and blogs. No one has the desire to read a book for mere pleasure anymore. So, in order to defeat a social norm, I wanted to share something from one of my personal favorite books and I hope to see some excerpts from you all as well.

"Beauty comforts. There is something profoundly healing about it. Have you ever wondered why we send flowers to the bereaved? In the midst of their suffering and loss, only a gift of beauty says enough, or says it right... Only beauty helped. There's a touching story told from the hospitals of WWII, where a young and badly wounded soldier was brought in from a hellish week of fighting. After doing what she could for him, the nurse asked if there was anything else she could do. "Yes," he said. "Could you just put on some lipstick while I watch?" Beauty comforts. It soothes the soul."
- Captivating, Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul, by John and Stasi Eldredge

[SAK Guy]

I used to read a lot of poetry (along with History, Archaeology etc...) Here's some favs that always made me think...


The Second Coming

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned;
The best lack all conviction, while the worst
Are full of passionate intensity.

Surely some revelation is at hand;
Surely the Second Coming is at hand.
The Second Coming! Hardly are those words out
When a vast image out of Spiritus Mundi
Troubles my sight: somewhere in sands of the desert
A shape with lion body and the head of a man,
A gaze blank and pitiless as the sun,
Is moving its slow thighs, while all about it
Reel shadows of the indignant desert birds.
The darkness drops again; but now I know
That twenty centuries of stony sleep
Were vexed to nightmare by a rocking cradle,
And what rough beast, its hour come round at last,
Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?

W. B. Yeats



"Ozymandias"

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: "Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
'My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!'
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

Percy Bysshe Shelley

[ducttapetech]

I maybe one of the few, But I like reading a good book. But never was a fan of poetry.

Nate
That's us mobile

[detron]

I read a lot of books,  and I love it.  I especially enjoy it when the house is empty, and I am not disturbed by voices

[JustUrEyeCandy]

Bad news everyone, Detron hears voices...


About the poetry, I don't read much poetry either.

[detron]

Bad news everyone, Detron hears voices...


About the poetry, I don't read much poetry either.

true,  true

[jerseydevil]

Ah, books.  I'm an avid reader, I'd rather be reading than watching TV.  Right now I'm in the middle of To Kill a Mockingbird.  Such a beautifully written book, one of my absolute favorites.

[JustUrEyeCandy]

Ah, books.  I'm an avid reader, I'd rather be reading than watching TV.  Right now I'm in the middle of To Kill a Mockingbird.  Such a beautifully written book, one of my absolute favorites.

I remember reading that in high school and hated it. Lol but I fell in love with The Great Gatsby. I've read it several times. I'm curious to see what inspires the rest of you all. I'm impressed with the poems SAK Guy posted.

[Chako]

I like to read...guess it goes with the profession. 

[mrynnr]

Who's up for a book club?

[JustUrEyeCandy]

I like to read...guess it goes with the profession. 

I don't know what your profession is!!! Tell me, tell me!

[ColoSwiss]

I read constantly, mainly non-fiction. History, travel, science in about that order.

[jerseydevil]

Ah, books.  I'm an avid reader, I'd rather be reading than watching TV.  Right now I'm in the middle of To Kill a Mockingbird.  Such a beautifully written book, one of my absolute favorites.

I remember reading that in high school and hated it. Lol but I fell in love with The Great Gatsby. I've read it several times. I'm curious to see what inspires the rest of you all. I'm impressed with the poems SAK Guy posted.

I hated Gatsby.  I thought it was an overrated piece of crap.  I didn't hate it as much as The Scarlet Letter though.  That steaming literary pile is the one book in high school that I flat out refused to finish.     My favorite novel is Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.  I fell in love with it about 20 pages in.  Another classic that I absolutely love is Candide by Voltaire.  Such a fun book that has a great point. 

[SAK Guy]

Ah, books.  I'm an avid reader, I'd rather be reading than watching TV.  Right now I'm in the middle of To Kill a Mockingbird.  Such a beautifully written book, one of my absolute favorites.

I remember reading that in high school and hated it. Lol but I fell in love with The Great Gatsby. I've read it several times. I'm curious to see what inspires the rest of you all. I'm impressed with the poems SAK Guy posted.

I hated Gatsby.  I thought it was an overrated piece of crap.  I didn't hate it as much as The Scarlet Letter though.  That steaming literary pile is the one book in high school that I flat out refused to finish.     My favorite novel is Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.  I fell in love with it about 20 pages in.  Another classic that I absolutely love is Candide by Voltaire.  Such a fun book that has a great point. 

Like all of those and Hemmingway!!!!!!!  Wow!! Loved reading Hemmingway....his strong "geographical" style is like taking an extended journey in your mind.

[JustUrEyeCandy]

Ah, books.  I'm an avid reader, I'd rather be reading than watching TV.  Right now I'm in the middle of To Kill a Mockingbird.  Such a beautifully written book, one of my absolute favorites.

I remember reading that in high school and hated it. Lol but I fell in love with The Great Gatsby. I've read it several times. I'm curious to see what inspires the rest of you all. I'm impressed with the poems SAK Guy posted.

I hated Gatsby.  I thought it was an overrated piece of crap.  I didn't hate it as much as The Scarlet Letter though.  That steaming literary pile is the one book in high school that I flat out refused to finish.     My favorite novel is Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.  I fell in love with it about 20 pages in.  Another classic that I absolutely love is Candide by Voltaire.  Such a fun book that has a great point. 

How could you hate it?!?! I love the story inside and out. I've never read The Scarlet Letter but based on our opposing views I'm sure I'd love it. Lol!

[Breezy12]

Ah, books.  I'm an avid reader, I'd rather be reading than watching TV.  Right now I'm in the middle of To Kill a Mockingbird.  Such a beautifully written book, one of my absolute favorites.

I remember reading that in high school and hated it. Lol but I fell in love with The Great Gatsby. I've read it several times. I'm curious to see what inspires the rest of you all. I'm impressed with the poems SAK Guy posted.

I hated Gatsby.  I thought it was an overrated piece of crap.  I didn't hate it as much as The Scarlet Letter though.  That steaming literary pile is the one book in high school that I flat out refused to finish.     My favorite novel is Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.  I fell in love with it about 20 pages in.  Another classic that I absolutely love is Candide by Voltaire.  Such a fun book that has a great point. 

How could you hate it?!?! I love the story inside and out. I've never read The Scarlet Letter but based on our opposing views I'm sure I'd love it. Lol!

I also hated Gatsby. One of my favorites is The Catcher in the Rye... I never get tired of re-reading that one.

speaking of Hemingway -- The Old Man and the Sea is another one of my favorites.

[ColoSwiss]

"This is not a book to be tossed aside lightly. Rather it should be hurled with great force!"

Dorothy Parker

[Steinar]

I “always” have a book as part of my EDC. Some of what I read is no point in sharing here, as probably isn't available in English, but much of what I read is English because books in English are cheap and have such a great variety. I read Marcus Aurelius' Meditations recently, and I really recommend it to everyone. Even if you have no taste for the Stoic world view, it's worth reading just to view how well reflected and utterly modern many of the thoughts of this probably very hard man were. (Roman emperor? I really wouldn't like to meet any of them in a dark back alley...) (You can also say, “How little we have progressed,” I guess. Your choice. )

[ducttapetech]

Ah, books.  I'm an avid reader, I'd rather be reading than watching TV.  Right now I'm in the middle of To Kill a Mockingbird.  Such a beautifully written book, one of my absolute favorites.

I remember reading that in high school and hated it. Lol but I fell in love with The Great Gatsby. I've read it several times. I'm curious to see what inspires the rest of you all. I'm impressed with the poems SAK Guy posted.

I hated Gatsby.  I thought it was an overrated piece of crap.  I didn't hate it as much as The Scarlet Letter though.  That steaming literary pile is the one book in high school that I flat out refused to finish.   

You are not the only one that hated The Scarlet Letter. That book sucked swamp ass.


Nate
That's us mobile

[Chako]

<---- High School teacher.

[SAK Guy]

<---- High School teacher.

     

[pfrsantos]

<---- High School teacher.

Now I understand all the knife and gun collecting...

 

[SAK Guy]

Ah, books.  I'm an avid reader, I'd rather be reading than watching TV.  Right now I'm in the middle of To Kill a Mockingbird.  Such a beautifully written book, one of my absolute favorites.

I remember reading that in high school and hated it. Lol but I fell in love with The Great Gatsby. I've read it several times. I'm curious to see what inspires the rest of you all. I'm impressed with the poems SAK Guy posted.

I hated Gatsby.  I thought it was an overrated piece of crap.  I didn't hate it as much as The Scarlet Letter though.  That steaming literary pile is the one book in high school that I flat out refused to finish.     My favorite novel is Hemingway's For Whom the Bell Tolls.  I fell in love with it about 20 pages in.  Another classic that I absolutely love is Candide by Voltaire.  Such a fun book that has a great point. 

How could you hate it?!?! I love the story inside and out. I've never read The Scarlet Letter but based on our opposing views I'm sure I'd love it. Lol!

It's pretty grim in spots. We read it in a an early American Lit course so we were dissecting every aspect. Looking at it like that, it was an interesting work.  Fav Hemingway work, The Sun Also Rises.

[AimlessWanderer]

I maybe one of the few, But I like reading a good book. But never was a fan of poetry.

Nate
That's us mobile

I'm not one for poetry either

I read a lot of books,  and I love it.  I especially enjoy it when the house is empty, and I am not disturbed by voices

I live alone by choice

Ah, books.  I'm an avid reader, I'd rather be reading than watching TV.  Right now I'm in the middle of To Kill a Mockingbird.  Such a beautifully written book, one of my absolute favorites.

I don't own a television, and wouldn't have one in the house even if I was gifted one

I don't spend as much time with books as I'd like, but I do enjoy reading. I'll have to ponder for a while before submitting choice extracts 

[jerseydevil]

“But for what purpose was the earth formed?" asked Candide. "To drive us mad," replied Martin.”
-Voltaire, Candide

Such a great and truthful quote. 

[kirk13]

And on a related topic...and forgive me if I don't get the quote word for word

There is a theory that if the question(to the Ulitmate Answer to Life,the Universe,and Everything),and the Answer(42) exist at the same place,at the same time,the Universe will be instantly destroyed,and be replaced with something even more confusing.

The is another theory that states this has already happened

-Douglas Adams

[detron]

[styx]

“I hold a beast, an angel, and a madman in me, and my enquiry is as to their working, and my problem is their subjugation and victory, down throw and upheaval, and my effort is their self-expression.”

― Dylan Thomas

[detron]

though i did not memorize it,  when I read "Starship Troopers" I was amazed by how many great quotes I heard from the History and Moral Philosophy teacher
 
other quotes I did like were

“A boy who gets a C- in 'Appreciation of Television' can't be all bad.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers

“A boy who gets a C- in 'Appreciation of Television' can't be all bad.”
― Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers

[JustUrEyeCandy]

"Good friends, good books and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life."

"When we remember we are all mad, the mysteries disappear and life stands explained."

Both by Mark Twain.

I love all the quotes so far. What a profound group of people from a multitool site. Who would've thought?