Tuesday 14 April 2015

Top Ten Inspiring Quotes from Books

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke & the Bookish
When a book is written well, or touches you in some way, there are always going to be quotes that stay with you. Some of them dig in deeper under your skin than others, but they are all important, and they all show how the books we read change us and help us to grow.
It was tough picking them out, but here are ten quotes from books that have inspired, touched or stayed with me in some way.

"No more words. We know them all, all the words that should not be said. But you have made my world more perfect."
Nation by Terry Pratchett

You may tell a tale that takes up residence in someone's soul, becomes their blood and self and purpose. That tale will move them and drive them and who knows what they might do because of it, because of your words. That is your role, your gift.” 
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

"I fell in love the way you fall asleep. Slowly, and then all at once." 
The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

“You did not have to understand miracles to believe in them, and in fact Mabel had come to suspect the opposite. To believe, perhaps you had to cease looking for explanations and instead hold the little thing in your hands as long as you were able before it slipped like water between your fingers.” 
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

“In my old age, I see that life itself is often more fantastic and terrible than the stories we believed as children, and that perhaps there is no harm in finding magic among the trees.”  
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

"I would give up everything for you, Giulia"
I smiled at him gently. "But you must understand. I should never want a man to give up anything for me. I should want him to feel in winning me he has won the whole world..." 

Silent in the Sanctuary by Deanna Raybourn

"Sometimes you wake up. Sometimes the fall kills you. And sometimes, when you fall, you fly."  
Sandman Vol. 6 'Fables & Reflections' by Neil Gaiman

"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live." 
Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone by J. K. Rowling

"The world inside myself is vaster and richer than this paltry plane, peopled with mere galaxies and gods."  
Seraphina by Rachel Hartman

"I believe that mankind's destiny lies in the stars. I believe that candy really did taste better when I was a kid, that it's aerodynamically impossible for a bumble bee to fly, that light is a wave and a particle, that there's a cat in a box somewhere who's alive and dead at the same time (although if they don't ever open the box to feed it it'll eventually just be two different kinds of dead), and that there are stars in the universe billions of years older than the universe itself. 
I believe in a personal god who cares about me and worries and oversees everything I do. I believe in an impersonal god who set the universe in motion and went off to hang with her girlfriends and doesn't even know that I'm alive. I believe in an empty and godless universe of causal chaos, background noise, and sheer blind luck. 
I believe that anyone who says sex is overrated just hasn't done it properly. I believe that anyone who claims to know what's going on will lie about the little things too. 
I believe in absolute honesty and sensible social lies. I believe in a woman's right to choose, a baby's right to live, that while all human life is sacred there's nothing wrong with the death penalty if you can trust the legal system implicitly, and that no one but a moron would ever trust the legal system. 
I believe that life is a game, that life is a cruel joke, and that life is what happens when you're alive and that you might as well lie back and enjoy it." 
American Gods by Neil Gaiman

So there you have it, my top ten inspiring quotes that have stayed with me. There have been so many others in so many wonderful books, but these have really stuck in my head. What quotes have stayed with you?

64 comments:

  1. These are some great quotes. I especially like the ones from TFiOS and American Gods. Thanks for sharing! :)
    Here's my TTT

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    1. TfiOS is infinitely quotable, but I figured putting the whole book up would be frowned upon... Mind you so is American Gods, but that one still remains my favourite. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!

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  2. Such amazing quotes! I really love the ones from The Night Circus and American Gods. I've never read The Snow Child but it seems interesting from the quotes.

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    1. I really recommend it, it's an absolutely gorgeous book. If you liked The Night Circus you'd love The Snow Child. Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  3. Wonderful quotes from great books! Neil Gaiman is just amazingly quoteable, I love his writing. There are a couple of books here that I haven't read yet, but they're going straight on my TBR. :-) Thanks for sharing!

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    1. Neil Gaiman really has a quite incredible talent with words! So glad you've found some new reads through these, I hope you enjoy them!

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  4. An awesome collection of quotes! Some that we share for this week's ttt in fact :) I'll join the others in saying I love that Neil Gaiman quote. What a wordsmith!

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    1. He really is fantastic, I adore his writing. Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  5. Love the quotes from The Snow Queen. such a good book!

    My TTT

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    1. The Snow Queen is such an extraordinary book! I could have cheerfully done a full top ten on each of these books! Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  6. I love that HP quote and it is something I need to remind myself of every day. I have a habit of always looking ahead rather than enjoying the now. Great list!

    Nicole @ The Quiet Concert

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    1. HP is full of so many amazing pieces of wisdom and beautiful quotes, but that one has always stuck with me even more than the others. Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  7. I love the one from Silent in the Sanctuary! And, the HP one is a great one too.

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    1. There were so many beautiful ones from Deanna Raybourn's books I wanted to put in, but that one has always resonated with me the most. Thank you so much for reading!

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  8. definitely my favorite quote from TFIOS! it was honestly one of the best ways to describe love and it really hit me when i was reading the book how true that was with love sometimes! great list this week!
    here's mine!
    http://www.wholly-books.com/2015/04/top-ten-tuesday-87_14.html?spref=tw

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    1. It's one of the best descriptions of falling in love I have ever read, I really love that one. Thank you so much for reading and commenting!

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  9. YES John Green wrote many great quotes! (although sometimes I don't understand what it means, it just sound beautiful) The one that you write is one of my fav :)

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    1. That one is my favourite of his too, it just captures the feeling of falling in love so perfectly! Thank you for reading!

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  10. Great list!
    That is my all-time favorite TFIOS quote! It is just so beautiful and poetic.

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    1. Thank you so much for checking it out!

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  11. I really like the quote on TFIOS john green all the way!

    Top Ten Tuesday

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    1. He writes so many beautiful words! It's hard not to include him in a quotes list!

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  12. Oh so many of your quotes almost ended up on my list and we do share the Rowling quote about not dwelling on dreams. Great list and I am appreciative of everyone who included Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. So many favorites! ~ Perpetual New Girl, (My List is HERE. :)

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    1. Gaiman and Pratchett have a truly incredible way with words, it was hard just to pick ten! Thank you so much for stopping by!

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  13. I just bought Seraphina. I can't wait to get to it. And you can never go wrong with a John Green quote.

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    1. Seraphina is absolutely gorgeous, I adore that book. I've just re-read it and fallen in love with it all over again! I hope you enjoy it too!

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  14. Such an amazing list of quotes! I love the HP one the most. :)

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  15. Oh some favorites of mine too (I had the same quote from the Fault in Our Stars), and one from Shadow Scale, Seraphina's sequel. Some new ones I'm really intrigued by. I liked the Deanna Rayborn one and Neil Gaiman one. my TTT

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    1. oops! I'm mixing up my quotes. Rayborn was on another page! I meant the one from the Night Circus!

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    2. Deanna Raybourn is fantastic, as is The Night Circus, both are incredible reads! Thank you so much for stopping by and reading!

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  16. I love that quote from The Fault in Our Stars. It's so memorable because it is true.
    Beth x
    www.thequietpeople.com

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    1. It's such a gorgeous quote, it's the most true quote about love I've ever read I think. :)

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  17. Great list! Love the one by Deanna Raybourn and I love her books.

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    1. Her books are amazing, she's one of my favourite authors. I could have done a whole list just of quotes from her books!

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  18. Oh these quotes are all stunning. And yes, I'm so glad to see love for The Night Circus on your post too. Also, I seriously need to make a plan to read The Snow Child - that's been sitting on my shelf for a good while now.

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    1. If you loved The Night Circus, you'll love The Snow Child - would love to know what you think of it!

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  19. Well OF COURSE my favorite one here is The Night Circus quote ;) That quote from The Snow Child is GORGEOUS, although I can't say I've ever heard of it before.

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    1. READ THE SNOW CHILD. Seriously, if you loved The Night Circus, you will love it!

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  20. I love the Night Circus quote, and of course FIOS . Great list.

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    1. Thank you so much! The Night Circus is full of so many beautiful quotes, it was hard to pick just one!

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  21. I love that you included The Snow Child! Such a lovely book. You really have some great quotes on your list!

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    1. It's such a beautiful book isn't it! Thank you so much for reading!

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  22. These are some fantastic quotes! I'm glad I didn't know must of them so I can now add them to my favorites! Thanks for sharing!

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    1. I really hope you enjoy the ones you've added! Thank you so much for reading and commenting!

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  23. Oh these are great! I LOVE the one from TFIOS (it's one of my favorites too) and the one from American Gods is AMAZING! Such a great list :)
    Shannon @ It Starts At Midnight

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    1. Neil Gaiman has such a way of capturing life and human emotions, I adore his books! As does John Green - it was hard to pick just one quote fro TFiOS!

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  24. I LOVE all your quotes. OK, I confess I didn't read the long one, but I loved all the others. Thanks for visiting my blog, too.

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    1. Thank you so much for checking them out! :)

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  25. Great list, quotes are such a good way to get a taste of a book!

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    1. Thank you so much. You're right, they're a great way to give someone an idea of the writing. I've picked up quite a few books to read from quote lists from other bloggers this week!

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  26. I haven't read quite a few of those books, but obviously I need to. I especially love the Pratchett one :)
    Thanks for visiting Addlepates and Book Nerds!

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    1. Pratchett is genius, he has a way of making his prose both hilarious and utterly heartbreaking. I hope you enjoy any new ones you've found!

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  27. Wow -- I love that quote from Seraphina! I haven't read the book but bought it recently. ^_^ Great list!

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    1. It's such a gorgeous quote and the book is full of them - it's one of the only books I've actually folded down pages for quotes I loved. I hope you enjoy it!

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  28. You have so many awesome quotes. I love the Neil Gaiman ones and the Harry Potter one most of all. After seeing that Night Cirus quote I want to read the book so baddly. =)

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    1. The Night Circus is full of gorgeous quotes like that (it was really hard to pick just one!) it is such a good book, really worth picking up. Thank you for stopping by!

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  29. I love these - particularly the ones from The Night Circus and American Gods. Isn't it wonderful how much emotion can be evoked from some simple words on a page?

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    1. It's truly incredible. All of these authors are amazingly talented, and it was hard to just pick ten quotes from them! The Night Circus and American Gods are absolutely stunning books and full of gorgeous prose.

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  30. I love that quote from The Snow Child! Haven't read that book yet though.

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    1. Definitely recommend it, it is a fantastic book!

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  31. Love your quotes, especially the Seraphina one and the Terry Pratchett quote. You've also picked one of my favourite The Fault in our Stars quotes, it is just so perfect. The quotes from The Snow Child make me want to read it as well, it's been lingering on my shelves for about a year so I may have to pick it up and get reading.

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    1. Thank you so much! The Snow Child is such a gorgeous book, I really recommend it!

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  32. Ah, your quote makes me want to read The Night Circus again! I feel I didn't properly appreciate it the first time around and I would definitely like to give it a second chance. Thank you for sharing, and thanks for stopping by my blog! :)

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