The Broke and the Bookish has once again introduced a Top Ten Tuesday topic that I’m excited to answer! This time, it’s top ten book quotes. Once again, I’m a little late with this–the topic was technically the post for May 8th. But a little late is better than never, and honestly, part of the reason it took so long was narrowing down the list! I’m an avid reader, and I tend to collect quotes. Picking just ten of them as my favorites out of many was harder than I thought it would be, and it turns out that a lot of it has to do with not just the content of the quote itself, but also a bit of nostalgia. Quite a few of these are from books I read as a kid, or books I count among my utmost favorites.
Some of these might seem somewhat–or wholly–unremarkable out of context, but they come from some of my favorite passages in all of literature. The first two, in particular, are drawn from passages that send me into tears every time I read them, they’re so beautifully sad.
1. “It would be the last unicorn in the world that came to Molly Grue.” — The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle
2. “Francie, about a year ago, he gave me that card all written out and two dollars. He said, ‘When Francie graduates, send her some flowers for me–in case I forget.”’ — A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Betty Smith
3. “One of the few things left in the world, aside from the world itself, that sadden me every day is an awareness that you get upset if Boo Boo or Walt tells you you’re saying something that sounds like me. You sort of take it as an accusation of piracy, a little slam at your individuality. Is it so bad that we sometimes sound like each other? The membrane is so thin between us. Is it so important for us to keep in mind which is which? That time two summers ago when I was out so long, I was able to trace that you and Z. and I have been brothers for no fewer than four incarnations, maybe more. Is there no beauty in that? For us, doesn’t each of our individualities begin right at the point where we own up to our extremely close connections and accept the inevitability of borrowing one another’s jokes, talents, idiocies?” — Raise High the Roof Beams, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction, J.D. Salinger
4. “Then, Éowyn of Rohan, I say to you that you are beautiful. In the valleys of our hills there are flowers fair and bright, and maidens fairer still; but neither flower nor lady have I seen till now in Gondor so lovely, and so sorrowful. It may be that only a few days are left ere darkness falls upon our world, and when it comes I hope to face it steadily; but it would ease my heart, if while the Sun yet shines, I could see you still. For you and I have both passed under the wings of the Shadow, and the same hand drew us back.” — The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien
5. “And this I believe: that the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world. And this I would fight for: the freedom of the mind to take any direction it wishes, undirected. And this I must fight against: any idea, religion, or government which limits or destroys the individual.” — East of Eden, John Steinbeck
6. “In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” — Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
7. “It doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like so long as somebody loves you.” — The Witches, Roald Dahl
8. “Words don’t come to life until you can taste them on your tongue.” — Inkheart, Cornelia Funke
9. “In the Lives of the Saints the virgins are always getting into trouble and I don’t know why. The dictionary says, Virgin, woman (usually a young woman) who is and remains in a state of inviolate chastity. Now I have to look up inviolate and chastity and all I can find here is that inviolate means not violated and chastity means chaste and that means pure from unlawful sexual intercourse. Now I have to look up intercourse and that leads to intromission, which leads to intromittent, the copulatory organ of any male animal. Copulatory leads to copulation, the union of the sexes in the art of generation and I don’t know what that means and I’m too weary going from one word to another in this heavy dictionary which leads me on a wild goose chase from this word to that word and all because the people who wrote the dictionary don’t want the likes of me to know anything.” — Angela’s Ashes, Frank McCourt
10. “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” — Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, J.K. Rowling
