Quotes from the Recently Read

I've been doing some very enjoyable reading recently, and amid the magic I found a smattering of intelligent and relatable quotes. These three are books I'd recommend without reservation.


Persuasion, Jane Austen
"She prized the frank, the open-hearted, the eager character beyond all others. She felt that she could so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said a careless or a hasty thing, than of those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped."


Please, please, please just be real. Don't lie or distort the truth. Don't put on false airs. Don't try to convince others you are perfect. It's not helpful for you or them. I value honesty. I value openness. I value sincerity. These are the things I can trust. I'd rather have someone be outright rude to me than be fake with me. I cringe at fake.


Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane, p. 169.

Narrating his suicide attempt at age 10. "For years afterward, I was to think of that suicide attempt in the following terms: whenever the troubles of the world seem too much it helps to have someone loving and understanding to share those troubles with; and life takes its true meaning in proportion to one's daily battles against suffering."


I so value the comfort of meaningful relationships in which communication and mutual understanding are foundational. Sharing one another's battles gives meaning to the sometimes painful tutorials of life.


Kaffir Boy, Mark Mathabane, p. 254.

Speaking to the headmaster of his school who asks why he reads the books he reads and how, indeed, he dare dream that he will ever go places. "I will go somewhere, sir. I just have a feeling I will. I don't know why I have that feeling. Maybe I'm just dreaming. But I've had so many dreams come true in my life, that I now look toward dreams for the meaning of my life."


I love to dream, and the more I dream, the more I learn to believe in my dreams--to live for my dreams and to facilitate my own adventures. After all, you might miss a tiger.


Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston, p. 105.

Janie and Tea Cake are discussing their age difference of 12 years. (She's older.) Tea Cake says, "Things lak dat got uh whole lot tuh do wid convenience, but it ain't got nothin' tuh do wid love."


I don't happen to be dating someone twelve years my junior, but I do appreciate the sentiment that sometimes the qualities that we see in a person at the outset are not the ones of greatest significance. Even beyond physical and demographic characteristics, the surface of a person's personality should also not be the meter by which we judge. And mostly, I just thought this one was sweet.

***Other books I'd recommend include (but are not limited to):

The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini

Peace Like a River, Leif Enger

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, Lisa See

The Piano Tuner, Daniel Mason

My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok

A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis

Reading Lolita in Tehran, Azar Nafisi

Life of Pi, Yann Martel

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down, Anne Fatiman