"In Tereza’s eyes, books were the emblems of a secret brotherhood. For she had but a single weapon against the world of crudity surrounding her: the books she took out of the municipal library, and above all, the novels. She had read any number of them, from Fielding to Thomas Mann. They not only offered the possibility of an imaginary escape from a life she found unsatisfying; they also had a meaning for her as physical objects: she loved to walk down the street with a book under her arm. It had the same significance for her as an elegant cane for the dandy a century ago. It differentiated her from others."
— Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being
"I regard the brain as a computer which will stop working when its components fail. There is no heaven or afterlife for broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark."
—
Stephen Hawking, in an exclusive interview with The Guardian, expanding on remarks made in his most recent book, The Grand Design.
[guardian.]
(via thedailywhat)
That is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.
(Source: thedailywhat)
"out of all the mines in all of nevada and u had to walk into mine"
— a Tweet from reporter friend extraordinaire and personal idol switface. If you’re gonna have an awkward run-in, in my opinion there’s no better place to have it than in a goldmine.
"There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well. The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every day confirms my belief of the inconsistency of all human characters, and of the little dependence that can be placed on the appearance of merit or sense."
— Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice (via libraryland)
