Monday, March 18, 2024

On Hope

 "What does hope get you?  It gets you a hopeful life, and when you think about it, what more can you hope to have?"




Thursday, March 14, 2024

3000 Books Sold! Thank you.

 On the one hand, 3000 books sold over ten years is not exactly best-seller territory.  On the other hand, I won't deny the satisfaction I felt upon the sale of my 3000th book yesterday.

My book sales have never been a torrent.  They are more a persistent trickle, one or two at a time, sometimes skipping a few days but seldom more than that.  So while 3000 copies over ten years doesn't blow your socks off, it does amount to 5 or 6 copies a week, every week, for ten years  -- and, that, let me tell you, can be quite an ongoing boost to one's self-esteem.

I am pleased, too, to know that my books have sold without promotion.  I have never made a public appearance on behalf of my books, never a signing or a reading, never a celebrity endorsement, never a cent paid for advertising.  All I've ever done is to offer my books on my blog and via my Twitter account. For the rest, it has been a case of folks noticing my quotes on the internet, Googling my name and finding their way to my Amazon book pages.

And so I thank all you book buyers out there for your support over these ten years.  You are indeed patrons of the arts and, as supporters of the hard-copy printed word, a bit of a dying breed, I'm afraid.  I thank you and cherish you.  You have made very happy a fellow named Bob in Connecticut.


Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Cancel My Appointments, Please

"You can plan a picnic and hope for a sunny day, but sometimes a sunny day just turns up and demands your immediate attention." 




Thursday, March 7, 2024

A Casualty of Prejudice

"You cannot appeal to the self-interest of prejudiced people, for rarely does an awareness of one's true self-interest survive one's prejudice." 



Tuesday, March 5, 2024

Thoughts of a Godseeker

 "If there's one thing people of tolerance might usefully borrow from people of prejudice, it is their religious zeal."


The test, for me, of any religion is what is left of it when stripped of its theology.  Is there a core of human kindness that can be practiced?


As for my own religion and politics, I continue to look for a religion that will accept me as a heretic and a political party that will accept me as a dissenter.


Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Nostalgia

"Nostalgia is less a longing for a past we once lived than for a future we once dreamed of."




Sunday, February 25, 2024

More Miscellany

 "Far from knowing history, you wonder if politicians today even suspect that anyone is taking notes."


"If the human race is good at anything, it is good at surviving people giving up on it." 


"A wake-up moment in one's intellectual life is realizing that no impartial third party has ever sided with you."


"There is nothing like really getting to know people to reduce your need for their approval."