Top 5 Book Quotes

Once again, it’s time for me to entertain you with a list of five fabulous things that I pulled from someone inside my rattling skull and somehow managed to make coherent! As always, it’s thanks to Shanah @ Bionic Book Worm for coming up with this week’s prompt!

I’m trying to stay away from the cliché quotes, but we all know that sometimes one or two are going to sneak through.

“We understand the lights. We understand the lights above the Arby’s. We understand so much. But the sky behind those lights, mostly void, partially stars, that sky reminds us: We don’t understand even more.”

― Joseph Fink, Mostly Void, Partially Stars

(I might be cheating on this one because it’s the printed script of a podcast. I really don’t care.) Welcome to Night Vale is not really a podcast, though; it’s more of an experience. There’s no real way to describe the town of Night Vale, and it’s really something that you need to listen to for yourself. So please, take a listen. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it just as much as I have.

“I wish someone had told me this simple but confusing truth: Even when everything’s going your way you can still be sad. Or anxious. Or uncomfortably numb. Because you can’t always control your brain or your emotions even when things are perfect.”

― Jenny Lawson, Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things

I love Jenny Lawson. She’s one of the funniest writers I’ve come across, even though she does usually write about horrible things. If you’re going through a depressive episode or finding trouble coming to terms with your anxiety, I suggest picking up one of her books. Mostly, I suggest Furiously Happy, because even though it deals with some dark things, she reminds you that it’s okay to live in the dark and let other people turn on the lights. But you’re stronger than you think you are, and you need to kick depression’s butt. Be furiously happy, out of sheer spite.

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”

― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

If you’ve never read The Last Lecture, do yourself a favor and pick it up right now. It’s a tiny little book, and it’ll leave you feeling very different when you finish. I picked it up a few years ago after a breakup, and it really helped me through it. (I probably need to crack it open again, honestly.) There’s a reason this is marketed as the book to give kids when they graduate from high school/college. It’s a great little book full of a lot of pretty great advice, and you should do yourself a favor and read it.

“So many things are possible just as long as you don’t know they’re impossible.”

― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

The Phantom Tollbooth is my favorite bit of children’s literature. I wish more people had to read this book. It’s an absolutely wonderful story, and it allows the reader to see the world from a different perspective. You don’t have to be the smartest, the prettiest, the strongest, etc. You just have to be you. As long as you’re you, there’s not anything anyone can do to hurt you. Please remember that, and stay true to yourself.

“I have hated words and I have loved them, and I hope I have made them right.”

― Markus Zusak, The Book Thief

You didn’t think I was going to leave my favorite book of all time out of this, did you?

I debated long and hard about which quote to choose from the novel. There are so many good ones out there, and it’s hard to pick just one. Even if all five quotes from this week were from The Book Thief, I still would’ve had ten more waiting in the wings. I ended up with this one because this is something I think about every time I finish writing something, whether it be a blog post or an academic paper: I hope I’ve made these words right.

Some of these quotes have made me cry. Some of them have made me laugh. And trust me when I tell you that there are probably fifty or sixty more quotes that I could’ve used but decided to just go with these five instead. I don’t even have any honorable mentions for you this week.

What’s your favorite book quote? What do you think of mine? And please, take a gander at Shanah’s list as well and even do your own!

And as always, keep reading.