Top Ten Tuesday is a book meme originally created by The Broke and The Bookish. In no particular order, these are ten quotes that I love from the books that I’ve read throughout my entire life:
1) Attachments – Rainbow Rowell
“He knew why he wanted to kiss her. Because she was beautiful. And before that, because she was kind. And before that, because she was smart and funny. Because she was exactly the right kind of smart and funny. Because he could imagine taking a long trip with her without ever getting bored. Because whenever he saw something new and interesting, or new and ridiculous, he always wondered what she’d have to say about it–how many stars she’d give it and why.”
I found this one just oozing with the warm and fuzzies. It’s the exact kind of thing you feel when you’re just starting to fall for someone, when everything is wonderful and you can’t stop thinking about them.
From Goodreads: Beth Fremont and Jennifer Scribner-Snyder know that somebody is monitoring their work e-mail. (Everybody in the newsroom knows. It’s company policy.) Meanwhile, Lincoln O’Neill can’t believe this is his job now, reading other people’s e-mail. By the time Lincoln realizes he’s falling for Beth, it’s way too late to introduce himself.
2) Just Listen – Sarah Dessen
“There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you’d better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you’ll never understand what it’s saying.”
All I want to say is: WHEN DOES THE WORLD GET QUIET? It never does for me. I’m still waiting.
From Goodreads: Last year, Annabel was “the girl who has everything” — at least that’s the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf’s Department Store. This year, she’s the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong.
3) The Lover’s Dictionary – David Levithan
abyss, n. There are times when I doubt everything. When I regret everything you’ve taken from me, everything I’ve given you, and the waste of all the time I’ve spent on us.
juxtaposition, n. It scares me how hard it is to remember life before you. I can’t even make the comparisons anymore, because my memories of that time have all the depth of a photograph. It seems foolish to play games of better and worse. It’s simply a matter of is and is no longer.
I have a very special place for books formatted like this one—really, really, really short stories, all of them somewhat vaguely written. This book made me feel ever so nostalgic and was just so beautiful that I keep it very, very close to my heart.
From Goodreads: A modern love story told through a series of dictionary-style entries is a sequence of intimate windows into the large and small events that shape the course of a romantic relationship.
4) Love, Rosie – Cecelia Ahern
“I’ve learned that home isn’t a place, it’s a feeling.”
Mostly because I agree. I’m not particularly attached to any physical place in this world, but I’m certainly attached to certain people.
From Goodreads: Rosie and Alex are destined for one another, and everyone seems to know it but them. Best friends since childhood, their relationship gets closer by the day, until Alex gets the news that his family is leaving Dublin and moving to Boston. At 17, Rosie and Alex have just started to see each other in a more romantic light. Devastated, the two make plans for Rosie to apply to colleges in the U.S.
5) Norwegian Wood – Haruki Murakami
“If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking.”
Haruki Murakami is such an odd writer, and I’m ever so pleased that I actually like his writing. You get bouts of surrealism, and then the occasional gems like this, and somehow, suddenly everything makes sense.
From Goodreads: A poignant story of one college student’s romantic coming-of-age, Norwegian Wood takes us to that distant place of a young man’s first, hopeless, and heroic love.
6) On Writing – Stephen King
“Books are a uniquely portable magic.”
I’ve actually never read anything by Stephen King before (I know, for shame!) except his book on writing, but I found this one quote utterly lovely, and I’m sure other book-lovers would agree.
From Goodreads: Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer’s craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have.
Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it—fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.
7) A Game of Thrones – George R.R. Martin
Bran thought about it. “Can a man still be brave if he’s afraid?”
“That is the only time a man can be brave,”his father told him.
For what it’s worth, I didn’t actually finish this book (I found it much too purple-prosey to continue past the first few chapters) but I like this quote.
From Goodreads: Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun. As Warden of the north, Lord Eddard Stark counts it a curse when King Robert bestows on him the office of the Hand. His honour weighs him down at court where a true man does what he will, not what he must … and a dead enemy is a thing of beauty.
8) Romancing Mister Bridgerton – Julia Quinn
She’d met Colin on a Monday.
She’d kissed him on a Friday.
Twelve years later.
She sighed. It seemed fairly pathetic.
Any regency/historical romance readers out there? Romancing Mister Bridgerton is one of my two favourite regency romances ever, and it’s actually really funny, too!
From Goodreads: Penelope Featherington has secretly adored her best friend’s brother for… well, it feels like forever. After half a lifetime of watching Colin Bridgerton from afar, she thinks she knows everything about him, until she stumbles across his deepest secret… and fears she doesn’t know him at all.
9) The Rosie Project – Graeme Simsion
“I haven’t changed my mind. That’s the point! I want to spend my life with you even though it’s totally irrational. And you have short earlobes. Socially and genetically there’s no reason for me to be attracted to you. The only logical conclusion is that I must be in love with you.”
This book was just so completely adorable and a fresh take on the contemporary romance genre. Besides, it’s a love story told from the perspective of the man! How rare is that? READ IT, THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN’T. I BEG OF YOU.
From Goodreads: An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love. The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.
10) Me and Earl and the Dying Girl – Jesse Andrews
“When you convert a good book to a film, stupid things happen.”
I think all of us can agree that some book-to-movie adaptations aren’t very good (looking at you, City of Bones), and I think this quote illustrated it perfectly well. Besides, Me and Earl and The Dying Girl was quite an entertaining read personally.
From Goodreads: Greg Gaines is the last master of high school espionage, able to disappear at will into any social environment… until Greg’s mother forces him to rekindle his childhood friendship with Rachel, a childhood classmate who has been diagnosed with leukimia, and all at once Greg must abandon invisibility and stand in the spotlight.
What do you think of these quotes? Have you done this week’s Top Ten Tuesday yet? If you have, link me to your post, I’d love to check it out! 🙂
Awww, The Rosie Project quote was just too cute! And that was a great quote from A Game of Thrones. I have a question: what is purple prosey? I’m curious! 😀 Anyway, great post! Here’s my Top Ten: https://suereadingcorner.wordpress.com/2015/11/17/top-ten-tuesday-top-ten-quotes/
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Thank you! Purple prose is basically when the writing is too flowery, overly descriptive, etc. 🙂
And thanks for linking me to your Top Ten!
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Oh, that makes sense! And no problem! 😁
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Nice list…I especially love the Haruki Murakami and Cecelia Ahern quotes 😁 Also the quote for Julia Quinn’s Regency caught my attention…I’ve not read a historical in awhile, might try reading it 😊
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Haha, thank you! What historical do you use to read? Julia Quinn’s my first regency author and I just fell in love with her so hard–if you like funny, witty writing, you should check out her Bridgerton series. 🙂
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I used to read works from Judith McNaught, Julie Garwood, Catherine Coulter…and the likes…but I’ve not tried Julia Quinn. In fact, when it came to the romance genre I’d only read historical. 😀
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I haven’t read books from those authors before! What would you recommend? I miss reading historical, haha. 🙂
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Oh wow…honestly…I can’t remember since it’s been such a long ago! It really depends what you want from them, Judith McNaught was my first introduction to the whole genre of romance so I think I have a soft spot for her. I remember Catherine Coulter’s works were more historical mystery/ crime romance. Julie Garwood wrote some pretty good Scottish Historical Romance. I’ll be honest they are all quite formulated, but if I had to do a reread, perhaps start with Judith McNaught’s A Kingdom of Dream – although its Medieval and not Regency. If you want historical with more politics Bertrice Small’s works are worth looking into 😀
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Fair enough! People generally have a soft spot for their first authors, and to be honest, I think historical romance as a genre is pretty formulaic most of the time. Romance in general is kind of formulaic, haha. :p
Medieval would be interesting as well, I haven’t had the chance to read any of those. I’ve been so immersed in the YA genre for so long! Thank you for taking the time to make some recommendations, I really appreciate it. ❤
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You’re very welcome 😊 I agree…romance is very formulaic; but I still end up reaching for it as my go to fluff. Perhaps it’s because it’s familiar and comforting. I’ve only just reacquainted myself with the YA genre (and wow has the genre thrived) after a long break from reading, so I’m basically playing catch up. In fact, I’d have to say the same for most genres at the moment hahaha!
Hope you enjoy the book; and I’ll definitely check out Julia Quinn’s work ☺
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