Most of us probably have probably read a book and had a line jump out and sear itself into our brain, becoming a favorite, one that comes back to us from time to time when we least expect it. I had that experience happen to me yesterday as I was sitting at my desk watching the clock and waiting for the numbers to reach 5:00 PM so I could go home.Charles Dickens echoed in my brain:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way . . .
I have a habit of reciting that whenever things are crappy or I'm wishing I was somewhere other than where I am. It's usually unintentional. The words seem to float into my subconscious. The words have a wonderful rhythm to them. Anyway, it got me thinking of other favorite lines from books. There are enough to keep me busy listing for years - and well, you all know how I like my lists. But here are a few that pop into my head right off the bat:
1. She wasn't coming back. Death was rather firm in that regard. ~ An Affair Most Wicked by Julianne MacLean
2. Waltheof's eyes widened in panic and Simon saw that they were full of the desperate need to live. That even now Waltheof could not believe that he was about to die. ~ The Winter Mantle by Elizabeth Chadwick
3. When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home. ~ The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton
4. She was watching me, concerned but no longer sympathetic. She shifted in her chair. Sized me up. Squared off. ~ Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell
5. Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!"
Quoth the raven, "Nevermore." ~ The Raven, Edgar Allen Poe
I could keep going but I'm perilously close to being late for work, so feel free to list your own favorites!
9 comments:
Hey Kelly - cool topic! I have some faves too *g*:
"It is a truth universally acknowledged..." Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
"...time is a circle, time goes round and round like a wheel, and that's why one hears echoes of the past continually - it's because the past is present; you don't have to look back down the straight line, you just look across the circle, and there are the echoes of the past and the vision of the futurre, and they're all present, all now, all forever". The Wheel of Fortune, Susan Howatch
Those are the two that come to mind :-)
"It's never a party til the cops show up." I forget who said it. ahem.
I remember. In fact, I believe it was uttered as two individuals lay on the side lawn of someone's house swilling cheap wine and watching as the lights and sirens approached.
Ooohh good one. I erased Mr Viagara, although it was tempting to keep it up there with the good english of 'you make good job'. Yet another classic line.
The only one I can think of this early in the morning is from Jude Deveraux's "Knight in Shining Armor": Nicolas said, "Are you onion-eyed again?"
ahhh yes... now I remember. Good times, good times.
Kelly,
Sorry to post through here - didn't have an e-mail addres to write.
Is this the same Kelly I know? The singer I made friends through on Match?
Girl on the webpage looks like the girl I know, big smile - different hair.
Remember Mike from atlanta? E-mail jinx025@yahoo.com
Everyone, please forgive the off topic post. Thought I had found an old friend.
Apparently Mike has never heard me sing.
I've always like this bit from the poem "I Sat Belonely":
""Speak up, come forth, you ravel me," I potty menthol shout.
"I know you hiddy by this tree." But still she won't come out."
-In His Own Write, John Lennon
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