336 books
—
229 voters
to-read
(652)
currently-reading (4)
read (1023)
fantasy (231)
series (224)
audiobooks (199)
humor (153)
young-adult (98)
anglophile (76)
fun (71)
satire (69)
historical-setting (64)
currently-reading (4)
read (1023)
fantasy (231)
series (224)
audiobooks (199)
humor (153)
young-adult (98)
anglophile (76)
fun (71)
satire (69)
historical-setting (64)
investigation
(61)
mystery (61)
comics-and-graphic-novels (60)
owned (60)
interesting-nonfiction (59)
american-comics (57)
nonfiction (57)
detective-police (52)
murder (50)
romance (50)
charming-heartwarming (46)
modern-setting (45)
mystery (61)
comics-and-graphic-novels (60)
owned (60)
interesting-nonfiction (59)
american-comics (57)
nonfiction (57)
detective-police (52)
murder (50)
romance (50)
charming-heartwarming (46)
modern-setting (45)

“Nobody tells this to people who are beginners, I wish someone told me. All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this. And if you are just starting out or you are still in this phase, you gotta know its normal and the most important thing you can do is do a lot of work. Put yourself on a deadline so that every week you will finish one story. It is only by going through a volume of work that you will close that gap, and your work will be as good as your ambitions. And I took longer to figure out how to do this than anyone I’ve ever met. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”
―
―

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
―
―

“As had happened with Julius Caesar, it turned out that the people of Rome were actually quite keen on Gaius and were not fans of presumptuous senators and magistrates making unilateral decisions about the nature of Roman government with swords. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, they believed, not from some farcical bloody murder. Strange men in corridors distributing stab wounds was no basis for a system of government.”
― A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome
― A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome

“[...]the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes “Awww!”
― On the Road
― On the Road

Can't remember the title of a book you read? Come search our bookshelves and discussion posts. If you don’t find it there, post a description on our U ...more
Ka’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Ka’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Polls voted on by Ka
Lists liked by Ka