β
I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.
β
β
Sylvia Plath (The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath)
β
- "Why don't you like to be touched?"
- "Because I'm fifty shades of fucked-up, Anastasia
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Laters, baby.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
When did we see each other face-to-face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that, we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.
β
β
John Green (Paper Towns)
β
I'm not going to die," she said. "Not till I've seen it."
"Seen what?"
Her smile widened. "Everything.
β
β
V.E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β
I apologize for anything I might have done. I was not myself.β
βI apologize for shooting you in the leg.β said Lila. βI was myself entirely.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β
I'd rather die on an adventure than live standing still.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β
Sometimes I wonder if there's something wrong with me. Perhaps I've spent too long in the company of my literary romantic heroes, and consequently my ideals and expectations are far too high.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.
β
β
Charles Dickens (Great Expectations)
β
I crave your mouth, your voice, your hair.
Silent and starving, I prowl through the streets.
Bread does not nourish me, dawn disrupts me, all day
I hunt for the liquid measure of your steps.
I hunger for your sleek laugh,
your hands the color of a savage harvest,
hunger for the pale stones of your fingernails,
I want to eat your skin like a whole almond.
I want to eat the sunbeam flaring in your lovely body,
the sovereign nose of your arrogant face,
I want to eat the fleeting shade of your lashes,
and I pace around hungry, sniffing the twilight,
hunting for you, for your hot heart,
Like a puma in the barrens of Quitratue.
β
β
Pablo Neruda
β
You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
This is me, Ana. All of me...and I'm all yours. What do I have to do to make you realize that? To make you see that I want you any way I can get you. That I love you.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.
β
β
Maya Angelou (I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (Maya Angelou's Autobiography, #1))
β
Christian, you are the state lottery, the cure for cancer, and the three wishes from Aladdin's lamp all rolled into one
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β
I don't know whether to worship at your feet or spank the living shit out of you.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
Hide not your talents, they for use were made,
What's a sundial in the shade?
β
β
Benjamin Franklin
β
Home is behind, the world ahead,
And there are many paths to tread
Through shadows to the edge of night,
Until the stars are all alight.
Then world behind and home ahead,
We'll wander back and home to bed.
Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,
Away shall fade! Away shall fade!
β
β
J.R.R. Tolkien (The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1))
β
People observe the colors of a day only at its beginnings and ends, but to me it's quite clear that a day merges through a multitude of shades and intonations with each passing moment. A single hour can consist of thousands of different colors. Waxy yellows, cloud-spot blues. Murky darkness. In my line of work, I make it a point to notice them.
β
β
Markus Zusak (The Book Thief)
β
Love and loss,β he said, βare like a ship and the sea. They rise together. The more we love, the more we have to lose. But the only way to avoid loss is to avoid love. And what a sad world that would be.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β
We aim to please Miss Steele
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
She bent most of the rules. She broke the rest.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β
The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.
β
β
Haruki Murakami (Dance Dance Dance)
β
Never trust a man who can dance.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Donβt leave me,β he whispers.
βOh, for crying out loudβno! I am not going to go!β I shout and itβs cathartic. There, Iβve said it. I am not leaving.
βReally?β His eyes widen.
βWhat can I do to make you understand I will not run? What can I say?β
He gazes at me, revealing his fear and anguish again. He swallows. βThere is one thing you can do.β
βWhat?β I snap.
βMarry me,β he whispers.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
Are you on your own?"
"No. There are six people staring at me right now wondering who the hell i'm talking to."
shit..."Really?" I gasp, panicked.
"Yes. Really. My girlfriend," he announces away from the phone.
holy cow! "They probably all thought you were gay, you know.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
What is it about elevators?
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Sure I do,β countered Lila cheerfully. βThereβs Dull London, Kell London, Creepy London, and Dead London,β she recited, ticking them off on her fingers. βSee? Iβm a fast learner.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β
Scars are not shameful, not unless you let them be. If you do not wear them, they will wear you.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β
Don't get your panties in such a twist... and give me back mine.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
You love me,β I whisper.
His eyes widen further and his mouth opens. He takes a huge breath as if winded. He looks torturedβvulnerable.
βYes,β he whispers. βI do.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
Spring is the time of year when it is summer in the sun and winter in the shade.
β
β
Charles Dickens (Great Expectations)
β
I'd like to bite that lip.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Asleep by the Smiths
Vapour Trail by Ride
Scarborough Fair by Simon & Garfunkel
A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum
Dear Prudence by the Beatles
Gypsy by Suzanne Vega
Nights in White Satin by the Moody Blues
Daydream by Smashing Pumpkins
Dusk by Genesis (before Phil Collins was even in the band!)
MLK by U2
Blackbird by the Beatles
Landslide by Fleetwood Mac
Asleep by the Smiths (again!)
-Charlie's mixtape
β
β
Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower)
β
Love isβa shade of what I feel.
β
β
RenΓ©e Ahdieh (The Wrath and the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn, #1))
β
Toska - noun /ΛtΕ-skΙ/ - Russian word roughly translated as sadness, melancholia, lugubriousness.
"No single word in English renders all the shades of toska. At its deepest and most painful, it is a sensation of great spiritual anguish, often without any specific cause. At less morbid levels it is a dull ache of the soul, a longing with nothing to long for, a sick pining, a vague restlessness, mental throes, yearning. In particular cases it may be the desire for somebody of something specific, nostalgia, love-sickness. At the lowest level it grades into ennui, boredom.
β
β
Vladimir Nabokov
β
You wanted hearts and flowers,β he murmurs.
I blink at him, not quite believing what Iβm seeing.
βYou have my heart.β And he waves toward the room.
βAnd here are the flowers,β I whisper, completing his sentence. βChristian, itβs lovely.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
From his inside jacket pocket he produces a ring and gazes up at me, his eyes bright gray and raw, full of emotion. "Anastasia Steele, I love you. I want to love, cherish and protect you for the rest of my life. Be mine. Always. Share my life with me. Marry me".
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
Why don't you like to be touched" Ana whispered, staring up into soft grey eyes.
"Because I'm fifty shades of fucked-up, Anastasia
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
β
β
William Ernest Henley (Invictus)
β
I gave him a smile. I was aiming for sweet, but he turned a shade paler and scooted a bit farther from me. Note to self: work more on sweet and less on psycho-killer.
β
β
Ilona Andrews (Magic Strikes (Kate Daniels, #3))
β
I saw the world in black and white instead of the vibrant colours and shades I knew existed.
β
β
Katie McGarry (Pushing the Limits (Pushing the Limits, #1))
β
I've kissed a prince, Mom. I hope it doesn't turn into a frog.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
He makes me graceful, that's his skill. He makes me sexy, because that's what he is. He makes me feel loved, because in spite of his fifty shades, he has a wealth of love to give.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β
Society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.
β
β
Anonymous Greek Proverb
β
I still want more," I whisper. "I know," he says. "I'll try." I blink up at him, and he reliquishes my hand and pulls at my chin, releasing my trapped lip. "For you, Anastasia, I will try.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Oh, fuck the paperwork
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
She was a thief, a runaway, a pirate, a magician.
She was fierce, and powerful, and terrifying.
She was still a mystery.
And he loved her.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β
Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?
Thou art more lovely and more temperate:
Rough winds do shake the darling buds of May,
And summer's lease hath all too short a date:
Sometimes too hot the eye of heaven shines,
And too often is his gold complexion dimm'd:
And every fair from fair sometimes declines,
By chance or natures changing course untrimm'd;
By thy eternal summer shall not fade,
Nor lose possession of that fair thou owest;
Nor shall Death brag thou wander'st in his shade,
When in eternal lines to time thou growest:
So long as men can breathe or eyes can see,
So long lives this and this gives life to thee.
β
β
William Shakespeare (Shakespeare's Sonnets)
β
I am going to have coffee with Christian Grey... and I hate coffee.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Someone's sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.
β
β
Warren Buffett
β
Oh yes, your relationship with Miss Bard is positively ordinary."
"Be quiet."
"Crossing worlds, killing royals, saving cities. The marks of every good courtship.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β
Well my gun fires seven different shades of shit, so what's your favorite color, punk?
β
β
Gerard Way
β
Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch.
β
β
Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β
I wasn't aware we were fighting. I thought we were communicating,
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
Maybe its like you said before, all of us being cracked open. Like each of us starts out as a watertight vessel. And then things happen - these people leave us, or donβt love us, or donβt get us, or we donβt get them, and we lose and fail and hurt one another. And the vessel starts to crack in places. And I mean, yeah once the vessel cracks open, the end becomes inevitable. Once it starts to rain inside the Osprey, it will never be remodeled. But there is all this time between when the cracks start to open up and when we finally fall apart. And its only that time that we see one another, because we see out of ourselves through our cracks and into others through theirs. When did we see each other face to face? Not until you saw into my cracks and I saw into yours. Before that we were just looking at ideas of each other, like looking at your window shade, but never seeing inside. But once the vessel cracks, the light can get in. The light can get out.
β
β
John Green (Paper Towns)
β
Youβre the only person Iβd fly three thousand miles to see.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
I want you sore, baby,β he murmurs, and he continues his sweet, leisurely torment, backward, forward. βEvery time you move tomorrow, I want you to be reminded that Iβve been here. Only me. You are mine.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Sometimes there is such beauty in awkwardness.
β
β
Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β
I thought I'd broken you."
"Broken? Me? Oh no, Ana. Just the opposite."
He reaches out and takes my hand. "You're my lifeline'" he whispers.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
I hate fighting with you,β he whispers.
βWell, stop being such an arse.β
He chuckles and the captivating sound reverberates through his chest. He tightens his hold on me. βArse?β
βAss.β
βI prefer arse.β
βYou should. It suits you.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β
I want your world to begin and end with me.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β
He grabs me suddenly and yanks me up against him, one hand at my back holding me to him and the other fisting in my hair.
"You're one challenging woman," He kisses me, forcing my lips apart with his tongue, taking no prisoners.
"It's taking all my self-control not to fuck you on the hood of this car, just to show you that you're mine, and if I want to buy you a fucking car, I'll buy you a fucking car," he growls.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
For the ones who dream of stranger worlds.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β
There's a very fine line between pleasure and pain. They are two sides of the same coin, one not existing without the other.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Let me ask you something first. Do you want a regular vanilla relationship with no kinky fuckery at all?"
My mouth drops open. "Kinky fuckery?" I squeak.
"Kinky fuckery."
"I can't believe you said that.'
"Well, I did. Answer me," he says calmly.
I flush. My inner goddess is down on bended knee with her hands clasped in supplication begging me.
"I like your kinky fuckery," I whisper.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
Hesitation is the death of advantage.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β
As Athera. To grow.
As Pyrata. To burn.
As Illumae. To light.
As Orense. To open.
As Anase. To dispel.
As Hasari. To heal.
As Travars. To Travel.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β
We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar
Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;
- The Hollow Men
β
β
T.S. Eliot (Poems: 1909-1925)
β
Men aren't really complicated, Ana, honey. They are very simple, literal creatures. They usually mean what they say. And we spend hours trying to analyze what they've said - when really it's obvious. If I were you, I'd take him literally. That might help.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Why don't you like me ?" "Because you never stay with me.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Anoshe was a word for strangers in the street, and lovers between meetings, for parents and children, friends and family. It softened the blow of leaving. Eased the strain of parting. A careful nod to the certainty of today, the mystery of tomorrow. When a friend left, with little chance of seeing home, they said anoshe. When a loved one was dying, they said anoshe. When corpses were burned, bodies given back to the earth and souls to the stream, those left grieving said anoshe.
Anoshe brought solace. And hope. And the strength to let go.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic, #3))
β
So okayβ there you are in your room with the shade down and the door shut and the plug pulled out of the base of the telephone. You've blown up your TV and committed yourself to a thousand words a day, come hell or high water. Now comes the big question: What are you going to write about? And the equally big answer: Anything you damn well want.
β
β
Stephen King (On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft)
β
We'd been trying to touch the sky from the bottom of the ocean.
β
β
Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β
It's very hard to grow up in a perfect family when you're not perfect.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
I hug him tightly. βI canβt imagine my life without you, Christian. I love you so much it frightens me.β βMe, too,β he breathes. βMy life would be empty without you. I love you so much.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
He would see her again. He knew he would. Magic bent the world. Pulled it into shape. There were fixed points. Most of the time they were places. But sometimes, rarely, they were people. For someone who never stood still, Lila felt like a pin in Kell's world. One he was sure to snag on.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β
I think you can only be truly mad at someone you really love.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β
I'm anything but fine. I feel like the sun has set and not risen for five days, Ana. I'm in perpetual night here".
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
You know so little of war. Battles may be fought from the outside in, but wars are won from the inside out.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β
I am tired of people saying that poor character is the only reason people do wrong things. Actually, circumstances cause people to act a certain way. It's from those circumstances that a person's attitude is affected followed by weakening of character. Not the reverse. If we had no faults of our own, we should not take so much pleasure in noticing those in others and judging their lives as either black or white, good or bad. We all live our lives in shades of gray.
β
β
Shannon L. Alder
β
Supposing Iβve said I hate him, or worse still, that I love him, in my sleep.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Some people steal to stay alive, and some steal to feel alive. Simple as that.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic, #1))
β
I gasp, and I'm Eve in the Garden of Eden, and he's the serpent, and I cannot resist.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
His head turns fractionally toward me, his eyes darkest slate. I bite my lip.
βOh, fuck the paperwork,β he growls. He lunges at me, pushing me against the wall of the elevator. Before I know it, heβs got both of my hands in one of his in a vice-like grip above my head, and heβs pinning me to the wall using his hips. Holy shit. His other hand grabs my ponytail and yanks down, bringing my face up, and his lips are on mine. Itβs only just not painful. I moan into his mouth, giving his tongue an opening. He takes full advantage, his tongue expertly exploring my mouth. I have never been kissed like this.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
Are you still mad at me?"
"Yes."
"I'll go back to sleep, then."
"Good.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β
My inner goddess is jumping up and down, clapping her hands like a five year old.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
It's much easier to wear your pain on the outside...
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β
Krasivaya. It means beautiful, but with strength. Unique.
β
β
Ruta Sepetys (Between Shades of Gray)
β
Everyone thinks I have a death wish, you know? But I don't want to die - dying is easy. No, I want to live, but getting close to death is the only way to feel alive. And once you do, it makes you realize that everything you were actually doing before wasn't actually living. It was just making do. Call me crazy, but I think we do the best living when the stakes are high.
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β
Whatever I am, let it be enough
β
β
Victoria E. Schwab (A Gathering of Shadows (Shades of Magic, #2))
β
So you're my boss now," I snap.
"Technically, I'm you're boss's boss's boss."
"And technically, it's gross moral turpitude- the fact that i am fucking my boss's boss's boss."
"At the moment, you're arguing with him." Christian scowls.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
β
Does this mean youβre going to make love to me tonight, Christian?β Holy shit. Did I just say that? His mouth drops open slightly, but he recovers quickly.
βNo, Anastasia it doesnβt. Firstly, I donβt make love. I fuckβ¦ hard. Secondly, thereβs a lot more paperwork to do, and thirdly, you donβt yet know what youβre in for. You could still run for the hills. Come, I want to show you my playroom.β
My mouth drops open. Fuck hard! Holy shit, that sounds so⦠hot. But why are we looking at a playroom? I am mystified.
βYou want to play on your Xbox?β I ask. He laughs, loudly.
βNo, Anastasia, no Xbox, no Playstation. Come.ββ¦ Producing a key from his pocket, he unlocks yet another door and takes a deep breath.
βYou can leave anytime. The helicopter is on stand-by to take you whenever you want to go, you can stay the night and go home in the morning. Itβs fine whatever you decide.β
βJust open the damn door, Christian.β
He opens the door and stands back to let me in. I gaze at him once more. I so want to know whatβs in here. Taking a deep breath I walk in.
And it feels like Iβve time-traveled back to the sixteenth century and the Spanish Inquisition.
Holy fuck.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
This is a man in need. His fear is naked and obvious, but he's lost. . . Somewhere in his darkness.
His eyes wide and bleak and tortured. I can soothe him. Join him briefly in the darkness and bring him into the light.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades of Grey (Fifty Shades, #1))
β
From: Christian Grey
Subject: My Life's Mission...
Date: September 5, 2011 09:25
To: Anastasia Grey
Is to spoil you, Mrs. Grey.
And keep you safe because I love you.
Christian Grey
Smitten CEO, Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc.
β
β
E.L. James (Fifty Shades Freed (Fifty Shades, #3))
β
Words are flowing out like endless rain into a paper cup,
They slither wildly as they slip away across the universe
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my open mind,
Possessing and caressing me.
Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes,
They call me on and on across the universe,
Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box
They tumble blindly as they make their way
Across the universe
Sounds of laughter shades of love are
Ringing through my open ears inciting and inviting me
Limitless undying love which shines around me like a
Million suns, and calls me on and on
Across the universe
β
β
John Lennon
β
So she told me a story. A story about a boy who was born with very green eyes, and the man who was so captivated by their color that he searched the world for a stone in exactly the same shade.β His voice is fading now, falling into whispers so quiet I can hardly hear him. βShe said the boy was me. That this ring was made from that very same stone, and that the man had given it to her, hoping one day sheβd be able to give it to me. It was his gift, she said, for my birthday." He stops. Breathes. βAnd then she took it off, slipped it on my index finger, and said, βIf you hide your heart, he will never be able to take it from you'.
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Tahereh Mafi (Ignite Me (Shatter Me, #3))
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Why am I so drawn to you?" He muttered, almost to himself. "Why is it so hard to let go? I thought... at first... it was Ariella, that you remind me of so much. But it's not." Though he didn't smile, his eyes lightened a shade. "You're far more stubborn than she ever was."
I sniffed. "That's like the pot calling the kettle black," I whispered, and a faint, tiny grin finally crossed his face, before his expression clouded and he lowered his head, touching his forehead to mine. "What do you want of me, Meghan?" he asked, a low thread of anguish flickering below the surface.
Tears blurred my vision, all the fear and heartache of the past few days rising to the surface. "Just you," I whispered. "I just want you."
-Ash and Meghan
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Julie Kagawa (The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey, #2))
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No. No!β he says.
βI . . .β He looks wildly around the room. For inspiration? For divine intervention? I donβt know.
βYou canβt go. Ana, I love you!β
βI love you, too, Christian, itβs justββ
βNo . . . no!β he says in desperation and puts both hands on his head. βChristian . . .β
βNo,β he breathes, his eyes wide with panic, and suddenly he drops to his knees in front of me, head bowed, long-fingered hands spread out on his thighs. He takes a deep breath and doesnβt move. What?
βChristian, what are you doing?β
He continues to stare down, not looking at me.
βChristian! What are you doing?β
My voice is high-pitched. He doesnβt move.
βChristian, look at me!β I command in panic. His head sweeps up without hesitation, and he regards me passively with his cool gray gazeβheβs almost serene . . . expectant.
Holy Fuck . . . Christian. The submissive.
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E.L. James (Fifty Shades Darker (Fifty Shades, #2))
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Love the quick profit, the annual raise,
vacation with pay. Want more
of everything ready-made. Be afraid
to know your neighbors and to die.
And you will have a window in your head.
Not even your future will be a mystery
any more. Your mind will be punched in a card
and shut away in a little drawer.
When they want you to buy something
they will call you. When they want you
to die for profit they will let you know.
So, friends, every day do something
that wonβt compute. Love the Lord.
Love the world. Work for nothing.
Take all that you have and be poor.
Love someone who does not deserve it.
Denounce the government and embrace
the flag. Hope to live in that free
republic for which it stands.
Give your approval to all you cannot
understand. Praise ignorance, for what man
has not encountered he has not destroyed.
Ask the questions that have no answers.
Invest in the millenium. Plant sequoias.
Say that your main crop is the forest
that you did not plant,
that you will not live to harvest.
Say that the leaves are harvested
when they have rotted into the mold.
Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.
Put your faith in the two inches of humus
that will build under the trees
every thousand years.
Listen to carrion β put your ear
close, and hear the faint chattering
of the songs that are to come.
Expect the end of the world. Laugh.
Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful
though you have considered all the facts.
So long as women do not go cheap
for power, please women more than men.
Ask yourself: Will this satisfy
a woman satisfied to bear a child?
Will this disturb the sleep
of a woman near to giving birth?
Go with your love to the fields.
Lie down in the shade. Rest your head
in her lap. Swear allegiance
to what is nighest your thoughts.
As soon as the generals and the politicos
can predict the motions of your mind,
lose it. Leave it as a sign
to mark the false trail, the way
you didnβt go.
Be like the fox
who makes more tracks than necessary,
some in the wrong direction.
Practice resurrection.
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Wendell Berry
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Civilized people must, I believe, satisfy the following criteria:
1) They respect human beings as individuals and are therefore always tolerant, gentle, courteous and amenable ... They do not create scenes over a hammer or a mislaid eraser; they do not make you feel they are conferring a great benefit on you when they live with you, and they don't make a scandal when they leave. (...)
2) They have compassion for other people besides beggars and cats. Their hearts suffer the pain of what is hidden to the naked eye. (...)
3) They respect other people's property, and therefore pay their debts.
4) They are not devious, and they fear lies as they fear fire. They don't tell lies even in the most trivial matters. To lie to someone is to insult them, and the liar is diminished in the eyes of the person he lies to. Civilized people don't put on airs; they behave in the street as they would at home, they don't show off to impress their juniors. (...)
5) They don't run themselves down in order to provoke the sympathy of others. They don't play on other people's heartstrings to be sighed over and cosseted ... that sort of thing is just cheap striving for effects, it's vulgar, old hat and false. (...)
6) They are not vain. They don't waste time with the fake jewellery of hobnobbing with celebrities, being permitted to shake the hand of a drunken [judicial orator], the exaggerated bonhomie of the first person they meet at the Salon, being the life and soul of the bar ... They regard prases like 'I am a representative of the Press!!' -- the sort of thing one only hears from [very minor journalists] -- as absurd. If they have done a brass farthing's work they don't pass it off as if it were 100 roubles' by swanking about with their portfolios, and they don't boast of being able to gain admission to places other people aren't allowed in (...) True talent always sits in the shade, mingles with the crowd, avoids the limelight ... As Krylov said, the empty barrel makes more noise than the full one. (...)
7) If they do possess talent, they value it ... They take pride in it ... they know they have a responsibility to exert a civilizing influence on [others] rather than aimlessly hanging out with them. And they are fastidious in their habits. (...)
8) They work at developing their aesthetic sensibility ... Civilized people don't simply obey their baser instincts ... they require mens sana in corpore sano.
And so on. That's what civilized people are like ... Reading Pickwick and learning a speech from Faust by heart is not enough if your aim is to become a truly civilized person and not to sink below the level of your surroundings.
[From a letter to Nikolay Chekhov, March 1886]
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Anton Chekhov (A Life in Letters)