A book must be an ice axe to break the sea frozen inside us. What we need are book that hit us like a most painful misfortune, like the death of someone we loved more that we love ourselves, that makes us feel as though we had been banished to the woods, far from any human presence, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. ~ Franz Kafka
No Friend As Loyal
There is no friend as loyal as a book. ~ Ernest Hemingway
The Test of Literature
The test of literature is, I suppose, whether we ourselves live more intensely for the reading of it. ~ Elizabeth Drew
Write Your Own…
There comes a point in your life when you need to stop reading other people’s books and write your own. ~ Albert Einstein
A Tremendous Thing
“You have been my friend,” replied Charlotte. “That in itself is a tremendous thing.” ~ E.B White
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth E. Wein
I am no longer afraid of getting old. Indeed I can’t believe I ever said anything so stupid. So childish. So offensive and arrogant.
But mainly, so very, very stupid. I desperately want to grow old.
The Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
To love the journey is to accept no such end. I have found, through painful experience, that the most important step a person can take is always the next one.
The Iron Trial (Magisterium #1) by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
They all yelled in excitement. Tamara yelled because she was happy. Aaron yelled because he liked it when other people were happy, and Call yelled because he was sure they were going to die.
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery
if you dread tomorrow, it’s because you don’t know how to build the present, you tell yourself you can deal with it tomorrow, and it’s a lost cause anyway because tomorrow always ends up becoming today…
The Martian by Andy Weir
Mark Watney is funny and resourceful. Good thing, since he’s stranded on Mars. The main takeaway from The Martian by Andy Weir is that with extreme determination, anything is possible.