Last Tuesday was Top Ten Tuesday Rewind when we get to pick a topic that we haven’t done on the TTT list (here). I’ve decided to choose Top Ten Favourite Book Quotes. There are many books I’ve loved but some things have stayed with me. Whether they’re thrilling first lines, words of wisdom or funny dialogue, I’ll include some of all of them:
1. ‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife. However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.’ – Ironic wit from Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice.
2. ‘Books are mirrors: you only see in them what you already have inside you.’ – The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
3. ‘Bea says that the art of reading is slowly dying, that it’s an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind, and great readers are becoming more scarce by the day.’ – The Shadow of the Wind.
4. “I hate discussions of feminism that end up with who does the dishes,” she said. So do I. But at the end, there are always the damned dishes.’ – Marilyn French, The Women’s Room.
5. ‘Time is priceless, but it’s Free. You can’t own it, you can use it. You can spend it. But you can’t keep it. Once you’ve lost it you can never get it back.’ – Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler’s Wife.
6. ‘Chaos is more freedom; in fact, total freedom. But no meaning. I want to be free to act, and I also want my actions to mean something.’ – Audrey Niffenegger, The Time Traveler’s Wife.
7. “I meant,” said Ipslore bitterly, “what is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?” Death thought about it. “Cats,” he said eventually. “Cats are nice.” – Terry Pratchett, Sourcery.
8. “WHAT FOR IS THIS BOX PADDED? IS IT TO BE SAT ON? CAN IT BE THAT IT IS CAT-FLAVOURED?” – Death in Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett.
9. ‘Writing practice brings us back to the uniqueness of our own minds and an acceptance of it. We all have wild dreams, fantasies, and ordinary thoughts. Let us to feel the texture of them and not be afraid of them.Writing is still the wildest thing I know.’ Natalie Goldberg, Wild Mind.
10. ‘I write because I am alone and move through the world alone. No one will know what has passed through me… I write because there are stories that people have forgotten to tell, because I am a woman trying to stand up in my life… I write out of hurt and how to make hurt okay; how to make myself strong and come home, and it may be the only real home I’ll ever have.’ – Natalie Goldberg, Writing Down the Bones.
Cats and Chocolate 