I should have read this in Italian but I'm laaaaaazy. Not really sure how I feel about it. Interesting intellectually, but not super engaging as a reader.

Quotes: "Tal sorte toccò anche a me; e fin dal primo giorno io concepii così misera stima dei libri, sieno essi a stampa o manoscritti (come alcuni antichissimi della nostra biblioteca), che ora non mi sarei mai e poi mai messo a scrivere, se, come ho detto, non stimassi davvero strano il mio caso e tale da poter servire d’ammaestramento a qualche curioso lettore, che per avventura, riducendosi finalmente a effetto l’antica speranza della buon’anima di monsignor Boccamazza, capitasse in questa biblioteca, a cui io lascio questo mio manoscritto, con l’obbligo però che nessuno possa aprirlo se non cinquant’anni dopo la mia terza, ultima e definitiva morte." (ok so I read it in Italian a little bit)

"—And above all, I said to myself, I will cherish this freedom of mine. I'll walk with it along smooth, ever new paths; I'll never force it into burdensome dress. Whenever the spectacle of life takes on an unpleasant aspect, I'll close my eyes and walk on. I'll try to pass most of my time with so-called inanimate things, seek out lovely views and charming, quiet spots. Little by little, I'll give myself a new training. With patient, loving study, I'll transform myself so that, finally, I can say not only that I lived two lives, but that I was two men."

"Life is stirring, bustling here or there, in all its variety. And in how many places have I said: Here I could settle down! Here I’d be happy to live! And I envied the inhabitants living there quietly, with their habits, their daily tasks, never knowing the painful sense of precariousness that keeps the traveler's spirit in a state of suspense." LOVE THIS!!! I feel this way every time I go somewhere new. I could live in Denver, in New Orleans, in Bordeaux, in Lyons, in London, in Edinburgh, in Seattle. I can't help it!!!