Top Ten Tuesday: Ten More Thought-Provoking Quotes From Books

Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Hello! So this week Top Ten Tuesday turns 10 which is fantastic! Option 1 this week was to pick a topic you’ve already done and re-do/update it. So because I love keeping a note of the quotes I’ve found thought-provoking in some way when I’m reading, I thought I would revisit the topic and share ten quotes from books I’ve read more recently that I’ve decided are particularly astute, funny, interesting or simply worth remembering! Hope you enjoy!

1. Keeper by Jessica Moor

“Lynne believed that everyone’s good qualities were the flip side of their bad qualities. Anger was the darker twin of passion; paranoia the double of protectiveness.”

Keeper by Jessica Moor

“It’s not based on any reasonable thought. So it can’t be reasoned away.”

Keeper by Jessica Moor

2. A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde

“To win back my youth, Gerald, there is nothing I wouldn’t do – except take exercise, get up early, or be a useful member of the community.”

A Woman of No Importance by Oscar Wilde

3. What’s Left of Me is Yours by Stephanie Scott

“People say that you can’t unring a bell, that words once spoken hang in the air with a life of their own.”

What’s Left of Me is Yours by Stephanie Scott

4. Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

“Loving yourself is a full-time job with shitty benefits. I’m calling in sick.”

Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby

5. Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

“People say, That which doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. But they are wrong. What doesn’t kill you, doesn’t kill you. That’s all you get. Sometimes, you just have to hope that’s enough.”

Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones

6. The Temple House Vanishing by Rachel Donohue

“Rumour sharpens the mood, it is an expectation the audience has been primed for. And it shapes the outline, the scope of your performance. Your life. It is judgement, without any need for the gods.”

The Temple House Vanishing by Rachel Donohue

7. The New Girl by Harriet Walker

“That buzz rose to a level of a din at times, dropped to a faint hum at others, but it was emotional tinnitus, an internal Greek chorus, that left me feeling hostage to myself if I listened for too long.”

The New Girl by Harriet Walker

8. The Truants by Kate Weinberg

“What is it about an unsolved mystery, Lorna had once asked us in class, that captures us so, that makes us lean forward, looking for an answer? Is it just the challenge of cracking it ourselves or do we rather hope that it will never be solved? Because in solving something in pinning it down, in reducing it to one reality, something of the magic is lost. Don’t we all hope, even the fiercest realists amongst us, that there is another answer that transcends our understanding? A heaven above us, after all.”

The Truants by Kate Weinberg

9. The Lightness by Emily Temple

“Consider Narcissus, kneeling at the pond: While he desires to quench his thirst, a different thirst is created. While he drinks, he is seized by the vision of his reflected form. He loves a bodiless dream. Or consider the girl standing in front of the mirror, raising a hand. First the mirror-self obediently raises a hand back, but then she smirks, revolts. The horror of the self not quite reflected, the imprint with its own agenda, the created, imperfect double off to throttle its maker – well. It gets us every time.”

The Lightness by Emily Temple

10. The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

“Truth is, there’s no good way to navigate being female in this world. If you speak out, say no, stand your ground, you’re a bitch and a harpy, and whatever happens to you is your own fault. You had it coming. But if you smile, say yes, survive on politeness, you’re weak and desperate. An easy mark. Prey in a world of predators. There are no risk-free options for women, no choices that don’t come back to smack us in the face.”

The Familiar Dark by Amy Engel

Well that’s it for today! Ten more quotes that I wrote down for some reason. Some are funny, some depressing but true and some profound or gorgeously written! I really hope you enjoyed reading my list and I would love to hear your thoughts plus any of your favourite book quotes! And please do link to your own Top Ten Tuesday! Hope everyone is having a nice week and happy ten year anniversary to Top Ten Tuesday!

xxx

36 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: Ten More Thought-Provoking Quotes From Books”

  1. Emer @alittlehazebookblog says:
    Reply

    Oh these are some great quotes! I’ll always be partial to a good Oscar Wilde quote. Man was searingly witty wasn’t it 😊😊😊

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Rabeeah says:
    Reply

    Oh this is a wonderful idea – and all of these are excellent. I’m the same, to be honest, when I come across a good line in a book. It must be noted down immediately! I like the quote from The Silver Sparrow that you have here, as I’ve been meaning to read that book and now I’m more intrigued. Tayari Jones’ other book, An American Marriage, has an absolute abundance of good lines too if you haven’t read that!

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Birdie says:
    Reply

    This one, “Lynne believed that everyone’s good qualities were the flip side of their bad qualities. Anger was the darker twin of passion; paranoia the double of protectiveness.” That is incredibly thought-provoking. I not something you think about in the moment, but it is SO true!

    Also, man The Familiar Dark was a fantastic story about “goodness”. The whole story was thought-provoking.

    Liked by 1 person

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