

“What if one happens to be possessed of a heart that can’t be trustedâ€�? What if the heart, for its own unfathomable reasons, leads one willfully and in a cloud of unspeakable radiance away from health, domesticity, civic responsibility and strong social connections and all the blandly-held common virtues and instead straight towards a beautiful flare of ruin, self-immolation, disaster?”
― The Goldfinch
― The Goldfinch

“Never forget what you are, for surely the world will not. Make it your strength. Then it can never be your weakness.”
― A Song of Ice and Fire, 5-Book Boxed Set: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons
― A Song of Ice and Fire, 5-Book Boxed Set: A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows, A Dance with Dragons

“What if â€� is more complicated than that? What if maybe opposite is true as well? Because, if bad can sometimes come from good actionsâ€�? where does it ever say, anywhere, that only bad can come from bad actions? Maybe sometimes â€� the wrong way is the right way? You can take the wrong path and it still comes out where you want to be? Or, spin it another way, sometimes you can do everything wrong and it still turns out to be right?”
― The Goldfinch
― The Goldfinch

“Well—I have to say I personally have never drawn such a sharp line between ‘goodâ€� and ‘badâ€� as you. For me: that line is often false. The two are never disconnected. One can’t exist without the other. As long as I am acting out of love, I feel I am doing best I know how. But you—wrapped up in judgment, always regretting the past, cursing yourself, blaming yourself, asking ‘what if,â€� ‘what if.â€� ‘Life is cruel.â€� ‘I wish I had died instead of.â€� Well—think about this. What if all your actions and choices, good or bad, make no difference to God? What if the pattern is pre-set? No no—hang on—this is a question worth struggling with. What if our badness and mistakes are the very thing that set our fate and bring us round to good? What if, for some of us, we can’t get there any other way?”
― The Goldfinch
― The Goldfinch

“A great sorrow, and one that I am only beginning to understand: we don’t get to choose our own hearts. We can’t make ourselves want what’s good for us or what’s good for other people. We don’t get to choose the people we are.”
― The Goldfinch
― The Goldfinch
Megs’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Megs’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Favorite Genres
Biography, Classics, Crime, Fantasy, Fiction, Gay and Lesbian, Historical fiction, History, Horror, Music, Mystery, Paranormal, Philosophy, Poetry, Psychology, Spirituality, Thriller, Young-adult, glbt, lesbian, gay, queer, arthurian, demons, and occult
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