Lower pleasures are never quite as sharp the second time: they depend on surprise.
Nov 292021
Seeming
Religion, art, taste, and other delusions.
Nov 122021
You can’t convince people that ugliness is beautiful. You can, however, convince them that it is bold, inspiring, visionary, unique, searching, thought-provoking, evocative, and unconventional.
Nov 012021
All the pleasures shall be guilty, except the nasty ones.
Oct 132021
Satire becomes easier and easier until it is impossible.
Sep 222021
Now and then a readable novel is written that takes its author as its subject; we call these autobiographies.
Sep 152021
Love-conquers-all is the dullest story in the world. In most of the interesting stories love conquers nothing whatever.
Aug 312021
Nice manners are a minor virtue rarely found in people with major ones.
Aug 192021
The praise of reviewers tends to be bland and uninformative, with exceptions. One can be certain that an actor’s “riveting” performance was far worse than usual, and that a “lyrical” novel will be unreadable.
Aug 182021
You don’t need to love what I love, just hate what I hate.
Aug 052021
Technology makes all our dreams come true, nightmares included.