Top Ten Tuesday - Favorite Quotes

Guess who started this post and then realized that the TTT linkup (hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl) coming up in three days happened to be the same thing?  So, enjoy.  And they probably won't all be book quotes.  Don't sue me.  



1. “Taking your own life. Interesting expression - taking it from who? Once it’s over, it’s not you who’ll miss it. Your own death is something that happens to everybody else. Your life is not your own. Keep your hands off it.” 
Sherlock Holmes (BBC Show, Season 4)

And this one might actually be my favorite quote ever - it's so very thought-provoking.  

2. All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.
Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien

I actually have this memorized . . . it's very lovely poetry!

3. “If strangers see you behaving like lunatics, it doesn’t matter, because they don’t know who you are. And if your friends see you behaving like lunatics, it doesn’t matter, because they know who you are.”
Celia's House - D. E. Stevenson

Does this one even need an explanation?  I still have to show this to my theatre friends.  They're the reason I love this quote so much: it totally fits all of us. 

4. When our two souls stand up erect and strong,

Face to face, silent, drawing nigh and nigher,
Until the lengthening wings break into fire
At either curvéd point, — what bitter wrong
Can the earth do to us, that we should not long
Be here contented ? Think. In mounting higher,
The angels would press on us, and aspire
To drop some golden orb of perfect song
Into our deep, dear silence. Let us stay
Rather on earth . . . 

"Sonnet 22" - Sonnets from the Portugese - Elizabeth Barret Browning

I read this poem for Brit Lit, and it's another one of my favorites.  This isn't the entire sonnet, but it's most of it.  That beginning, though . . . 

5. "Stay gold, Ponyboy. Stay gold."
The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton

Many thanks to all of you who incessantly recommended The Outsiders.  That was the first time I stopped reading a book because I wanted it to last forever so I could savor it.

6. Still 'round the corner there may wait

A new road or secret gate;
And though I oft have passed them by,
A day will come at last when I
Shall take the hidden paths that run
West of the Moon, East of the Sun.

"The Road Goes Ever On" - J.R.R. Tolkien

Isn't this what we all want?  A secret gate in a common spot that takes us to a whole new world?

7. "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." 
The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

Yes, I know.  It's another Tolkien quote.  Deal with it. 😊 This quote always reminds me that the "valuable" things, those that are "worth it" aren't always the best things.  Normal life and joy in the common things are worth so much more in the grand scheme of things.

8. "I'm happiest when most away
I can bear my soul from its house of clay
On a windy night when the moon is bright
and the eye can wander through worlds of light
when I am not and none beside - 
nor earth nor sea nor cloudless sky - 
but only spirit wandering wide -
through infinite immensity."
"I'm happiest when most away" - Emily Brontë 

This is totally how I feel sometimes . . . especially when I'm writing poetry.  😉

9. I guess I should've clarified," [he] shouted over the din. "Their current plan is uncharacteristically reasonable." 

Nightfall - Shannon Messenger

The speaker designation is removed because of spoilers, but I laughed so hard when I reached this point in the book.  It's pretty accurate, and it felt like the character was momentarily breaking the fourth wall.

10. “I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading!”

Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

This quote is said by my least favorite character, but it's perfection.  (I actually have a pair of socks that say this - my parents know me too well.)

So, what are some of your favorite quotes?  What do you think of mine?

Brianna