8,068 books
—
24,497 voters
read
(1150)
currently-reading (0)
to-read (371)
roleplaying (88)
abandoned (32)
to-avoid (15)
reviewed (499)
comics (367)
fantasy (359)
science-fiction (251)
novel (238)
america (204)
currently-reading (0)
to-read (371)
roleplaying (88)
abandoned (32)
to-avoid (15)
reviewed (499)
comics (367)
fantasy (359)
science-fiction (251)
novel (238)
america (204)
uk-and-ireland
(189)
childhood (173)
humor (168)
non-fiction (139)
horror (133)
short-story (124)
to-buy-or-borrow (95)
euro-comics (74)
illustrated (64)
contemporary-fiction (61)
capes (60)
contemporary-fantasy (56)
childhood (173)
humor (168)
non-fiction (139)
horror (133)
short-story (124)
to-buy-or-borrow (95)
euro-comics (74)
illustrated (64)
contemporary-fiction (61)
capes (60)
contemporary-fantasy (56)
![Loading... Loading...](https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/loading_big-5baaead7062b26142a19d19a9bccf5c2.gif)
![David Foster Wallace](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/authors/1615507112i/4339._UX200_CR0,2,200,200_.jpg)
“God, what a ghastly enterprise to be in, though--and what an odd way to achieve success. I'm an exhibitionist who wants to hide, but is unsuccessful at hiding; therefore, somehow I succeed.”
―
―
![Herman Melville](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/authors/1495029910i/1624._UX200_CR0,30,200,200_.jpg)
“Give not thyself up, then, to fire, lest it invert thee, deaden thee, as for the time it did me. There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness.”
― Moby-Dick or, The Whale
― Moby-Dick or, The Whale
![Friedrich Nietzsche](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/authors/1651474065i/1938._UX200_CR0,35,200,200_.jpg)
“Of all evil I deem you capable: Therefore I want good from you. Verily, I have often laughed at the weaklings who thought themselves good because they had no claws.”
―
―
![David Hume](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/authors/1357463369i/45726._UX200_CR0,48,200,200_.jpg)
“How can we satisfy ourselves without going on in infinitum? And, after all, what satisfaction is there in that infinite progression? Let us remember the story of the Indian philosopher and his elephant. It was never more applicable than to the present subject. If the material world rests upon a similar ideal world, this ideal world must rest upon some other; and so on, without end. It were better, therefore, never to look beyond the present material world.”
― Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
― Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion
![Bernard Knox](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/authors/1278256203i/280215.jpg)
“If through no fault of his own the hero is crushed by a bulldozer in Act II, we are not impressed. Even though life is often like this—the absconding cashier on his way to Nicaragua is killed in a collision at the airport, the prominent statesman dies of a stroke in the midst of the negotiations he has spent years to bring about, the young lovers are drowned in a boating accident the day before their marriage—such events, the warp and woof of everyday life, seem irrelevant, meaningless. They are crude, undigested, unpurged bits of reality—to draw a metaphor from the late J. Edgar Hoover, they are “raw files.” But it is the function of great art to purge and give meaning to human suffering, and so we expect that if the hero is indeed crushed by a bulldozer in Act II there will be some reason for it, and not just some reason but a good one, one which makes sense in terms of the hero’s personality and action. In fact, we expect to be shown that he is in some way responsible for what happens to him.”
― The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
― The Oedipus Cycle: Oedipus Rex, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone
![40475](https://images.gr-assets.com/groups/1291003347p1/40475.jpg)
*Note: This group, although it lives on in a sense, like a photograph, capturing a moment so people can look back later and go, "Oh, wow, you looked s ...more
![143](https://images.gr-assets.com/groups/1181074137p1/143.jpg)
This is a little society, a cadre, a coterie of the unlike-minded. Here we discuss Comic Books (or Graphic Novels, if you prefer) as art, aesthetic, l ...more
![101455](https://images.gr-assets.com/groups/1366272905p1/101455.jpg)
This group is for those who wish to participate in a planned read of the original Gormenghast novels as penned by Mervyn Peake before his death. The ...more
![1883](https://images.gr-assets.com/groups/1329359116p1/1883.jpg)
Dedicated to the discussion and appreciation of Melville's works and life, open to lubbers and sea-dogs alike. ...more
![21708](https://images.gr-assets.com/groups/1247837008p1/21708.jpg)
A discussion of cases and issues and books related to the U.S. Note that this group is basically defunct. I am referring people to Alan Johnson's very ...more
J.G. Keely’s 2023 Year in Books
Take a look at J.G. Keely’s Year in Books. The good, the bad, the long, the short—it’s all here.
More friends…
Favorite Genres
Polls voted on by J.G. Keely
Lists liked by J.G. Keely