@gwcoffey@bookstodon.com
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gwcoffey

@[email protected]

 Engineer by day, book enthusiast by night. Phoenix is my home but I'm temporarily living in San Jose and missing Phoenix more every day. (searchable)

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ryanpendell, to bookstodon
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@bookstodon "In a way, both sides of the debate were directly and indirectly responding to World War II. The absurdity of wartime led many to the view that all this talk of principles, ideals, and values was bullshit. At the same time, the horrors of Nazism stirred many toward an even stronger moral sense. Evil was real. And any attempt to turn it into mere personal preference couldn’t last a minute outside the walls of academia."
https://www.letustalkbooks.com/p/where-our-values-come-from

gwcoffey,
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@ryanpendell @bookstodon This was great. Thanks for sharing. Have you ever read Ernest Becker’s Denial of Death?

gwcoffey,
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@ryanpendell @Stone1glo @bookstodon I read it a looong time ago but as I recall it touches on some of the things you wrote about but from the very different perspective of psychology. As a psychology book it is very dated but it is also super fascinating and really influenced my own thinking.

gwcoffey,
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@ryanpendell @Stone1glo @bookstodon (Oh sorry I replied to the wrong post… but this looks great too!)

ryanpendell, to bookstodon
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@bookstodon "I want to find the hidden connections. I want to find the differences in the familiar and the familiar in the differences. Whenever I hear a little voice inside me go 'Oh, that’s not really my thing,' I know I’m destined for it eventually. Because I want to go on an adventure—and books are how I go. Because I want to become a different person—and books are how I change."

Read "This time for Africa":

https://www.letustalkbooks.com/p/this-time-for-africa

Africa book recs?

gwcoffey,
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@ryanpendell @bookstodon Thanks for this! Some things about/from Africa that I liked:

  1. Africa is Not a Country (non-fiction, some history): https://gwcoffey.com/posts/2023-03-03-africa-is-not-a-country/

  2. Lagoon (sci-fi): https://gwcoffey.com/posts/2023-06-01-lagoon/

  3. Homegiing (novel) by Yaa Gyasi

DocCarms, to bookstodon
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There was a poll that stated—Rowling’s opening line in the HP series is one of best in the world. Someone posted about how there are a bunch of other opening statements that are better.

Here’s one of my personal favorites, from Gabriel Garcia Marquez (English translated):
“It is inevitable. The scent of bitter almonds always reminded him of the fate of unrequited love.”

What are some of your favorite opening lines in literature? 😊
@bookstodon

gwcoffey,
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@ukaunz @DocCarms @bookstodon I envy you this beginning. You have so much in store. I hope you love it.

gwcoffey,
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@DocCarms @bookstodon I will always believe the best opening line is Charlotte’s Web: “Where’s papa going with that axe?”

But I have so many favorites. How about one from a short story:

“I looked up from my book this afternoon and thought, ‘Wow, the light is beautiful.’” – from Thanksgiving by @matociquala

gwcoffey,
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@keira_reckons @DocCarms @bookstodon On so many lists because it deserves to be! Iconic.

gwcoffey,
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@negative12dollarbill @DocCarms @bookstodon This is so great. Thanks for the link!

Private
gwcoffey,
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@Lady @bookstodon “A poem is the next best thing to silence.” – Mackay Brown

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