Top Ten Tuesday – 10 Book Quotes That Resonate

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 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.  Top Ten Tuesday has been one of my favorite memes ever since I started blogging, so huge thanks to Jana for taking over the hosting duties!

This week’s TTT topic is Inspirational/Thought-Provoking Book Quotes.  It was hard to pick just ten since so many quotes from books resonate with me, but I was eventually able to narrow down to a few from some of my favorite reads that I’ve found especially thought provoking over the years.

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10 Book Quotes That Resonate

1. “If you have two friends in your lifetime, you’re lucky. If you have one good friend, you’re more than lucky.”  This quote is one I remember reading when I was a kid but that I think resonates with me more now that I’m an adult.  I probably have fewer close friends than I did when I first read it, but I know I treasure the close friends I have now.

2. “Don’t ignore half of me so you can fit me into a box. Don’t do that.”  This quote stuck with me after reading The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo because I agreed with her so strongly about the importance of not trying to pigeon-hole people into some pre-conceived notion you have about them.

3. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”  This is another one I read as a child.  I loved both the imagery used in the quote and the message about trying to put yourself into another person’s shoes rather than passing judgment on them.

4.  “It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.”  This is actually one of my favorite quotes from Harry Potter and it’s just so true.  The path of least resistance is to just go along with whatever your friends are doing, even if you know it’s wrong.  Standing up to them and risking losing their friendship is a hard and brave thing to do.

5.  “What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”  This quote from The Hate U Give resonates with me on many different levels.  Most recently I’ve been thinking about it in terms of certain individuals in Congress who have a voice but choose to turn a blind eye even though doing so could ultimately harm our democracy.

6.  “Open your eyes and see what you can with them before they close forever.”  I love this quote and its message to live life to the fullest because you never know how long you have on this Earth.

7.  “But even if we don’t have the power to choose where we come from, we can still choose where we go from there.”  I’ve always loved the possibilities that this quote puts on the table.  Your past does not define you. No matter where you come from, you are in charge of where you ultimately go.

8. “Brave doesn’t mean you’re not scared. It means you go on even though you’re scared.”  This quote resonates with me and the message is something that I’m constantly trying to teach my son.  That it’s okay to be afraid. You just can’t let that fear hold you back.

9.  “People generally see what they look for, and hear what they listen for.”  This quote is another that has always stuck with me because it’s so true.  As I look at it right now, it also makes me think of politics and how each party only sees and hears what they want to hear, even if evidence to the contrary is staring them right in the face.  They hear what fits the narrative they’re trying to create and nothing anyone says can change their minds.

10.  “I had absolutely no interest in being somebody else’s muse. I am not a muse. I am the somebody. End of fucking story.”  I think this was the quote that made me fall in love with Daisy Jones.  I just loved that attitude and that passion about following her dream.  She didn’t want to inspire other people to write songs about her. She wanted to write her own damn songs and perform them.

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Do any of these book quotes resonate with you?