Book Kaleidoscope 2013 is hosted by Fanda at Fanta Classiclit. In here we will recapture our favourite moments, memories and experiences from fiction read in 2013. And lists! There will be lists. Who doesn't love a list?
The topic for Day 1 is TOP 5 Most Memorable Quotes:
Do you have any quotes that touched you deeply or reminded you of something special
? Pick five
that are most memorable to you, rank them, and let us know why they’re special
to you.
Difficult topic much? I had four clear frontrunners, and then a bunch from which I had to pick the fifth one.
I was always stuck between feelings of inferiority and superiority.
/Haruki Murakami, 1Q84, translated from Japanese by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel/
Though this quote carries near zero poetic value, it struck me hard, because - the story of my life. The quote is spoken by character Ushikawa, a kind of investigator who is described as grotesquely ugly.
I like people who read actual books. [...] Book-readers are just as willing as anyone else to start out with the weather, but as a general rule they can actually go on from there.
/Stephen King, Bag of Bones/
This trail of thoughts is just so witty and *modest cough* true at the same time. I wasn't the biggest fan of Bag of Bones, but I loved the literary themes that came up in the story once in a while.
"How hard it is - without the showplace of the stage - to teach wit to teenagers. I despair that another fall is almost upon me and once again I shall strive to make my Grade Ten girls notice something in Wuthering Heights besides every little detail about Catherine and Heathcliff - the story, the story; it is all they are interested in!"
/John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany/
*sigh* This is just... I have always set plot and story secondary during my reading process, and when I stumbled upon this quote I felt happy understanding and also a bit of "ZOMG John Irving let's form a secret club of people who do not think plot and romance are the highlight of books".
Kitsch causes two tears to flow in quick succession. The first tear says: How nice to see children running on the grass!
The second tear says: How nice to be moved, together with all mankind, by children running on the grass!
It is the second tear that makes kitsch kitsch.
/Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, translated from Czech by Michael Henry Heim/
I knew that I have to pick one quote from this book because it was full of the stuff you just want to write out, read again and again, and remember forever. Milan Kundera is the perfect dark poet, and this quote I picked simply because I think there is way too much kitsch in the world.
And my favourite, favourite, many times memorised quote from the year:
That tomorrow should come and that I should be there.
/For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway/
This sentence is seemingly so simple and yet those ten words form in a way that sounds so poetic, so sad, and so hopeful at the same time. Thank you, Ernest. I shall always remember this.
---
The next topic: TOP5 Book Covers
Do you have any quotes that touched you deeply or reminded you of something special
? Pick five
that are most memorable to you, rank them, and let us know why they’re special
to you.Difficult topic much? I had four clear frontrunners, and then a bunch from which I had to pick the fifth one.
1
I was always stuck between feelings of inferiority and superiority.
/Haruki Murakami, 1Q84, translated from Japanese by Jay Rubin and Philip Gabriel/
Though this quote carries near zero poetic value, it struck me hard, because - the story of my life. The quote is spoken by character Ushikawa, a kind of investigator who is described as grotesquely ugly.
2
I like people who read actual books. [...] Book-readers are just as willing as anyone else to start out with the weather, but as a general rule they can actually go on from there.
/Stephen King, Bag of Bones/
This trail of thoughts is just so witty and *modest cough* true at the same time. I wasn't the biggest fan of Bag of Bones, but I loved the literary themes that came up in the story once in a while.
3
"How hard it is - without the showplace of the stage - to teach wit to teenagers. I despair that another fall is almost upon me and once again I shall strive to make my Grade Ten girls notice something in Wuthering Heights besides every little detail about Catherine and Heathcliff - the story, the story; it is all they are interested in!"
/John Irving, A Prayer for Owen Meany/
*sigh* This is just... I have always set plot and story secondary during my reading process, and when I stumbled upon this quote I felt happy understanding and also a bit of "ZOMG John Irving let's form a secret club of people who do not think plot and romance are the highlight of books".
4
Kitsch causes two tears to flow in quick succession. The first tear says: How nice to see children running on the grass!
The second tear says: How nice to be moved, together with all mankind, by children running on the grass!
It is the second tear that makes kitsch kitsch.
/Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, translated from Czech by Michael Henry Heim/
I knew that I have to pick one quote from this book because it was full of the stuff you just want to write out, read again and again, and remember forever. Milan Kundera is the perfect dark poet, and this quote I picked simply because I think there is way too much kitsch in the world.
5
And my favourite, favourite, many times memorised quote from the year:
That tomorrow should come and that I should be there.
/For Whom the Bell Tolls, Ernest Hemingway/
This sentence is seemingly so simple and yet those ten words form in a way that sounds so poetic, so sad, and so hopeful at the same time. Thank you, Ernest. I shall always remember this.
---
The next topic: TOP5 Book Covers
I like the last one, from For Whom the Bell Tolls. I haven't read the book, but it seems so sad and emotional. And now you made me want to read the book... :)
ReplyDeleteThe quote from For Whom the Bell Tolls goes well with the general tone of the book. I was very pleasantly surprised because so many people seem to dislike Hemingway's writing!
DeleteHow fun! I like this idea for a year-end wrap up so much better than the interminable "surveys" I keep seeing - too much info in one looooooong post -- I like the separate days with different themes. Will have to remember this for next year :)
ReplyDeleteOh, I thought I was the only one who thought so :) Some of these surveys feel like they are a lot more fun to write than to read. I can usually focus on ten questions or so, and after that it kinda becomes a bit blurry. Anyway, I liked the idea of dividing certain favourite aspects about books over the last days of the year.
DeleteThe simple one is the memorable one. I love Hemingway too, though I've only read 2 of his works
ReplyDeleteI have read three books from Hemingway, but two of them really long time ago so re-reads are definitely in order. That being said For Whom the Bell Tolls was such a pleasant surprise.
DeleteOh, I love the Hemingway quote! Love it! So glad you shared it :)
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad people love this quote :) It's my absolute favourite from the year 2013 (so far - but I doubt it'll change).
Delete