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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.
Comments Showing 51-100 of 113 (113 new)
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Maryam
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Dec 29, 2014 11:37PM
Beautiful
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I love all of these quotes. They're amazing!
These are all so beautiful! "Books fall open,You fall in." was my favorite.
Did you encounter any great quotes this year? Is there one that will guide you into 2015? Share it in the comments!I liked this quote from Bjørneboe's Bestialitetens historie ("The History of Bestiality"):
Spørsmålet var klart: Er det jeg som er gal, eller er det verden? - Jeg visste det rette svar, man jeg våget ikke å uttale det: Det er verden som er gal! Isteden bøyet jeg meg og sa: Verden er riktig; jeg er gal, - og dermed gjorde meg da til medforbryter mot Den Helige Ånd; I mange år maskerte jeg min fryktelige handling under maske av beskjedenhet og ydmykhet.Maybe someone can do a pretty graphic?
My translation:
The question was clear: am I mad, or is it the world? I knew the right answer, but didn't dare say it out loud: the world is mad! Instead, I bowed my head and replied: there is nothing wrong with the world; I am mad, and thus made myself an accomplice to the Sin against the Holy Spirit. For many years, I hid my terrible deed under a mask of reasonableness and humility.
love them all, but love no. 1 the most: capturing!
"There is a reason God limits our days.To make each one precious."
The time keeper by Mitch albom
soooo lovely those quotes, and they are such a great inspiration to read...
Wonderful, love all of them! Thanks for providing some food for my soul this morning Goodreads and a happy new year to all of you editors, writers and fellow readers!!
the quotes are really nice. Great job whoever picked them. number 1 number 4 and number 5 are my favorites
I like this quote because it describes the work that writers do.The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, doth glance from heaven to earth, earth to heaven, and as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, the poet's pen turns them to shapes, and gives to aery nothing a local habitation and a name.
William Shakespeare
A Midsummer's Night's Dream
love all the quotes and the pictures--especially the cats.
Linda wrote: "I like this quote because it describes the work that writers do.The poet's eye, in a fine frenzy rolling, doth glance from heaven to earth, earth to heaven, and as imagination bodies forth the for..."
That is a fantastic quote! Shakespeare is awesome :)
Aaishah wrote: "I love quote number 2!!! :)"Quote number 2 is my favorite, too, Aaishah. We used to live on a small South Pacific island in Vanuatu, and the stars there could take your breath away.
“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imaginationand life to everything.”
That's my favorite quote :D
The poems are so nice! And I love the 'We read to know we're not alone' picture. :-)
These quotes are fantastic and the truth behind these quotes are real!I cannot tell you how many times I fell into a book!
My father's quote:"The man who created work should come back and finish it"
I love "Books Fall Open"... That's my favorite.
Love the second quote especially. All of the quotes are inspirational though and they just catch the splendor of books perfectly! <3
I love the fourth one !!4. "We read to know we're not alone." —William Nicholson
"There must be something in books, something we can't imagine."Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
Quotes like books are subjective not everyone is going to love them all. However based on our mutual love of reading I think the ones offered are a great selection. My fave of them was the falling into books one.Happy new read to everyone at good reads, looking forward to another great year of reading.
Yeah, but wasn't it C.S. Lewis who said "we read to know we are not alone"?
Loved them all, but the first one is my favorite.
I LOVE THESE QUOTES! I am quote obsessed! I tape quotes to my wall everyday! (I am adding these ones to my quote wall today!)
I love them! I may have to print these out and post them near my bookshelves!
I like #5 most :) I have lots of books, and two cats! :D A perfect life :)
"Freedom is nothing if it is not the freedom to live at the edge of limits where all comprehension breaks down." This is from Georges Bataille's 'The Impossible.'
These are all really great quotes! And they have all been favorites of mine for a long time. Especially #1 and #4.Happy New Year everyone! Let's make this one even better than the last!
