Brandon Mull Quotes

Smart people learn from their mistakes. But the real sharp ones learn from the mistakes of others.

Drink the milk.

We humans are conflicted beings. Our beliefs don't always harmonize with our instincts, and our behavior doesn't always reflect our beliefs. ... We wage war between the person we are and the person we hope to become.

Choices determine character.

An unread book does nobody any good. Stories happen in the mind of a reader, not among symbols printed on a page.

When jumping is the sole option, you jump, and try to make it work.

Excruciating agony makes me cranky.

We all posses different gifts and abilities. How we use those gifts determines who we are.

FABLEHAVEN: None who enter will leave unchanged. Trespassers will be turned to stone.

Luck has a way of evaporating when you lean on it.

I hate how my past actions keep messing up my future options, Seth muttered. Then you've started down the road to wisdom, Grandpa replied.

....there is a difference between hearing and listening. You can't always help what you hear. But you can control what holds your interest, what you choose to dwell on.

I was vanquished by a deer!' A giant magical flying deer with fangs,' Seth said, parroting a description Gavin had shared earlier. That sounds a little better,' Warren conceded. 'Seth is in charge of my tombstone.

Running toward danger is foolhardy. ... But so is closing your eyes to it. Many perils become less dangerous once you understand their potential hazards.

The only thing that would make her jealous would be if I led a parade riding a unicorn while ballerinas sang love songs.

That was cool.' You're psychotic.

A crossbow?” Pigeon asked. I left my battle-ax in my other jeans,” the man said.

All boys belong in insane asylums.

For Frito-Lay!" - Newel and Doren

I like pancakes.

Some imagine the difference between heaven and hell to be a matter of geography. Not so. The difference is much more evident in the individuals who dwell there.

It was one thing to snuggle a little when the world seemed about to end, and quite another to explain to her parents that she wanted to date an ancient magical horse.

Then I'm going?" Kendra asked. The adults in the room exchanged tacit glances before nodding. Then we only have one more problem left to discuss," Seth said. Everyone turned to him. How do I get invited

What'll you do if you can't find a way to cure him?" Seth asked. Dale paused. "I'll never know that day has come, because I'll never stop trying.

The curse of mortality. You spend the first portion of your life learning, growing stronger, more capable. And then, through no fault of your own, your body begins to fail. You regress. Strong limbs become feeble, keen senses grow dull, hardy constitutions deteriorate. Beauty withers. Organs quit. You remember yourself in your prime, and wonder where that person went. As your wisdom and experience are peaking, your traitorous body becomes a prison.

Imagination can take you Places....READ

What you call idiot points, I call awesome dollars. ~Seth

Do not threaten the supreme gigantic overlords. We do as we please.

Can you see the power emotion has to distort our outlook? Makes you wonder, did you have a bad day, or did you make it a bad day.

Hello," Newel said. "Look, Doren, we have visitors. Kendra, Seth, and ... Muriel's weirdo puppet."....Newel grabbed Seth's hand and shook it vigorously. "Congratulations. You just found yourself a secret entrance." "So seriously," Doren said. "What's with the puppet?

It was an emergency!" Seth blurted. "Read my lips - emergency reading - not some demented idea of fun. If I was starving, I would eat asparagus. If somebody held a gun to my head, I would watch a soap opera. And to save Fablehaven, I would read a book, okay, are you happy?" You had best be careful, Seth," Grandma warned. "The love of reading can be contagious." I just lost my appetite," he declared...

The society killed Kendra." ... Don't mention it to Verl. He might dive into a chasm.

My dad says people who insist that youtrust them usually don't deserve it.

Are you her boyfriend?” ... No, I’m her fiancé.” Nate said. We’ve been promised to each other since birth,” Summer added. Our wedding isn’t until March.

Hello, cell. How are you? Still dank and dirty? Me? I've taken up a new habit: talking to my cell. It's like talking to myself but slightly more pathetic.

Could you just call me Pigeon?” he asked the teacher when she read his name. “Does your mother call you Pigeon?” “No.” “Then to me you are Paul.” ... “Nathan Sutter,” the teacher read. “My mother never calls me Nathan.” “Is it Nate?” “She calls me Honeylips.

break the rules pay the price

When you have to jump, you jump.

You don't get it? He poisonded me! He poisonded me, and you're next. I'm going to die. We're all going to die." -Seth

Patience mimics the power of infinity.

Any simpleton can speak with confidence. Sometimes the greatest fools have the most bravado.

He would have shaved the centaurs, dipped them in honey, covered them with feathers, and hung them up like a bunch of pinatas. I'm just saying." - Warren

A lie twice believed is self decieved

I blush to think of her beholding my work," Verl confessed. So do we," Newel assured him.

An unread book does nobody any good

Let's worry about fixing the problem instead of the blame.

I will not know that day has come because I will not stop trying.

Sometimes the most preposterous lies are the most believable.

Want a reliable road to emotional and spiritual suicide? Spend your life trying to fit in.

In short, heroism means doing the right thing regardless of the consequences.

Hours of crisis often call for sacrifice. In matters of consequence, when have doubt and fear given the best advice? Why not heed faith, courage, and honor?

There are no insect eggs in my food.” Mrs. White reiterated. You should use that in your advertising,” Nate suggested.

Making mistakes is part of learning to choose well. No way around it. Choices are thrust upon us, and we don't always get things right. Even postponing or avoiding a decision can become a choice that carries heavy consequences. Mistakes can be painful-sometimes they cause irrevocable harm-but welcome to Earth. Poor choices are part of growing up, and part of life. You will make bad choices, and you will be affected by the poor choices of others. We must rise above such things.

Sometimes the best offense was avoiding self-destruction.

Seth hustled over. “What’s the password?” “Passwords are for sissies,” Warren’s muffled voice responded. “Works for me,” Seth said, unlocking the door and opening it.

Hard to call it a party without sardines.

Causes have a way of tainting your reason until a person takes much bigger risks than sanity would otherwise allow.

False humility is more insulting than open pride!

Say no to death pies. Another good motto.

ROBBING GRAVES! SHES ASKING US TO ROB GRAVES!

I'll not have my grandson subjected to the humiliation of his reading becoming public. We have to cope with this disgrace discreetly -- Grandma Ruth

The pendulum swings between Light and Darkness

Can't you home school me?" Nate pleaded. "You would never do any work." (Nate's mom) "Sounds perfect!

Wasn't that awesome?" Seth asked. Warren cocked his head, his expression mildly embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Kendra--it was pretty cool." "All boys belong in insane asylums," Kendra said.

Was life like that? You could look ahead to the future or back to the past, but the present moved too quickly to absorb.

She refused to think of Neil, brave and quiet, whose reward for a heroic rescue was to be slowly devoured by strange cave balloons.

For each of us destiny is a blend of potential, circumstances, and choices.

What's the dog called?"Jason asked. "Feraclestinius Androbrelium Pathershin the Seventh." "No, I meant his entire name.

...your mind was seizing on something to try to make sense of the emotion... Can you see the power emotion has to distort our outlook? Makes you wonder, did you have a bad day, or did you make it a bad day?

The baby dove into the room, transforming grotesquely as it landed on the floorin a deft sumersault

Seth trotted over to Kendra. Bringing good luck as usual It was a weak pass okay

Try as we might to postpone them, days of reckoning inevitably arrive.

A hero sacrifices for the greater good. A hero is true to his or her conscience. In short, heroism means doing the right thing regardless of the consequences.

Most people worth knowing enjoy reading.

Faith isn't knowledge, Rachel. Faith is a tool. Faith keeps us going until we get the knowledge. Faith keeps us striving until we reach the consequences of our most important decisions.

Not kill us," Pigeon corrected. "She was mainly just trying to turn us into mindless slaves.

You picked the right road, even though it is the most difficult. That is the essence of heroism. (p. 326)

Nathan Sutter," the teacher read. Here. My mother never calls me Nathan." Is it Nate?" She calls me Honeylips.

This surpassed the fear of death. Death would be a mercy if it would make the feeling stop, the uncontrollable panic mingling with the mind-scrambling certainty of something sinister approaching, something with no need to hurry, something that would not be so kind as to let him die. The fear was palpable, suffocating, irresistible.

Please don't assault me with that meat amalgam. It would surely cause infection

You should have Hugo throw you in the pool." The golem turned his head toward Seth, who shrugged. "Sure, that would be fun." Hugo nodded, grabbed Seth, and, with a motion like a hook shot, flung him skyward. Kendra gasped. They were still thirty or forty feet away from the edge of the pool. She had pictured the golem carrying Seth much closer before tossing him. Her brother sailed nearly as high as the roof of the house before plummeting down and landing in the center of the deep end with an impressive splash. Kendra ran to the side of the pool. By the time she arrived, Seth was boosting himself out of the waster, hair and clothes dripping. "That was the freakiest, awesomest moment in my life!" Seth declared. "But next time, let me take off my shoes.

I guess Smart Seth is glad, he said reluctantly. But be careful. Idiot Seth is the guy to watch out for.

What has three heads, six arms, and half a brain?" Three asked. One and Two answered in unison. "Nate Sutter.

It's easy to make up weird stuff. It gets trickier when you want the weird stuff to be interesting and make sense.

You’re free to dream however you wish,” Nollin teased. “But don’t ask the rest of us to share your unrealistic—” “Then don’t ask us to share your weakness!” Jason interrupted.

The surprise is on the far side." "You're sure?" "Positive." "It better not be another fairy," Seth said. "What's the matter with fairies?" "I've already seen about a billion of them and also they turned me into a walrus.

If we might be able to save this world, how can we walk away? Too many people around here have given up! Galloran said heroes sacrifice for causes; they do things that others hide from. I may not be some great hero, but I won’t hide from this. I would never live with myself.

So many misconceptions surround the notion of heroism. Far too many categorize a hero as a champion on the battlefield, a commander of legions, a master of rare talent or ability. Granted, there have been heroes who fit those descriptions. But many men of great evil as well. Heed me. A hero sacrifices for the greater good. A hero is true to his or her conscience. In short, heroism means doing the right thing regardless of the consequences. Although any person could fit that description, very few do. Choose this day to be one of them." (Beyonders - A World Without Heroes)

Might not hurt you to pick up a book, just as an experiment." Whatever. I looked up the definition for 'nerd' in the dictionary. Know what it said?" "I bet you'll tell me." " 'If you're reading this, you are one.' " You're a riot.

Adamant," Doren said proudly, handing over the shield. "We fished it out of the tar pit where we found the shirt of mail." "Probably all belonged to the same careless adventurer," Newel speculated. "Too much money, not enough talent.

The girl with the long brown hair turned around. "Are you her boy friend?" she asked. Summer glanced from Crystal to Nate and back. Then question made her feel a little awkward. After all, she had saved him a seat. No, I'm her fiance," Nate said. We've been promised to each other since birth." Summer added. Our wedding isn't until March.

A hero sacrifices for the greater good. A hero is true to his or her conscience. In short, heroism means doing the right thing regardless of the consequences. Although any person could fit that description, very few do. Choose this day to be one of them.

Seth put his ear against the door. "I can't hear anything." "There are probably ten of them patiently waiting on the far side, ready to pounce." Brownies are shrimps. All I'd need are some heavy boots, a pair of shin guards, and a weed whacker." The image made Kendra giggle.

You're just a character in my dream." "You wish." "I didn't mean my love interest," she replied defensively. "You'd have better hair. You're the character I dreamed up because the rest of the dream was making me homesick." "Maybe you're the character I dreamed up to scare myself awake." "That's not very nice!" "You made fun of my hair. I like it this way. Short and simple." I don't mind short. Mine is short." "Then what's wrong with mine?" Jason challenged. "Maybe we should talk about something else." "Like the guy on a horse coming to kill us?" "It needs more style," she muttered. "The horse?" "Your hair." "I forgot to bring my gel when I got eaten by a hippo.

She pictured herself running from a hoard of ravenous zombies on a hot day eventually collapsing from heatstroke and getting devoured. Then she imagined Hal giving a rousing eulogy at her funeral explaining how Kendra's death was a beautiful sacrifice allowing the noble zombies to live on delighting future generations by mindlessly trying to eat them. With her luck it could totally happen.

Indulgence is emptiness. I have proved the limits of food and frivolity. There is no real fulfillment in meaningless rushes of pleasure. You try to conceal the emptiness with more extravagance, only to find the thrills becoming less satisfying and more fleeting. Most pleasures are best as a seasoning, not the main course. However you try to disguise it, you end up feeding without being nourished.

A gunshot rang out, blasting a hole in the door. A crossbow quarrel zinged through the hole and stuck quivering into the opposite wall. Seth heard the rocking horse clattering down the staircase, the twang of bowstrings, and the overlapping beat of several other projectiles thudding against the door. "That was awesome," Seth told Kendra. "You're psychotic," Kendra replied.

Jason glanced at the creature. It remained the same distance away as before, still as a statue. "What do you want?" Jason asked. No answer. "Are you the thing that followed Tark? You should keep following him. He's the real mastermind. Shoo. Go hide." No response. "Okay, how about you stand guard while I sleep. Keep the giants away. Sound good? All in favor, hold perfectly still. Fine, I guess we have a deal.

I think we should probably get Vanessa out of the Quiet Box to help us. What do you guys say?' 'Absolutely,' Newel affirmed. 'Best idea I've heard all day.' 'I'll second that,' Doren said gladly. Seth gave the satyrs a doubtful scowl. 'Wait a minute. You guys just think she's pretty.' 'I've been around a long time,' Newel said. 'Vanessa Santoro is not jut pretty.' 'He's right,' Doren agreed. 'She's walking dynamite. My pulse is rising just talking about her.' 'She also might be a traitor,' Seth stressed. 'The lethal temptress,' Newel said with relish. 'Even better.' 'It will definitely spice up the adventure,' Doren encouraged. 'I'm obviously talking to wrong guys,' Seth sighed. 'Believe me,' Newel said cockily. 'you're talking to the right guys. We've been chasing babes since the world was flat.' Seth rolled his eyes.

Are you missing the library again?" Seth asked, startling her as he walked into the room. Kendra turned to face her brother. "You caught me," she congratulated him. "I'm reading." "I bet the librarians back home are panicking. Summer vacation, and no Kendra Sorenson to keep them in business. Have they been sending you letters?" "Might not hurt you to pick up a book, just as an experiment." Whatever. I looked up the definition for 'nerd' in the dictionary. Know what it said?" "I bet you'll tell me." " 'If you're reading this, you are one.' " You're a riot." Kendra turned back to the journal, flipping to a random page. Seth took a seat on his bed across from her. "Kendra, seriously, I can sort of see reading a cool book for fun, but dusty old journals? Really? Has anybody told you there are magical creatures out there?" He pointed out the window. "Has anybody told you some of those creatures can eat you?" Kendra responded. "I'm not reading these just for fun. They have good info." "like what? Patton and Lena smooching?" Kendra rolled her eyes. "I'm not telling. You'll end up in a tar pit." "There's a tar pit?" he said, perking up. "Where?