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5 Inspiring Quotes to Wrap Up the Year
Some quotes are unforgettable. With just a few words they can move us in unexpected ways. As 2014 draws to a close, we leave you with five inspiring quotes. Which one speaks to you?
1. "Books fall open, you fall in." —David McCord
David McCord wrote poetry for children. This quote is from one of those poems and is a favorite amongst librarians: Books Fall Open
Books fall open, you fall in,
delighted where you've never been;
hear voices not once heard before,
reach world on world through door on door;
find unexpected keys to things locked up beyond imaginings.
What might you be, perhaps become,
because one book is somewhere?
Some wise delver into wisdom, wit,
and wherewithal has written it.
True books will venture, dare you out,
whisper secrets, maybe shout
across the gloom to you in need,
who hanker for a book to read.
2. "I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." —Sarah Williams
This quote is often misattributed to Galileo, but it is actually from a poem titled The Old Astronomer by English poet Sarah Williams. The full couplet is also beautiful: Though my soul may set in darkness,Read the entire poem here.
it will rise in perfect light.
I have loved the stars too fondly
to be fearful of the night.
3. "Be a rainbow in somebody else's cloud." —Maya Angelou
A beautiful piece of wisdom from the inimitable Maya Angelou, who died this year at age 86. This quote comes from an episode of Oprah Winfrey's Master Class series, in which Angelou discusses the importance of kindness. Watch an excerpt here.
4. "We read to know we're not alone." —William Nicholson
Novelist and playwright William Nicholson won a Tony for his first Broadway production, Shadowlands, about the deep friendship and eventual love between C.S. Lewis and Joy Gresham, who wrote under the name Joy Davidman—this quote comes from Nicholson's script. After Gresham's death, Lewis wrote a powerful meditation on his sorrow, titled A Grief Observed, which includes this touching description: "She was my daughter and my mother, my pupil and my teacher, my subject and my sovereign; and always, holding all these in solution, my trusty comrade, friend, shipmate, fellow-soldier. My mistress; but at the same time all that any man friend (and I have good ones) has ever been to me. Perhaps more."
5. "Books. Cats. Life is good." —Edward Gorey
Creepy-cute pioneer Edward Gorey was a true lover of cats. They often showed up in his illustrations—perhaps most memorably in his work for T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, which was the inspiration for the blockbuster musical Cats. (Listen to Eliot reading one of his poems here!) Here Gorey says it all, in just five short words.
If these quotes look familiar to you, it's because we create an illustrated quote for each issue of the Young Adult newsletter—these are some of our favorites from 2014.
Did you encounter any great quotes this year? Is there one that will guide you into 2015? Share it in the comments!
Credits: Quote #3 by watercolor artist Shana Frase. Quote #4 and #5 by illustrator Simini Blocker. (Read our interview with Simini here.) Quote #1 and #2 designed in-house.
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Nowshin
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Dec 29, 2014 06:02AM
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Couldn't have picked better! I love them.
"For I have sworn thee fair, and thought thee bright, Who art as black as hell, as dark as night."It's from one of Shakespeare's sonnets, though I can't remember which one at the moment.
"Beauty is truth, truth Beauty"-Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats
Richard wrote: ""Beauty is truth, truth Beauty"-Ode on a Grecian Urn by John Keats"
That's a really lovely quote
Beautiful quotes! I like particularly the last and the second :a cat is the perfect complement to books... and to everything! :)
"Books Fall Open" - perfectly conveys my view of books
"Wanderer your footsteps are the way, nothing else,Wanderer there is no way, the way is made by wandering..."
From Caminante by Antonio Machado (translated from the original Spanish)
First of all, I don't read because the only company I have is books! And I don't read to make myself realise my solitude! Seclusion is my soulmate, and reading is what indulges me into my passion.I wouldn't say that a man's life is all about cats and books, there's so much more to life than one could imagine! Honestly, cats are really annoying. It makes me wonder how people could find pleasure in the company of annoying cats.
The only quote I love so far is:
"Be a rainbow in somebody's else's cloud." - Maya Angelou
I'm not the rainbow, I am the one with the cloud.
just some quotes i like: "The less you say the more weight your words will carry" - siege and storm by leigh bardugo
"Sometimes," Jem said, "our lives can change so fast that the change outpaces our minds and hearts. It’s those times, I think, when our lives have altered - that is when we feel the greatest pain. I can tell you though, from experience, you grow accustomed to it. You learn to live your new life, and you can’t imagine, or even really remember, how things were before." - clockwork angel by cassandra clare
Whatever you are physically,” he said, “male or female, strong or weak, ill or healthy - all those things matter less than what your heart contains. If you have the soul of a warrior, you are a warrior. Whatever the colour, the shape, the design of the shade that conceals it, the flame inside the lamp remains the same. You are the flame." - clockwork angel by cassandra clare
Mahnoor wrote: ""Never laugh at live dragons"""For you are crunchy and good with ketchup" :)
An extraordinary girl can't have an ordinary life." Louisa May Alcott
I've always liked "Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened" said by Dr. Seuss.
My father knelt next to me and, with his eyes fixed on mine, addressed me in the hushed voice he reserved for promises and secrets. “This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens. This place was already ancient when my father brought me here for the first time, many years ago. Perhaps as old as the city itself. Nobody knows for certain how long it has existed, or who created it. I will tell you what my father told me, though. When a library disappears, or a book shop closes down, when a book is consigned to the oblivion, those of us who know this place, its guardians, make sure that it gets here. In this place, books no longer remembered by anyone, books that are lost in time, live forever, waiting for the day when they will reach a new reader’s hands. In the shop we buy and sell them, but in truth books have no owner. Every book you see here has been somebody’s best friend…”The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
I like quote #4 the most but I think overall they chose pretty good quotes.
quotes #1 and 3 are excellent choices - not too sure about cats though..
I'll try to be a rainbow in someone's else's cloud.
Lindsey wrote: "Mahnoor wrote: ""Never laugh at live dragons"""For you are crunchy and good with ketchup" :)"
'Draco Dormiens Nunquam Tittilandus' never tickle a sleeping dragon. -Harry Potter
"Every now and then when your life gets complicated and the weasels start closing in, the only real cure is to load up on heinous chemicals and then drive like a bastard from Hollywood to Las Vegas." -from "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" by Hunter S. Thompson
Excellent quotes to get my year started, and beautiful art to accompany them! I'd love to see some of these as backgrounds for my desktop.
The first one, I love. The second, is just beautiful; I will have to go and read The Old Astronomer in it's entirety now!
I love #2 - I have seen it mentioned as the epitaph on an amateur astronomer's grave as well.
LOVE THEM! ESPECIALLY THE LAST ONE ABOUT CATS I WOULD HAVE CREATED THAT ONE!!! <3
Love them all, but ESPECIALLY the first and third.
wow...those quotes...beautiful...amazing...good bye 2014... crying...
I love all of them except the last... sorry cat people..
This one has been on my mind a lot today for some reason. “Of course it’s all right for the librarians to smell of drink.” Barbara Pym
Fave - "We read to know we're not alone." —William Nicholson
Love all of the quotes ~~especially the fifth one! add music to that list and life is perfect! :D
All these pictures will make nice wallpaper for my desktop.....hope they inspire me to read more!!!Thnx 4 d gr8 work!!
Damo wrote: "First of all, I don't read because the only company I have is books! And I don't read to make myself realise my solitude! Seclusion is my soulmate, and reading is what indulges me into my passion...."
JEM CARSTAIRS> every other male protagonists
