“
Great minds are always feared by lesser minds.
”
”
Dan Brown (The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, #3))
“
You do not follow me because I am the strongest. Pax is. You do not follow me because I am the brightest. Mustang is. You follow me because you do not know where you are going. I do.
”
”
Pierce Brown (Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1))
“
Once on a yellow piece of paper with green lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Chops"
because that was the name of his dog
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and a gold star
And his mother hung it on the kitchen door
and read it to his aunts
That was the year Father Tracy
took all the kids to the zoo
And he let them sing on the bus
And his little sister was born
with tiny toenails and no hair
And his mother and father kissed a lot
And the girl around the corner sent him a
Valentine signed with a row of X's
and he had to ask his father what the X's meant
And his father always tucked him in bed at night
And was always there to do it
Once on a piece of white paper with blue lines
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Autumn"
because that was the name of the season
And that's what it was all about
And his teacher gave him an A
and asked him to write more clearly
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because of its new paint
And the kids told him
that Father Tracy smoked cigars
And left butts on the pews
And sometimes they would burn holes
That was the year his sister got glasses
with thick lenses and black frames
And the girl around the corner laughed
when he asked her to go see Santa Claus
And the kids told him why
his mother and father kissed a lot
And his father never tucked him in bed at night
And his father got mad
when he cried for him to do it.
Once on a paper torn from his notebook
he wrote a poem
And he called it "Innocence: A Question"
because that was the question about his girl
And that's what it was all about
And his professor gave him an A
and a strange steady look
And his mother never hung it on the kitchen door
because he never showed her
That was the year that Father Tracy died
And he forgot how the end
of the Apostle's Creed went
And he caught his sister
making out on the back porch
And his mother and father never kissed
or even talked
And the girl around the corner
wore too much makeup
That made him cough when he kissed her
but he kissed her anyway
because that was the thing to do
And at three a.m. he tucked himself into bed
his father snoring soundly
That's why on the back of a brown paper bag
he tried another poem
And he called it "Absolutely Nothing"
Because that's what it was really all about
And he gave himself an A
and a slash on each damned wrist
And he hung it on the bathroom door
because this time he didn't think
he could reach the kitchen.
”
”
Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)
“
I would have lived in peace. But my enemies brought me war.
”
”
Pierce Brown (Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1))
“
The best fantasy is written in the language of dreams. It is alive as dreams are alive, more real than real ... for a moment at least ... that long magic moment before we wake.
Fantasy is silver and scarlet, indigo and azure, obsidian veined with gold and lapis lazuli. Reality is plywood and plastic, done up in mud brown and olive drab. Fantasy tastes of habaneros and honey, cinnamon and cloves, rare red meat and wines as sweet as summer. Reality is beans and tofu, and ashes at the end. Reality is the strip malls of Burbank, the smokestacks of Cleveland, a parking garage in Newark. Fantasy is the towers of Minas Tirith, the ancient stones of Gormenghast, the halls of Camelot. Fantasy flies on the wings of Icarus, reality on Southwest Airlines. Why do our dreams become so much smaller when they finally come true?
We read fantasy to find the colors again, I think. To taste strong spices and hear the songs the sirens sang. There is something old and true in fantasy that speaks to something deep within us, to the child who dreamt that one day he would hunt the forests of the night, and feast beneath the hollow hills, and find a love to last forever somewhere south of Oz and north of Shangri-La.
They can keep their heaven. When I die, I'd sooner go to middle Earth.
”
”
George R.R. Martin
“
I took a bite of cookie and chewed. “Hmmm,” I said, trying not to spit crumbs. “Clear vanilla notes, too-sweet chocolate chips, distinct flavor of brown sugar. A decent cookie, not spectacular. Still, a good-hearted cookie, not pretentious.” I turned to Fang. “What say you?”
“It’s fine.”
Some people just don’t have what it takes to appreciate a cookie.
”
”
James Patterson (The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride, #1))
“
So there you have it, the extent of my charms: brown hair and eyes like unbarfed chocolate. I'm a lucky girl." -Max
”
”
James Patterson (Max (Maximum Ride, #5))
“
Friendships take minutes to make, moments to break, years to repair.
”
”
Pierce Brown (Golden Son (Red Rising Saga, #2))
“
The measure of a man is what he does when he has power.
”
”
Pierce Brown (Red Rising (Red Rising Saga, #1))
“
I will die. You will die. We will all die and the universe will carry on without care. All that we have is that shout into the wind - how we live. How we go. And how we stand before we fall.
”
”
Pierce Brown (Golden Son (Red Rising Saga, #2))
“
You and I keep looking for light in the darkness, expecting it to appear. But it already has.” I touch his shoulder. “We’re it, boyo. Broken and cracked and stupid as we are, we’re the light, and we’re spreading.
”
”
Pierce Brown (Morning Star (Red Rising, #3))
“
Too many of us are not living our dreams because we are living our fears.
”
”
Les Brown
“
Do you still distrust me?”
“No. Take your necklace with you so you can think of me when I’m not there.”
Brown brought the necklace over to her and put it on her neck.
“I think it rather suits me,” she laughed and left.
Brown didn’t understand what had made him insist she wear the necklace. Maybe it
was the readiness with which she had made love, or her frequent disappearances lately,
he was just curious. There was no harm in checking, before he parted with the money.
Later that evening, before going to sleep he decided to have a look at her location and
he was in for a surprise. She had not left Central City at all. In fact she was at the same
friend’s address as she had been the last time.
”
”
Max Nowaz (The Arbitrator)
“
Love is certainly never safe, but it’s absolutely worth it.
”
”
Talia Hibbert (Get a Life, Chloe Brown (The Brown Sisters, #1))
“
All that we have is that shout into the wind--how we live. How we go. And how we stand before we fall.
--Karnus Au Bellona
”
”
Pierce Brown (Morning Star (Red Rising Saga, #3))
“
I put my fingers around the unmarked ring of the spyglass and twisted. The scene became clear.
Oh no! A hairy brown spider clung to a vine! I couldn't go there!
I'd go to the desert to find a dragon. I began to reset the spyglass, but then I stopped myself. A spider was worse than a dragon?
No.
My first monsters would be spiders, then.
”
”
Gail Carson Levine (The Two Princesses of Bamarre (The Two Princesses of Bamarre, #1))
“
Love loves to love love. Nurse loves the new chemist. Constable 14A loves Mary Kelly. Gerty MacDowell loves the boy that has the bicycle. M. B. loves a fair gentlema. Li Chi Han lovey up kissy Cha Pu Chow. Jumbo, the elephant, loves Alice, the elephant. Old Mr Verschole with the ear trumpet loves old Mrs VErschoyle with the turnedin eye. The man in the brown macintosh loves a lady who is dead. His Majesty the King loves Her Majesty the Queen. Mrs Norman W. Tupper loves officer Taylor. You love a certain person. And this person loves that other person because everybody loves somebody but God loves everybody.
”
”
James Joyce (Ulysses)
“
Please accept this humble fax. My love for you is without wax.
”
”
Dan Brown (Digital Fortress)
“
All right," Shannen says slowly, tucking a lock of dark brown hair behind her ear. "Why did you glue that dolphin upside down?"
Okay, so I'm a little distracted. "He's doing the back stroke.
”
”
Tera Lynn Childs (Forgive My Fins (Fins, #1))
“
Wholehearted living is about engaging with our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion and connection to wake up in the morning and think, ‘No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough.’ It’s going to bed at night thinking, ‘Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging.
”
”
Brené Brown (The Gifts of Imperfection)
“
There's a girl with brown eyes who reminds me of the first book I ever loved. When I look at her, I feel like there might be another universe in her. I imagine her on a shelf too high for me to reach, or peeking out of someone else's backpack, or at the end of a long wait at the library. I know there are other books that are easier to get my hands on, but none are half as good as her. Every part of her seems to have a purpose, a specific meaning, an exact reason for being how and what and where it is.
”
”
Casey McQuiston (I Kissed Shara Wheeler)
“
Stillness is not about focusing on nothingness; it’s about creating a clearing. It’s opening up an emotionally clutter-free space and allowing ourselves to feel and think and dream and question.
”
”
Brené Brown (The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are)
“
I can dive", Sophia said. "Do you know what it feels like when you dive?"
Of course I do," her grandmother said. "You let go of everything and get ready and just dive. You can feel the seaweed against your legs. It's brown, and the water's clear, lighter towards the top, with lots of bubbles. And you glide. You hold your breath and glide and turn and come up, let yourself rise and breathe out. And then you float. Just float."
And all the time with your eyes open," Sophia said.
Naturally. People don't dive with their eyes shut."
Do you believe I can dive without me showing you?" the child asked.
Yes, of course", Grandmother said.
”
”
Tove Jansson (The Summer Book)
“
Uh.. you'er Sophie?" Mrianda ventured
"That's me"
"How old areyou?"
Sophie rolled ker wide brown eyes,
"Ahunderd and forty-eight" she relied. "I got to live back when women coulden't vote, isn't that awesome?
”
”
Dianne Sylvan (Queen of Shadows (Shadow World, #1))
“
If we want to cultivate hopefulness, we have to be willing to be flexible and demonstrate perseverance. Not every goal will look and feel the same. Tolerance for disappointment, determination, and a belief in self are the heart of hope.
”
”
Brené Brown (The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are)
“
Merlin stood up. For once, late as it was, he was pleased to see the Assistant Commissioner because he had been trying unsuccessfully to get hold of him all day. “May I introduce Detective Bernard Goldberg of the New York Police Department.”
Merlin held out a hand to the stocky young man now standing on the AC’s right. Detective Goldberg was an inch or two shorter than Merlin, with a closely cropped head of dark-brown hair and the crumpled face of a man who might have walked into a wall.
”
”
Mark Ellis (The French Spy: A classic espionage thriller full of intrigue and suspense)
“
If she gives me her heart, I'll break it. My lie is too great to build a love upon. When she discovers what I am, she will reject me. Even if she could survive that, I would not. I look at my hands as if the answer is there.
"Darrow. Ask me to stay."
When I look up, she is gone.
”
”
Pierce Brown (Golden Son (Red Rising Saga, #2))
“
I return the smile, wondering what this is between us. Dreading the idea of having to define it. There’s an easiness that comes with being around her. But I’m afraid to ask her what she’s thinking. Afraid to broach the subject for fear of shattering this little illusion of peace.
”
”
Pierce Brown (Morning Star (Red Rising, #3))
“
The next dish arrived, a small bowl of morels cooked in brown butter served with maitake mushroom broth, complex and unctuous. The morels were harvested the year before, pickled and preserved, and served with a hand-carved appetizer fork. The concentration of flavor brought images of the woods to her mind, from the mossy forest floor to the tree canopy high above. This dish was followed by marigold flowers fried in an incredibly light tempura and then salted, served with an egg yolk dipping sauce. Then walnut "tofu," surrounded by grilled rose petals, topped with a sunflower seed mole, herbs, and tiny flowers, and a caramelized milk tart stuffed with cheese and thinly sliced black truffles, the flavor nutty and savory.
"That's better than sex," Cassie overheard Eamon say from across the table, eyes closed and head back in rapture.
”
”
Emily Arden Wells (Eat Post Like)
“
Then they were served a small beeswax cup filled with flowers and crunchy bee pollen, followed by a presentation of a large shawarma, or at least what looked like a shawarma, adorned with roasted onions and rosemary, cut tableside. Pia explained that it was not made from lamb or chicken, as is traditional, but instead from celery root and truffles, before it was cooked on a spit for hours. One of the chefs used a large knife to slice off thin pieces of the "meat," plating it with greens, roasted apple, and red currants, before smothering the plate in a brown "jus." Cassie cut off a small bite and was surprised by how much it tasted like meat. It was earthy, salty, sweet, rich, and incredibly delicious.
"Well, this is way better than the shawarma cart in my neighborhood," said Rebecca, practically licking her plate.
"No kidding," agreed Ben, soaking up the jus with a fat slice of sourdough bread.
”
”
Emily Arden Wells (Eat Post Like)
“
Never sit on a fence. It will make your butt flat, she said. Either you are in or out.
”
”
Carolyn Brown (The Party Line)
“
Aunt Gracie always said that when opportunity knocked to invite it in and feed it chocolate cake.
”
”
Carolyn Brown (The Party Line)
“
Aren't you a cutie," Evie said, picking up the fawn-colored dog. His dominant breed was clearly pug, but he was mixed with something else.
"Hey, Odessa, any idea what the pug is mixed with? Looks like maybe a beagle?" Evie called.
"That's what Doc thinks he's mixed with too," Odessa answered as she came into the room. "He was surrendered by his owner last week. The guy got him from a breeder as a gift for his girlfriend, but she wanted a miniature purebred pug and the breeder wouldn't give him a refund." She rubbed the dog behind the ear. "This one is a sweetie."
"Does he have a name?" Evie asked.
"He didn't come with one. He looks like an Oliver to me. Or maybe a Sam."
"You know I hate when dogs have people names," Evie said. As she scratched the top of his head, she took in his coloring. His light brown coat reminded her of Butterball, the Pomeranian she'd rescued in the eighth grade. But the dark brown face and ears were hallmarks of a pug.
"This brown spot on the top of his head is pretty unique," Evie said. "What if we call him Waffles?"
Odessa plopped a hand on her hip. "So you'd rather name a dog after breakfast than after one of the greatest singers of all time, Sam Cooke?"
"No offense to Sam Cooke, but Waffles is the perfect name for this cutie." Evie pointed to him. "Check out the shape of the dark brown spot on his head. It looks like a splash of syrup.
"You're a cute little stack of waffles, aren't you?" She rubbed her nose to his as she continued the head scratch.
”
”
Farrah Rochon (Pugs and Kisses)
“
Spiff’s heart shattered in his chest as he stood helpless watching his son’s body twitch in his arms. Magic’s piercing screams snapped him out of his initial state of shock. “HE’S SIEZING!
”
”
Nikki Brown (Something About The Hood In Her : A Maler Family Saga)
“
Spiff turned his back to everyone and found a chair near the door, he wasn’t leaving the hospital until he got to see his son and he didn’t care what anyone said. Running his hand across his head he leaned his head back and pinched the bridge of his nose. Every nerve in his body was twitching with anger and he wanted to unleash it so bad, and soon he would. If he lost his son, everybody in the town of Charlotte was gonna feel it.
”
”
Nikki Brown (Something About The Hood In Her : A Maler Family Saga)
“
He’s gonna kill me, you didn’t see the look in his eyes. He’s not going to let this go.” Her eyes searched Bear’s and he saw just how scared she was. He knew he needed to do something; he just didn’t know what. “Not if I kill him first.
”
”
Nikki Brown (Something About The Hood In Her : A Maler Family Saga)
“
There were two pale brown beauty marks on the inside of his left arm, and a flimsy net of pink scars in the palm of his left hand. He filled the room like a horizon.
”
”
Kaliane Bradley (The Ministry of Time)
“
Seeing how easily people could be manipulated with just fear and rumor, the Overseer wondered if they even needed to bother.
”
”
Graham Brown (Clive Cussler Desolation Code (The NUMA Files Book 21))
“
Love found me at the sushi restaurant with no life behind my smile. Cascading curls framed her deep brown eyes,
”
”
Dallas Taylor (I Belong Deeply to Myself)
“
I define calm as creating perspective and mindfulness while managing emotional reactivity. When I think about calm people, I think about people who can bring perspective to complicated situations and feel their feelings without reacting to heightened emotions like fear and anger.
”
”
Brené Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection