Lessons from my library in 2024
10 most memorable quotes and reflections inspired by the books I read
“Strange, isn’t it? To love a book. When the words on the pages become so precious that they feel like part of your own history because they are.”
Starless Sea, Erin Morgenstern
I read 25 books in 2024, a number that feels less impressive compared to the count from previous years. However, as cliché as it sounds, it is the act of reading that truly counts. The thoughts these books provoke and the feelings they stir reveal who we are and shape what we become. From Shakespeare to Rilke, these books inspired much reflection on a myriad of themes including love and life. Intending to share some with you, I’ve distilled 10 pieces of food for thought these books left me with.
On solitude and the pursuit of artistic authenticity
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Reflections: What a lovely, warm hug, this book felt like! It is a must read for all ages, but particularly for those figuring out careers and life priorities in their 20s (and even 30s).
“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart. Try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and books written in a foreign language. Do not now look for the answers. They cannot now be given to you because you could not live them. It is a question of experiencing everything. At present, you need to live the question. Perhaps then, some distant day, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”
On moral courage and the impact of small acts of kindness
Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan
Reflections: An important (and quick) read on “small things” that challenge the status quo.
“He found himself asking was there any point in being alive without helping one another? Was it possible to carry on along through all the years, the decades, through an entire life, without once being brave enough to go against what was there… and face yourself in the mirror?”
“He thought of… her daily kindnesses, of how she had corrected and encouraged him, of the small things she had said and done and had refused to do and say and what she must have known, the things which, when added up, amounted to a life.”
On the simple joys of life
The Orange by Wendy Cope
On the righteousness of anger
Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater
Reflections: This regency fairy tail, highlighting social class and gender inequality, was truly the most delightful read of the year. A Cinderella retelling with a twist, I can’t recommend it enough, given the whimsical way in which it highlights the importance and power of righteous anger and kindness.
“If anger never helped, then why would you have it at all? Some humans are born with extra fingers or toes, yes, but all of you are born with at least a little bit of anger. It must do something of use.”
“You have already grown… You simply have not noticed it because you are constantly looking at the sky and not back down at your roots.”
On the false promise of capitalism
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Reflections: Adding to what has been already said about this classic — the capitalistic dream falls short of overcoming inequity and attaining love, happiness, and contentment by acquiring material wealth through ‘merit’ and ‘hard work’. In this deeply divided world, where individuals strive to attain a position in which they are not at the receiving end of oppression, there is a certain hollowness to achieving that success, as the social construct rarely allows for equality through money alone and privilege continues to be tied to birth.
“I hope she'll be a fool—that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
Oh, and I had to bring up this Taylor Swift lyric parallelism here 🤭:
“I hope she'll be a beautiful fool
Who takes my spot next to you.”
- Taylor Swift, “happiness”
On unreliable perceptions and artistic obsession
Hell Screen by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Reflections: How could I have watched the anime Bungou Stray Dogs without needing to explore the works of all the authors mentioned on the show? Akutagawa’s sharp observations lay bare the human condition and the dark edges of society. The ‘Rashomon effect’ highlights the differences in people’s perception of reality and questions whether the whole truth can ever be extracted from memory. Witty and brilliantly self-aware, the author’s genius seemingly reaches the point of folly. With no faith to anchor that intellect, the darkness of the world ultimately closes in on him.
“The cable was still sending sharp sparks into the air. He could think of nothing in life that he especially desired, but those purple sparks - those wildly blooming flowers of fire - he would trade his life for the chance to hold them in his hands.”
“But surely the will to create is a form of the will to live... Above the field's red plumes rose the sharp outline of an active volcano. He viewed the peak with something close to envy, though he had no idea why this was so...”
“I have no conscience at all — least of all an artistic conscience. All I have is nerves.”
“What is the life of a human being — a drop of dew, a flash of lightning?”
On the cruelty of blindly following traditions and mob mentality
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Reflections: This is a very short read about an annual ritual game, and yet deeply profound and disturbing in its impact.
“Although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones.”
On the love for books and stories
The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
Reflections: This book is for those who look for miracles through their love for books, stories, and fairy tales. It brought back a question I have often pondered over — is there a mathematical equation describing the relationship between fate, destiny, circumstance, and individual choice and action? On that note, another honourable mention is Once Upon a Broken Heart series, which took me to another magical world in 2024.
“We are all stardust and stories.”
“A paper star that has been unfolded and refolded into a tiny unicorn but the unicorn remembers the time it was a star and an earlier time when it was part of book and sometimes the unicorn dreams of the time before… when it was a tree and the time even longer before that, when it was a different sort of star.”
Of patriarchy and misogyny at the workplace; motherhood
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Reflections: This book comments on issues such as gender-based discrimination, but with the humour of Marvellous Mrs. Maisel.
“They either wanted to control her, touch her, dominate her, silence her, correct her, or tell her what to do. She didn't understand why they couldn't just treat her as a fellow human being, as a colleague, a friend, an equal, or even a stranger on the street, someone to whom one is automatically respectful until you find out they've buried a bunch of bodies in the backyard.”
“Take a moment for yourself, every day… where YOU are your own priority. Just you. Not your baby, not your work… not your filthy house, not anything. Just you… Whatever you need, whatever you want, whatever you seek, reconnect with it in that moment… Then recommit.”
On the pitfalls of marriage
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
Reflections: This is essentially a manifesto against marriage. However, I wish the description of protagonist’s torturous living was not as lengthy, given how frustrating her moral positioning continued to be.
“When I tell you not to marry without love, I do not advise you to marry for love alone: there are many, many other things to be considered. Keep both heart and hand in your own possession, till you see good reason to part with them; and if such an occasion should never present itself, comfort your mind with this reflection, that though in single life your joys may not be very many, your sorrows, at least, will not be more than you can bear. Marriage may change your circumstances for the better, but, in my private opinion, it is far more likely to produce a contrary result.”
That’s all for now. See you more often in 2025!
Your reflections are truly insightful. Tysm for sharing!! ♡
Very nice 🏆