“
Please believe that one single positive dream is more important than a thousand negative realities.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
You know what I think?" she says. "That people's memories are maybe the fuel they burn to stay alive. Whether those memories have any actual importance or not, it doesn't matter as far as the maintenance of life is concerned. They're all just fuel. Advertising fillers in the newspaper, philosophy books, dirty pictures in a magazine, a bundle of ten-thousand-yen bills: when you feed 'em to the fire, they're all just paper. The fire isn't thinking 'Oh, this is Kant,' or 'Oh, this is the Yomiuri evening edition,' or 'Nice tits,' while it burns. To the fire, they're nothing but scraps of paper. It's the exact same thing. Important memories, not-so-important memories, totally useless memories: there's no distinction--they're all just fuel.
”
”
Haruki Murakami (After Dark)
“
I read because I have to. It drives everything else from my mind. It lets me escape to find other world.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
But you can vanquish the demons only when you yourself are convinced of your own worth.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
Transcend your abuse and transform it into a source of courage, creativity and compassion.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
Oh my. He's English.
"Er. Does Mer live here?"
Seriously, I don't know any American girl who can resist an English accent.
The boy clears his throat. "Meredith Chevalier? Tall girl? Big, curly hair?" Then he looks at me like I'm crazy or half deaf, like my Nana Oliphant. Nanna just smiles and shakes her head whenever I ask, "What kind of salad dressing would you like?" or "Where did you put Granddad's false teeth?"
"I'm sorry." He takes the smallest step away from me. "You were going to bed."
"Yes! Meredith lives here. I've just spent two hours with her." I announce this proudly like my little brother, Seany, whenever he finds something disgusting in the yard. "I'm Anna! I'm new here!" Oh, [Gosh]. What. Is with. The scary enthusiasm? My cheeks catch fire, and it's all so humiliating.
The beautiful boy gives an amused grin. His teeth are lovely - straight on top and crooked on the bottom, with a touch of overbite. I'm a sucker for smiles like this, due to my own lack of orthodontia. I have a gap between my front teeth the size of a raisin.
"Étienne," he says. "I live one floor up."
"I live here." I point dumbly at my room while my mind whirs: French name, English accent, American school. Anna confused.
He raps twice on Meredith's door. "Well. I'll see you around then, Anna."
Eh-t-yen says my name like this: Ah-na.
”
”
Stephanie Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1))
“
Never get involved. That's my motto. I hurt no one. And no one can hurt me.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
The Yen Buddhists are the richest religious sect in the universe. They hold that the accumulation of money is a great evil and a burden to the soul. They therefore, regardless of personal hazard, see it as their unpleasant duty to acquire as much as possible in order to reduce the risk to innocent people.
”
”
Terry Pratchett (Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12; Witches, #3))
“
Being still does not mean don't move. It means move in peace.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
Though life has to be lived forward, it can only be understood backwards
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
Revenge is not worthy of you. If you concentrate on revenge, you will keep those wounds fresh that would otherwise have healed.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society)
“
You know what I think?" she says. "That people's memories are maybe the fuel they burn to stay alive. Whether those memories have any actual importance or not, it doesn't matter as far as the maintenance of life is concerned. They're all just fuel. Advertising fillers in the newspaper, philosophy books, dirty pictures in a magazine, a bundle of ten-thousand-yen bills: when you feed 'em to the fire, they're all just paper.
”
”
Haruki Murakami (After Dark)
“
After purifying himself he walked through a small red gate to the shrine, dropped a goen, or five yen coin, the Japanese word for which also means good luck, into the wooden collection box in front of the shrine.
”
”
L.M. Weeks (Bottled Lightning)
“
Love is the Yen to Hate. Hate is the Yang to Love. The first nurtures and is good for your overall being while the latter destroys not only you, but everyone and everything else around you. - STRONG: Powerful Philosophy for Timeless Thoughts by Kailin Gow
”
”
Kailin Gow
“
Don't trust anyone. Be a cold fish. I hurt no one. And no one can hurt me.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Falling Leaves)
“
If there is no door to your dream, create one.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
The life that I have lived was no more than a mask covering the real me. What has happened was not to kill me but to reveal me.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
Do not ask for less responsibility to be free and relaxed--Ask for more strenght!
”
”
Sheng Yen
“
keep in mind that whenever you are in a crisis, you are in the midst of danger as well as oportunity.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
The future belongs to you. Should anyone insult you, tell yourself this: I am a child of destiny who will unite East and West and change the world.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah
“
Advice from a Caterpillar
Chew your way into a new world.
Munch leaves. Molt. Rest. Molt
again. Self-reinvention is everything.
Spin many nests. Cultivate stinging
bristles. Don't get sentimental
about your discarded skins. Grow
quickly. Develop a yen for nettles.
Alternate crumpling and climbing. Rely
on your antennae. Sequester poisons
in your body for use at a later date.
When threatened, emit foul odors
in self-defense. Behave cryptically
to confuse predators: change colors, spit,
or feign death. If all else fails, taste terrible.
”
”
Amy Gerstler (Dearest Creature)
“
People with yuan fen are destined to like one another;
Friendship develops even if a thousand miles apart.
But should yuan fen be absent between two individuals,
They will remain strangers despite sitting face-to-face
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society)
“
She did not believe he was a monster. He was not a monster, to her. Probably he had some endearing trait: he whistled, off key, in the shower, he had a yen for truffles, he called his dog Liebchen and made it sit up for pieces of raw steak. How easy it is to invent a humanity, for anyone at all.
”
”
Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1))
“
You may be right in believing that if you study hard, one day you might become fluent in English. But you will still look Chinese, and when people meet you, they’ll see a Chinese girl no matter how well you speak English. You’ll always be expected to know Chinese, and if you don’t, I’m afraid they will not respect you as much.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
Trust your heart and embrace the journey. You may make a wrong turn but your heart will get you back on the right path. Just keep making choices and don’t second guess yourself.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Detox 21: 21 day cleansing of the soul)
“
At the age of three my grand aunt proclaimed her independence by categorically refusing to have her feet bound, resolutely tearing off the bandages as fast as they were applied.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Falling Leaves)
“
Life is simple, just be yourself.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
When I see God I see Beauty, I see Love, I see Joy, I see Peace and I see You. God loves us let us love one another.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
Suen Le! (it means, "Let it be.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah
“
No matter what else people may steal from you, they will never be able to take away your knowledge.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Falling Leaves)
“
Patience is learned through waiting
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
To express yourself in a creative way you don't need structure you need an empty mind.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
You have your whole life ahead of you. Be smart. Study hard and be independent. I'm afraid the chances of your getting a dowry are slim. You must rely on yourself. No matter what else people may steal from you, they will never be able to take away your knowledge. The world is changing. You must make your own life outside this home.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Falling Leaves)
“
Some writers later, describing the events of that night and day, wrote that Wan'yen of the Altai had seen a spirit-dragon of the river and become afraid. Writers do that sort of thing. They like dragons in their tales.
”
”
Guy Gavriel Kay (River of Stars (Under Heaven, #2))
“
Love holds no expectation on what you will be, it simply values who you are.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Love Letters)
“
To be comforted by God is a promise that few of us ever receive, because we are consumed with controlling our situations to avoid being vulnerable.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Humbly Submitting to Change - The Wilderness Experience)
“
Create your own destiny!
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
Day after day, anxiety spun its web around my thoughts and spread to all corners of my heart.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
Say something.’ ‘I wouldn’t like to lose you, Yen.’ ‘But you have me.’ ‘The night will end.’ ‘Everything ends.’ No
”
”
Andrzej Sapkowski (Time of Contempt (The Witcher, #4))
“
Advertising fillers in the newspaper, philosophy books, dirty pictures in a magazine, a bundle of ten-thousand-yen bills: when you feed 'em to the fire, they're all just paper.
”
”
Haruki Murakami (After Dark)
“
The value of their money was imaginary. Like the nature of the universe itself, the desirability of their American dollars and yen was all in people’s heads.
”
”
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (Galápagos)
“
When you take the step towards your dreams you will be met with fears because you have never traveled this way before. As you go, you will discover that you had nothing to fear. Through overcoming your fears you give those that follow you hope that if they pursue their dreams, they will achieve their dreams.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Detox 21: 21 day cleansing of the soul)
“
There is no growth in assuming. For it does not give, it takes away.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Husband Rules: A Guy's Playbook on How to Win in Marriage)
“
I can't compete for likes and follows, I won't win. What I will do is pour out my heart and allow love to reach those that need it.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
Looking for someone to value what you have, will keep you coming up empty.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Love Letters)
“
If you are not yourself, you have nothing to offer the world but a cheap imitation of someone else.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Love Letters)
“
You can vanquish the demons only when you yourself are convinced of your own worth.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
I wrote a novel because I had a yen to do it. I believe this is sufficient reason to set out to tell a story.
”
”
Umberto Eco (Postscript to the Name of the Rose)
“
That’s exactly what I’ll do, I thought to myself. After dinner, I’m going to ask Big
Brother to teach me how to read this map. With Aunt Baba still in Tianjin, there’s
obviously nobody looking out for me. I’ll just have to find my own way.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
In our stillness, we acknowledge God's greatness and we are at peace in our life. Stillness saturates us in the Presence of God.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Humbly Submitting to Change - The Wilderness Experience)
“
To be at peace with others you must be at peace with yourself.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
So often, we're told that women's stories are unimportant. After all, what does it matter what happens in the main room, in the kitchen, or in the bedroom? Who cares about the relationships between mother, daughter, and sister? A baby's illness, the sorrows and pains of childbirth, keeping the family together during war, poverty, or even in the best of days are considered small and insignificant compared with the stories of men, who fight against nature to grow their crops, who wage battles to secure their homelands, who struggle to look inward in search of the perfect man. We're told that men are strong and brave, but I think women know how to endure, accept defeat, and bear physical and mental agony much better than men. The men in my life—my father, Z.G., my husband, my father-in-law, my brother-in-law, and my son—faced, to one degree or another, those great male battles, but their hearts—so fragile—wilted, buckled, crippled, corrupted, broke, or shattered when confronted with the losses women face every day...Our men try to act strong, but it is May, Yen-yen, Joy, and I who must steady them and help them bear their pain, anguish, and shame.
”
”
Lisa See (Shanghai Girls (Shanghai Girls, #1))
“
Remember, the best cure for worry is to do something positive. That’s because fear is endless and formless, whereas even the worst outcome has an ending.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella and the Secret Dragon Society)
“
Keep in mind that whenever you are in a crisis, you are in the midst of danger as well as opportunity.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Chinese Cinderella: The True Story of an Unwanted Daughter)
“
Love is taking care of oneself by freeing one's mind of worries and conducting one self with propriety.
”
”
Master Cheng Yen
“
Time moves forward don’t live backwards
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
We must surrender ourselves to God, not our assignments.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Humbly Submitting to Change - The Wilderness Experience)
“
Do not ignore inspiration, it is your guide to self discovery.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
You are not meant to serve time. Time is meant to serve you. Become the master of your now
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
Daddy, how come in Kansas City the bagels taste like just round bread?
”
”
Calvin Trillin (Feeding a Yen: Savoring Local Specialties, from Kansas City to Cuzco)
“
Everyday, we have to ask God for our assignment, we must not assume we understand His plan but rather surrender to His will daily.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Humbly Submitting to Change - The Wilderness Experience)
“
When we know Love, fear has no value in our presence. There is no pressure to perform and mask our humanity. We can BE and when we BE. We can inspire others to BE.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
When you have nothing to offer, love gives abundantly.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Love Letters)
“
The way I see it, the nineteenth century was a British century. The twenthieth century is an American century. I predict that the twenty-first century will be a Chinese century. The pendulum of history will swing from the ying ashes brought by the Cultural Revolution to the yang pheonix arising from its wreckage.
Aunt Baba, pg 226. Year 1979
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Falling Leaves)
“
I feel like having a cigar, too, right this second. I'm full of queer yens. Can it be that I"m pregnant? Intellectually, maybe. Stop me if I start eating chalk. I'll be righ tback. You know, I dont' smoke half a dozen cigars a year. But this one tastes ambrosial.
”
”
Herman Wouk
“
There is a blissful period of existence which the Yen Buddhists* call plinki. It is defined quite precisely as that interval between waking up and being hit on the back of the head by all the problems that kept you awake the night before; it ends when you realize that this was the morning everything was going to look better in, and it doesn’t.
”
”
Terry Pratchett (A Blink of the Screen: Collected Shorter Fiction)
“
I often think of life as a deposit of time. We are each allocated so many years, just like a fixed sum in a bank. When twenty-four hours have passed I have spent one more day. I read in the People's Daily that the average life expectancy for a Chinese woman is seventy-two. I am already seventy-four years old. I spent all my deposits two years ago and am on bonus time. Every day is already a gift. What is there to complain of?
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Falling Leaves)
“
Patience is produced in the midst of storms; it blossoms under the intense pressures of the storms.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Break Free)
“
Come and discover a love you don't have to work for.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Love Letters)
“
Be grateful always for everything and everyone at every moment.
”
”
Cheng Yen
“
I knew that I was the least-loved child because I was a girl and because my mother had died giving birth to me.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Falling Leaves)
“
Let money follow your dreams. Don't let your dreams follow money.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
The journy of a thousand miles starts beneath your feet.
”
”
Sheng Yen
“
She did not believe he was a monster. He was not a monster, to her. Probably he had some endearing trait: he whistled, offkey, in the shower, he had a yen for truffles, he called his dog Liebchen and made it sit up for little pieces of raw steak. How easy it is to invent a humanity, for anyone at all. What an available temptation.
”
”
Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid's Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1))
“
Live the life you choose and enjoy the happiness and regret that comes with that life.
~Yong-Kum
”
”
Lee Eun
“
Be confident in who you are, regardless of what you don't have. The more confident you are, the more open you become to share your fears and challenges with your partner.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Husband Rules: A Guy's Playbook on How to Win in Marriage)
“
Jesus has prayed over us that our faith in Him will not fail but rather be strengthened by the process we go through.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Humbly Submitting to Change - The Wilderness Experience)
“
Love is who you are, don't resist it.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
Know that love is yours, you will not go bankrupt by sharing it.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Love Letters)
“
The truth is I love you but you reject my love. You would rather be right than loved.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Love Letters)
“
It takes faith to follow your dreams and courage to reach them.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
He was not a monster, she said. People say he was a monster, but he was not one.
What could she have been thinking about? Not much, I guess; not back then, not at the time. She was thinking about how not to think. The times were abnormal. She took pride in her appearance. She did not believe he was a monster. He was not a monster, to her. Probably he had some endearing trait: he whistled, off key, in the shower, he had a yen for truffles, he called his dog Liebchen and made it sit up for little pieces of raw steak. How easy to invent a humanity, for anyone at all. What an available temptation. A big child, she would have said to herself. Her heart would have melted, she'd have smoothed the hair back from his forehead, kissed him on the ear, and not just to et something out of him either. The instinct to soothe, to make it better. There there, she'd say as he awoke from a nightmare. Things are so hard for you. All this she believed, because otherwise how could she keep on living? She was very ordinary, under that beauty.
”
”
Margaret Atwood (The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1))
“
Mother Teresa once said, "Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted are the greatest poverty." To this I will add: Please believe that one single positive dream is more important than a thousand negative realities.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah
“
I am a confused Musician who got sidetracked into this goddamn Word business for so long that I never got back to music - except maybe when I find myself oddly alone in a quiet room with only a typewriter to strum on and a yen to write a song. Who knows why? Maybe I just feel like singing - so I type.
These quick electric keys are my Instrument, my harp, my RCA glass-tube microphone, and my fine soprano saxophone all at once. That is my music, for good or ill, and on some nights it will make me feel like a god. Veni, Vidi, Vici... That is when the fun starts...
”
”
Hunter S. Thompson (Kingdom of Fear: Loathsome Secrets of a Star-Crossed Child in the Final Days of the American Century)
“
We can never fully impact others to change if there is no evidence of change in our lives.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Humbly Submitting to Change - The Wilderness Experience)
“
The wilderness is a place that every believer has to experience to be molded for their divine purpose.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Humbly Submitting to Change - The Wilderness Experience)
“
When you understand who you are, you cause the world to change in your favor.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Love Letters)
“
Oneness with God is not a dream, it is the only reality. Everything else is an illusion.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner
“
Forgiveness is a process that we have to learn to act upon daily. Anger is weakened by forgiveness. When you forgive, you free yourself from carrying around the torment that the offense has caused you.
”
”
E'yen A. Gardner (Detox 21: 21 day cleansing of the soul)
“
She was bedridden falling a fall which broke her hip. X-rays showed that she had cancer of the colon which had already spreed. To my surprise I found her cheerful and free of pain, perhaps because of the small doses of morphine she was being given. She was surrounded by neighbours and friends who congregated at her bedside day and night. In this cosy, noisy, gregarious world of the "all-chinese" sickbed, so different from the stark, sterile solitude of the American hospital room, her life had assumed the astounding quality of a continuous farewell party.
”
”
Adeline Yen Mah (Falling Leaves)
“
Because inside we still carry the dreams of what could have been, of what should have been, of what we wish could still be. This doesn't mean we aren't content. We are content, but the romantic longings of our girlhood have never entirely left us. It's like Yen-Yen said all those years ago: 'I look in the mirror and I'm surprised by what I see.' I look in the mirror and still expect to see my Shanghai-girl self- not the wife and mother I've become.
”
”
Lisa See (Shanghai Girls (Shanghai Girls, #1))
“
facts matter a great deal. What a patient does for a living, what his background is, what level of education he has achieved…all of these issues must be addressed in great detail in order to put his complaints and his disease in the proper context. If I ask a man to take the square root of 100 and he cannot, I might take this as proof of a left-hemispheric brain tumor, unless I know that he has worked on a farm since childhood and never attended school. Likewise, I might find it normal that a patient could not tell me the current exchange rate of the pound in Japanese yen. But if I knew that person was a merchant banker, on the other hand, ignorance of this fact would indicate a grave illness indeed! Americans have grown so dependent upon their scanning toys that they fail to view the patient as a multidimensional person. To have the audacity to cut into a person’s brain without the slightest clue of his life, his occupation…I find that most simply appalling.” These
”
”
Frank T. Vertosick Jr. (When the Air Hits Your Brain: Tales from Neurosurgery)
“
On to the library. And all through his time at the card catalog, combing the shelves, filling out the request cards, he danced a silent, flirtatious minuet of the eyes with a rosy-cheeked redhead in the biology section, pages of notes spread before her. All his life, he had had a yen for women in libraries. In a cerebral setting, the physical becomes irresistible. Also, he figured he was really more likely to meet a better or at least more compatible woman in a library than in a saloon. Ought to have singles libraries, with soups and salads, Bach and Mozart, Montaignes bound in morocco; place to sip, smoke, and seduce in a classical setting, noon to midnight. Chaucer's Salons, call them, franchise chain.
”
”
Stephen Minkin (A no doubt mad idea)
“
The enlightened mind is like a bird in flight that leaves no trace of its path. People will say, “A bird just flew by.” In their mind, there is a trace of the bird’s path. This is attachment. For the enlightened practitioner, that moment is already gone—the bird has left no trace of its flight. Like the bird, from moment to moment the enlightened practitioner’s actions do not leave any trace.
”
”
Sheng Yen (The Method of No-Method: The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination)
“
Emotions, whims and lies, fascinations and games. Feelings and their absence. Gifts, which may not be accepted. Lies and truth. What is truth? The negation of lies? Or the statement of a fact? And if the fact is a lie, what then is the truth? Who is full of feelings which torment him, and who is the empty carapace of a cold skull? Who? What is truth, Geralt? What is the essence of truth?’
‘I don’t know, Yen. Tell me.’
‘No,’ she said and lowered her eyes. For the first time. He had never seen her do that before. Never.
‘No,’ she repeated.
‘I cannot, Geralt. I cannot tell you that. That bird, begotten from the touch of your hand, will tell you. Bird? What is the essence of truth?’
‘Truth,’ the kestrel said, ‘is a shard of ice.
”
”
Andrzej Sapkowski (Sword of Destiny)
“
YEN
What happens if you take a cup? Put it to your lips. A cup of desire. Of dazzling colour. Of intoxicating aroma. You can't resist. Drink. And in the bottom of the cup. There is a fish. And the fish says "You have uncovered me! Now I am condemned. To die."
What happens if you find a box? 35mm by 35mm exactly. And are curious. You open it quickly. Of course. And inside there is an eye. And the eye seems to think that the box is its exclusive property. And fixes you with a terrifying glare.
What happens if you catch a soft sound? A voice whispering in the air. Above the tree tops. And you can't quite hear what it is saying. But you have to listen. So you float up. Then you find you can't come down again. When the conversation is finished.
”
”
Jay Woodman (SPAN)
“
See you at breakfast?"
"Yeah.See ya." I try to say this casually,but I'm so thrilled that I skip from her room and promptly slam into a wall.
Whoops.Not a wall.A boy.
"Oof." He staggers backward.
"Sorry! I'm so sorry,I didn't know you were there."
He shakes his head,a little dazed. The first thing I notice is his hair-it's the first thing I notice about everyone. It's dark brown and messy and somehow both long and short at the same time. I think of the Beatles,since I've just seen them in Meredith's room. It's artist hair.Musician hair. I-pretend-I-don't-care-but-I-really-do-hair.
Beautiful hair.
"It's okay,I didn't see you either. Are you all right,then?"
Oh my.He's English.
"Er.Does Mer live here?"
Seriously,I don't know any American girl who can resist an English accent.
The boy clears his throat. "Meredith Chevalier? Tall girl? Big,curly hair?" Then he looks at me like I'm crazy or half deaf,like my Nanna Oliphant. Nanna just smiles and shakes her head whenever I ask, "What kind of salad dressing would you like?" or "Where did you put Granddad's false teeth?"
"I'm sorry." He takes the smallest step away from me. "You were going to bed."
"Yes! Meredith lives there.I've just spent two hours with her." I announce this proudly like my brother, Seany, whenever he finds something disgusting in the yard. "I'm Anna! I'm new here!" Oh God. What.Is with.The scary enthusiasm? My cheeks catch fire, and it's all so humiliating.
The beautiful boy gives an amused grin. His teeth are lovely-straight on top and crooked on the bottom,with a touch of overbite. I'm a sucker for smiles like this,due to my own lack of orthodontia. I have a gap between my front teeth the size of a raisin.
"Etienne," he says. "I live one floor up."
"I live here." I point dumbly at my room while my mind whirs: French name, English accent, American school. Anna confused.
He raps twice on Meredith's door. "Well. I'll see you around then, Anna."
Eh-t-yen says my name like this: Ah-na.
My heart thump thump thumps in my chest.
”
”
Stephanie Perkins (Anna and the French Kiss (Anna and the French Kiss, #1))
“
Qu'est-ce que c'est, le Graal? Vous savez pas vraiment! Et moi non plus! Et j'en ai rien à cirer! Regardez-nous: y'en a pas deux qui ont le même âge, pas deux qui viennent du même endroit! Des seigneurs, des chevaliers errants, des riches, des pauvres! Mais, à la table ronde, pour la première fois dans toute l'histoire du peuple breton, nous cherchons tous la même chose: le Graal! C'est le Graal qui fait de vous des chevaliers, des hommes civilisés, qui nous différencie des tribus barbares. Le Graal, c'est notre union. Le Graal c'est notre grandeur.
”
”
Alexandre Astier (Kaamelott, livre 1, deuxième partie : Episodes 51 à 100)
“
The things about you I appreciate
May seem indelicate:
I'd like to find you in the shower
And chase the soap for half an hour.
I'd like to have you in my power
And see your eyes dilate.
I'd like to have your back to scour
And other parts to lubricate.
Sometimes I feel it is my fate
To chase you screaming up a tower
Or make you cower
By asking you to differentiate
Nietzsche from Schopenhauer.
I'd like successfully to guess your weight
And win you at a fête.
I'd like to offer you a flower.
I like the hair upon your shoulders,
Falling like water over boulders.
I like the shoulders too: they are essential.
Your collar-bones have great potential
(I'd like your particulars in folders
Marked Confidential).
I like your cheeks, I like your nose,
I like the way your lips disclose
The neat arrangement of your teeth
(Half above and half beneath)
In rows.
I like your eyes, I like their fringes.
The way they focus on me gives me twinges.
Your upper arms drive me berserk.
I like the way your elbows work.
On hinges …
I like your wrists, I like your glands,
I like the fingers on your hands.
I'd like to teach them how to count,
And certain things we might exchange,
Something familiar for something strange.
I'd like to give you just the right amount
And get some change.
I like it when you tilt your cheek up.
I like the way you not and hold a teacup.
I like your legs when you unwind them.
Even in trousers I don't mind them.
I like each softly-moulded kneecap.
I like the little crease behind them.
I'd always know, without a recap,
Where to find them.
I like the sculpture of your ears.
I like the way your profile disappears
Whenever you decide to turn and face me.
I'd like to cross two hemispheres
And have you chase me.
I'd like to smuggle you across frontiers
Or sail with you at night into Tangiers.
I'd like you to embrace me.
I'd like to see you ironing your skirt
And cancelling other dates.
I'd like to button up your shirt.
I like the way your chest inflates.
I'd like to soothe you when you're hurt
Or frightened senseless by invertebrates.
I'd like you even if you were malign
And had a yen for sudden homicide.
I'd let you put insecticide
Into my wine.
I'd even like you if you were Bride
Of Frankenstein
Or something ghoulish out of Mamoulian's
Jekyll and Hyde.
I'd even like you as my Julian
Or Norwich or Cathleen ni Houlihan.
How melodramatic
If you were something muttering in attics
Like Mrs Rochester or a student of Boolean
Mathematics.
You are the end of self-abuse.
You are the eternal feminine.
I'd like to find a good excuse
To call on you and find you in.
I'd like to put my hand beneath your chin,
And see you grin.
I'd like to taste your Charlotte Russe,
I'd like to feel my lips upon your skin
I'd like to make you reproduce.
I'd like you in my confidence.
I'd like to be your second look.
I'd like to let you try the French Defence
And mate you with my rook.
I'd like to be your preference
And hence
I'd like to be around when you unhook.
I'd like to be your only audience,
The final name in your appointment book,
Your future tense.
”
”
John Fuller
“
Eh bien, c'est l'histoire d'un petit ourson qui s'appelle… Arthur. Et y'a une fée, un jour, qui vient voir le petit ourson et qui lui dit : Arthur tu vas partir à la recherche du Vase Magique. Et elle lui donne une épée hmm… magique (ouais, parce qu'y a plein de trucs magiques dans l'histoire, bref) alors le petit ourson il se dit : "Heu, chercher le Vase Magique ça doit être drôlement difficile, alors il faut que je parte dans la forêt pour trouver des amis pour m'aider." Alors il va voir son ami Lancelot… le cerf (parce que le cerf c'est majestueux comme ça), heu, Bohort le faisan et puis Léodagan… heu… l'ours, ouais c'est un ours aussi, c'est pas tout à fait le même ours mais bon. Donc Léodagan qui est le père de la femme du petit ourson, qui s'appelle Guenièvre la truite… non, non, parce que c'est la fille de… non c'est un ours aussi puisque c'est la fille de l'autre ours, non parce qu'après ça fait des machins mixtes, en fait un ours et une truite… non en fait ça va pas. Bref, sinon y'a Gauvain le neveu du petit ourson qui est le fils de sa sœur Anna, qui est restée à Tintagel avec sa mère Igerne la… bah non, ouais du coup je suis obligé de foutre des ours de partout sinon on pige plus rien dans la famille… Donc c'est des ours, en gros, enfin bref… Ils sont tous là et donc Petit Ourson il part avec sa troupe à la recherche du Vase Magique. Mais il le trouve pas, il le trouve pas parce qu'en fait pour la plupart d'entre eux c'est… c'est des nazes : ils sont hyper mous, ils sont bêtes, en plus y'en a qu'ont la trouille. Donc il décide de les faire bruler dans une grange pour s'en débarrasser… Donc la fée revient pour lui dire : "Attention petit ourson, il faut être gentil avec ses amis de la forêt" quand même c'est vrai, et du coup Petit Ourson il lui met un taquet dans la tête à la fée, comme ça : "BAH !". Alors la fée elle est comme ça et elle s'en va… et voilà et en fait il trouve pas le vase. En fait il est… il trouve pas… et Petit Ourson il fait de la dépression et tous les jours il se demande s'il va se tuer ou… pas…
”
”
Alexandre Astier (Kaamelott, livre 3, première partie : Épisodes 1 à 50)