The Marginalian
The Marginalian

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Simone Weil on Temptation, the Key to Discipline, and How to Be a Complete Human Being
Simone Weil on Temptation, the Key to Discipline, and How to Be a Complete Human Being

“Never react to an evil in such a way as to augment it.”

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Joan Didion on Hollywood’s Diversity Problem: A Masterpiece from 1968 That Could Have Been Written Today
Joan Didion on Hollywood’s Diversity Problem: A Masterpiece from 1968 That Could Have Been Written Today

“The public life of liberal Hollywood comprises a kind of dictatorship of good intentions, a social contract in which actual and irreconcilable disagreement is as taboo as failure or bad teeth.”

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A Burst of Delight and Recognition: E.E. Cummings, the Art of Noticing, and the Spirit of Rebellion
A Burst of Delight and Recognition: E.E. Cummings, the Art of Noticing, and the Spirit of Rebellion

“Cummings despised fear, and his life was lived in defiance of all who ruled by it.”

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Hannah Arendt on Memory, the Elasticity of Time, and What Free Will Really Means
Hannah Arendt on Memory, the Elasticity of Time, and What Free Will Really Means

“Before we raise such questions as What is happiness, what is justice, what is knowledge, and so on, we must have seen happy and unhappy people, witnessed just and unjust deeds, experienced the desire to know and its fulfillment or frustration.”

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Joseph Brodsky on How to Develop Your Taste in Reading
Joseph Brodsky on How to Develop Your Taste in Reading

“You stand to lose nothing; what you may gain are new associative chains.”

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E.B. White on How to Write for Children and the Writer’s Responsibility to All Readers
E.B. White on How to Write for Children and the Writer’s Responsibility to All Readers

“Anyone who writes down to children is simply wasting his time. You have to write up, not down.”

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The Best Biographies, Memoirs, and History Books of 2014
The Best Biographies, Memoirs, and History Books of 2014

Nabokov’s love letters, Shackleton’s courageous journey, the unsung heroes behind creative icons, Joni Mitchell unbound, and more.

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2014’s Best Books on Psychology, Philosophy, and How to Live Meaningfully
2014’s Best Books on Psychology, Philosophy, and How to Live Meaningfully

How to be alone, wake up from illusion, master the art of asking, fathom your place in the universe, and more.

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C.S. Lewis’s Ideal Daily Routine
C.S. Lewis’s Ideal Daily Routine

“It is essential of the happy life that a man would have almost no mail.”

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How to Live: Lessons from Montaigne
How to Live: Lessons from Montaigne

Don’t worry about death, pay attention, read a lot, give up control, embrace imperfection.

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