Book Quotes That Have Moved You
It’s been awhile since I last did a Friday Coffee Chat because I took a blogging break for about four to six weeks. I know a lot of you have said you missed the chats so I’m going to do my best to bring them back. They are quite a bit of fun and help all of us get to know each other better so I hope that I can continue blogging for the long term and continue learning about all my blogging friends. After you comment here, make sure you check out Jennifer at Girls Gone Reading’s Friday Coffee Chat topic on graphic novels.
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Most of the time, when I think of quotes I think of quotes from movies that move me. There are always some memorable scenes or memorable quotes from movies that even if we haven’t seen the movie, we know the quote. Lately, I’ve been noticing that that has been happening more and more with almost every book I read.
Don’t get me wrong. Not all of these books are deep and profound. Some of them are quite simple, but just have this moment of conviction for me. There are these quotes that just stand out to me and speak to me. Some of you know that 2010 was not the best year of my life and a few quotes from books I’ve read really hit me hard in a few ways. Maybe it’s a mid-life crisis of sorts, but some of these quotes are helping me to reevaluate my life and look at the way I’ve been living.
Other quotes are just really thought provoking and don’t necessarily have anything to do with my life at all. Sometimes they remind me of other people in my life and sometimes they are just good quotes. No matter how they get into my brain, they usually stay with me and I’ve started writing them down to keep them with me forever.
Here’s a few that have had a huge impact on me in recent months:
“’But what if I don’t win?’ he asked. ‘There is no dishonor in losing the race,’ Don said. ‘There is only dishonor in not racing because you are afraid to lose.’” –The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth SteinI’m going to admit. I actually cried when I read this quote. I have lived my life so daunted for years and when I read this I realized how much I wanted to “race” but was too afraid to actually do it. This is something that is a process for me. I’m still daunted, but I don’t want to be and I hope that someday I will be racing.
“I think that perhaps too many people want things to be simple when they are not and cannot be. Encouraging that desire is seductive and rewarding, but also dangerous.” –Ysul Demri (Sharrow) in Against a Dark Background by Iain M. Banks
This one also hit me like a brick. I think that so often we look for life to be simple and want to take the easy way out. I’ve lived my life this way and have seen other people do it too. Really, life should be about persevering and embracing the things that are difficult. It’s adversity that builds character. I read this at a really critical point in my life this past Summer and changed how I looked at the world.
“…The things you do when you’re desperate aren’t who you are.” –Niall to Leslie in Ink Exchange by Melissa MarrThis is another quote that kind of goes with the taking the easy way out. Sometimes we do things that are just out of character or when life is out of control we do things that we are not always proud of. I think the challenge is in working on changing ourselves to be who we really are and without resorting to that behavior in desperate times.
These are just a few of the quotes that have given me pause in the last few months. They are insightful and really meaningful to me. They won’t necessarily hit other people the way they’ve impacted me. I’m entering a truly introspective time in my life I think and I’m really enjoying finding quotes that make me think more about life than I previously have. I hope that over the next few years I’ll be come a more complete and stronger person.
- What are some quotes from books that have had an impact on your life?
- Do you think that meaningful quotes can come from books that aren’t super philosophical reads?
- Do you ever write down quotes from books?
I hope you guys will all share some of your favorites with me. I would love to read some of them!
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Tina · 742 weeks ago
I love taking down quotes from books, and sometimes I take too many! The best thing about reading in a Kindle (or any e-reader) is that I can easily mark the quotes I like and search them with little effort. For print books, I actually dog-ear them to remember the quotes. *gasp* Well, as long as I own the book, I figure I can do that. ^^
Some of my favorite quotes from books:
"Let the glossy spreads have their heart-stopping, head-turning kind of beauty. Give me the heart-filling beauty instead. Jolie laide, that's what I would choose. Flawed, we're truly interesting, truly memorable, and yes, truly beautiful." - North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley
Here's something I read just recently, from Dash and Lily's Book of Dares:
"There are just lots of possibilities in the world...I need to keep my mind open for what could happen and not decide that the world is hopeless if what I want to happen doesn't happen. Because something else great might happen in between."
Right now I'm learning to write down quotes or note them in Goodreads instead of just forgetting I read them. ^^ There are too many beautiful words out there that we shouldn't forget it. :)
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leeswammes 78p · 742 weeks ago
I really like that quote from The Art of Racing in the Rain, I do remember that line.
I still remember (from 20 years back) a line in "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok, only I can't find it back now. Maybe it was just in the movie after all. It's something where a son is embarrassed to go back to his father after they had a big fall out. The father asks him to come back and the son says he can't. Then the father says: "Go some of the way and I'll come the rest of the way to meet you", and I thought that was such a beautiful idea.
I also like a quote in The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck which represents an idea that I had long before I read the book. It's when the family take all their belongings and move to a far away state hoping for a better life. (It probably appeals to you, Carin, because of your reluctance to join the "race")
"Ain't you thinkin' what it's gonna be like when we get there? Ain't you scared it won't be nice like we thought?"
"No", she said quickly [this is the mother]. "No, I ain't. You can't do that. I can't do that. It's too much - livin' too many lives. Up ahead they's a thousan' lives we might live, but when it comes, it'll on'y be one. If I go ahead on all of 'em, it's too much."
Somehow these quotes really stuck with me I get a little teary just writing them down. Silly old me!
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Misha · 742 weeks ago
I am currently reading Never Ler Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and this quote almost makes me cry:
"I keep thinking about this river somewhere, with the water moving really fast. And these two people in the water, trying to hold onto each other, holding on as hard as they can, but in the end it's just too much. The current's too strong. They've got to let go, drift apart. That's how it is with us. It's a shame, Kath, because we've loved each other all our lives. But in the end, we can't stay together forever."
It's such a heartbreaking novel and these lines just make me so sad ...
bokunosekai 49p · 742 weeks ago
I have written about this topic in the end of 2010. But I didn't write down quotes from all the books I have read in my life, only the ones from my 2010 read. Here is the post if you like to read it http://t.co/DCSSvKa
I like a lot of quotes from On Writing by Stephen King.
Before I found Teaser Tuesday, I didn't note down any quotes from any books...but now, I am glad I have found that fun meme.
Those quotes you have picked are great...I really like the last one
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Jennifer · 742 weeks ago
My quote recently hasn't been from a book. Instead I found it on a blog. I want to be a writer-freelance, novels, essays...all of it. And one of the writing blogs I check out frequently mentioned that if you want to live a creative life you have to face your fears. That it is impossible to ignore your self esteem issues, your desires, all of it if you want to be creative.
I have been thinking about this idea a lot lately because I do want to be creative, and I notice that whenever I am working really hard at my writing I tend to get more anxious initially.
Now, I can just realize what is happening an deal with my fears head on.
Again...great topic and great to have you back!
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Ellie M · 742 weeks ago
“… Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistorical acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs.”
From Middlemarch by George Elliot. For me this ending made the Endeavour worth while.
It’s great to have you back doing Friday Coffee Chats!
Bella · 742 weeks ago
One of my favorite quotes is from Pride & Prejudice : "I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library." Not terribly profound, just how I feel about books :)
winstonsdad 43p · 742 weeks ago
scrabblequeen 40p · 742 weeks ago
amymckie 73p · 742 weeks ago
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Rachel 89p · 742 weeks ago
"The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes "Awww!"
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@ratsinabag · 741 weeks ago