A Life of Wonder

I remember reading The Brothers Karamazov in college. The thick, beautiful, never ending book which refused to be skimmed. Reading it was an act of slowing down, and yet because of the circumstances: pressure from school work and social obligations, I had to read quickly. As my eyes read the words, my heart was saving them to process for a later date. As if I were a bear feeding off that book to keep me fat and happy through the winter, I ear marked, underlined, and adored passages. I’ve forgotten the many of the plot details, but still remember wrestling with the questions it posed, and the desire to both finish it fast and to linger within its pages. It sits on my shelf now inviting a re-reading. Which books do this for you?

“Above all, don’t lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love.”
― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov