Sunday, January 29, 2006

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood

“Every night when I go to bed I think, 'In the morning I will wake up in my own house and things will be back the way they were.' It hasn’t happened this morning, either."

(The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, Chapter 31)

Saturday, January 28, 2006

The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien

“You cannot be always torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. … I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me.”

(The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien, Book VI, Chapter 9)

Friday, January 27, 2006

Night by Elie Wiesel

“Never shall I forget that nocturnal silence which deprived me, for all eternity, of the desire to live. Never shall I forget those moments which murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to dust.”

(Night by Elie Wiesel, Section 3)

Thursday, January 26, 2006

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

“It is our choices, Harry, that show us what we truly are, far more than our abilities.

(Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, Chapter 18)

Wednesday, January 25, 2006

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title.

(Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Act II, Scene 2)

Tuesday, January 24, 2006

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

"The sea is everything. It covers seven tenths of the terrestrial globe. Its breath is pure and healthy. It is an immense desert, where man is never lonely, for he feels life stirring on all sides."

(20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, Chapter 10)

Monday, January 23, 2006

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles

"No more shall ye behold such sights of woe, deeds I have suffered and myself have wrought; henceforward quenched in darkness shall ye see those ye should ne'er have seen; now blind to those whom, when I saw, I vainly yearned to know."

(Oedipus Rex by Sophocles)

Saturday, January 21, 2006

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

"His friends were those of his own blood or those whom he had known the longest; his affections, like ivy, were the growth of time, they implied no aptness in the object."

(The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Chapter 1)

Friday, January 20, 2006

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathon Swift

"And he gave it for his opinion, "that whoever could make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, to grow upon a spot of ground where only one grew before, would deserve better of mankind, and do more essential service to his country, than the whole race of politicians put together."

(Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathon Swift, Chapter 7)

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw

"Remember that you are a human being with a soul and the divine gift of articulate speech: that your native language is the language of Shakespeare and Milton and The Bible; and don't sit there crooning like a bilious pigeon."

(Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, Act I)

Wednesday, January 18, 2006

Reginald by Saki

"The young have aspirations that never come to pass, the old have reminiscences of what never happened. It's only the middle-aged who are really conscious of their limitations--that is why one should be so patient with them."

(Reginald by Saki)

Tuesday, January 17, 2006

Dracula by Bram Stoker

"We are in Transylvania, and Transylvania is not England. Our ways are not your ways, and there shall be to you many strange things."

(Dracula by Bram Stoker, Chapter 2)

Monday, January 16, 2006

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing,
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before."

(The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe)