You want me to be some evil person because that’s easy to understand. You don’t want to know that I can be generous and compassionate. That doesn’t fit into your nice, comfortable construct. That doesn’t make sense to you, because you’ve painted me with one brush, one color, and there’s no room for any others on your mental palette.
James Patterson and David Ellis, Invisible
When he smiles, they mostly look away. But Martin likes to think they carry his smile for a few blocks – that even the smallest gesture is something grand.
Simon Van Booy, The Illusion of Separateness
He wants to laugh out loud or punch a wall. He feel drunk or at least carbonated. Insane. At first, he thinks this is happiness, but then he determines it’s love. Fucking love, he thinks. What a bother. It’s gotten in the way of his plan to drink himself to death, to drive his business to ruin. The most annoying thing about it is that once a person gives a shit about one thing, he finds he has to start giving a shit about everything.
Gabrielle Zevin, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
Remember, Maya: the things we respond to at twenty are not necessarily the same things we will respond to at forty and vice versa. This is true in books and also in life.
Gabrielle Zevin, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
“You’re not empty,” I said vehemently. “You’re the least empty person I know.”
“Tell it to my soul.”
I wish I could have. I wanted to be enough to fill the universe inside Jacob Grace. But I guessed that no matter how strong it was, love alone couldn’t turn a speck of dust into a galaxy of stars.
Tiffanie DeBartolo, God-Shaped Hole
I said that I am in love with you. I’ve tried not to be, I really have, but it’s just useless. I know you don’t feel the same way about me, but I had to tell you because…well, you’re all I think about. All the time. I miss you every second that you’re not with me…and I know you won’t want to be around me anymore, but, Camilla…you’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had. You’re smart and amazing and weird and probably the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen…and before I met you, all I want was just to fast-forward through everything. But, really, I think my life was just paused, or something. You…made me press play. You made everything move. And no matter where you go, or whatever you feel about me…I will love you forever for that. That’s all I want to say. I’m going to go now
Melissa Keil, Life In Outer Space
Up in that farm land
Past the houses and gardens
Dozens of shade trees
Are waiting there for me
Real Estate, Municipality
At the start of the trip, I took shots of the sights. The Colosseum. Belvedere Palace. Mozart square. But I stopped.They never came out very well, and you could get postcards of these things. But there are no postcards of this. Of life.
Gayle Forman, Just One Day
“I know it’s late but,” he paused. “would it be all right if I came over?”
“Right now?”
“Yeah.”
“Jacob,” I said, “how long have you been waiting to ask me that?”
“Who knows?” he said, more to himself than to me. “Maybe all my life.”
Tiffanie DeBartolo, God-Shaped Hole
What is the point of being alive if you don’t at least try to do something remarkable? How very odd, to believe God gave you life, and yet not think that life asks more of you than watching TV.
John Green, An Abundance of Katherines
Her argument was simple: there’s someone for everyone. Statistically, she was almost certainly correct. Unfortunately, the probability that I would find such a person was vanishingly small. But it created a disturbance in my brain, like a mathematical problem that we know must have a solution.
Graeme Simsion, The Rosie Project
Oh, it’s a nice fairy tale, but that’s what it is. A fairy tale. But I figure Shakespeare owes his comedy characters those happy endings because he is so cruel in his tragedies.
Gayle Forman, Just One Day
“I can’t believe that I can work and work for years and the whole thing can fall apart like this. For what? For fucking what?”
“It’s only food poisoning. You’ll–”
“I’m not talking about the fucking kebab.”
Jojo Moyes, The One Plus One
She said, what you don’t know won’t hurt you. A dubious maxim: sometimes what you don’t know can hurt you very much.
Margaret Atwood, The Blind Assassin
I realized that there’s a big difference between deciding to leave and knowing where to go.
Robin Schneider, The Beginning of Everything
“Because who else but your friends,” Esther said, “would agree to help you re-create your past, just to fix some wrongs that’s been niggling you ever since?”
“Nobody,” Leah said.
“Nobody,” Maggie repeated.
Sarah Dessen, Along For The Ride
“Don’t worry, I plan on living a long time.”
“Why are you making a bucket list, then?”
“Because if you wait until you’re really dying, it’s too late.”
Gayle Forman, Just One Day
as we ran from the night
you held me when it felt right
all the lights went straight to your eyes
it’s you and i who will hold out till the morning light
Craft Spells – After The Moment
That was the thing: when you put someone down all the time, eventually they stopped listening to the sensible stuff.
Jojo Moyes, The One Plus One
The girl smiled again. Colin wasn’t thinking about anything but himself and K-19 and the piece of his gut he’d misplaced – but there was no denying her smile. That smile could end wars and cure cancer.
John Green, An Abundance of Katherines
SHOW ME THE WONDER 