Dash & Lily's Book of Dares

by Rachel Cohn

I preferred to hang out with the dead, dying, or desperate books—used we call them, in a way that we’d never call a person, unless we meant it cruelly.

love Christmas. I love everything about it: the lights, the cheer, the big family gatherings, the cookies, the presents piled high around the tree, the goodwill to all.

How mean can a guy be who likes Mozart?

Well sure, who doesn’t need a boyfriend?

I’m pretty boring and nerdy, actually, and not in the ironic hipster way.

Luckily, I always travel with a book, just in case I have to wait on line for Santa, or some such inconvenience.

I couldn’t fault her for believing, because I had to imagine it was nice to have that illusion still intact. Not the belief in Santa, but the believe that a single holiday could usher in goodwill toward man.

I want to believe that, despite all the evidence to the contrary, there is reason to hope.

You want meaning? Well, the meanings are out there. We’re just so damn good at reading them wrong.

I don’t think meaning is something that can be explained. You have to understand it on your own.

I wanted to believe that I could be somebody in here just for me.