'A quotation is a handy thing to have about...

...saving one the trouble of thinking for oneself, always a laborious business'
-A.A. Milne, If I May

When I was writing my personal statement to apply for university I was told by my teacher to not use a quotation so as to avoid sounding 'cheesy'. I took her advice but I have since discovered that I have a fondness for quotations. Be they inspirational or dark and gloomy. As someone who can't remember her own mobile number despite having had it for a good 6 years, I find it amazing that I can reel quotations off the top of my head. Hey maybe one day I'll be like Augustus Waters' parents...

'"My parents call them Encouragements" he explained' 

-John Green, The Fault in our Stars 

In fact, John Green in a brilliant person to quote, his books are full to the brim with brilliant metaphors and witty snippets of conversation. How is it that the same man can write...

'Hump the moist cave wall'
-John Green, The Fault in our Stars

and 

'As he read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once'
-John Green, The Fault in our Stars

John Green, you baffle me!

So, now onto a couple of love quotations...

'Love doesn't conquer everything. And whoever thinks it does is a fool' 

-Donna Tartt, The Secret History 

I love this offering from Donna Tartt, it is a brilliant selection of words that only adds to the brilliance of the book. Although, Jung Chang would beg to differ...

'If you have love, even plain cold water is sweet' 

-Jung Chang, Wild Swans 

***on a side note, I was in the midst of my Avril Lavigne obsession when I was reading this and now I can't listen to her songs without being thrown back into 20th century China***

It's funny how quotations can make the same thing seem so different. Take these two on miracles...

'The trouble with miracles is they don't last long'

-Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl 

And then of course we have Lemony Snicket taking a completely different approach on the concept of miracles...

'Miracles are like meatballs' 

-Lemony Snicket, The Carnivorous Carnival (A Series of Unfortunate Events) 

There aren't many people in the world who can justify comparing miracles to meatballs, but Lemony Snicket is one of them!

Now, we have a couple of quotations from some of my favourite books.

'Just kidding was exactly what people wrote when they meant every word' 

-David Nicholls, One Day

'Dont you think it's better to be extremely happy for a short while, even if you lose it, than to be just okay for your whole life'

-Audrey Niffinger, The Time Travelers Wife

'Death is a state of mind- many people on Earth spend their entire lives dead'

-Gavrielle Zevin, Elsewhere

'You can't save people from the world. There's nowhere else to put them' 

-M.R. Carey, The Girl with All the Gifts

And here is a particular favourite...

'Dear Daddy-Long-Legs,

You never answered my question and it was very important. 

ARE YOU BALD?'

-Jean Webster, Daddy-Long-Legs

And in the the words of Dr. Seuss  

'Be awesome! be a book nut!' 

Eilidh