“You’re 12 years old and you don’t yet know that you don’t know shit.”
Jonathan Tropper, Everything Changes
I was looking for a good, engaging audio book. Saw the combo of Tropper (author) and Scott Brick (narrator) and felt pretty confident. Within minutes I heard the above line. My sons are 13, going on 12 tomorrow and 9. I feel like saying this on almost a daily basis.
“…to be an artist you had to run the risk of failing, you had to close your eyes and step into the dark.”
Mark Haddon, The Red House
I really, really disliked this book and felt completely frustrated by the confusing writing style, but when I read the above, I wondered if Haddon was trying to explain himself. To my mind, his risk with this novel didn’t pay off, but I was reminded that writers are artists. Without risk, we’d all be stuck in place.
“Now we can stand and decide. This is our first chance to choose our own unknown…As impossible as it sounds, we must keep walking.”
Dave Eggers, What is the What
I was so inspired by this book and Valentino’s story as I indicated in my review this week, but this is the quote that sealed the deal for me. No matter the circumstances, whatever the world throws at us, we have to “choose our own unknown.” It’s a great phrase.
“No thief, however skillful, can rob one of knowledge, and this is why knowledge is the best and safest treasure to acquire.”
L. Frank Baum, The Lost Princess of Oz
This was my favorite Goodreads Daily Quote this week. It’s never bad to be reminded of what’s truly valuable and important in this life. Ageless wisdom.
I’d love to know what lines have caught your attention.
alenaslife 
I love reading alenalife. My favorite lines in books are often opening sentences or paragraphs. From Three Weddings by Lucy Jane Bledsoe: “I withered under Marcia’s glare, regretting what I had done to my oldest friend. What was wrong with me? Sure I hated her partner, Carrie, but I loved Marcia. Not only had I wandered off and misses her wedding, I had taken her mother with me. …The Pacific Ocean stretched out before us … However, Mrs. Michaelson and I weren’t gazing at the ocean and clouds. We were, instead, clutching our heaping plates of beans and looking over our shoulders at glaring Marcia, guilty as dogs with the holiday turkey in our jaws.”
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Thank you Susan. It’s so ice to be back to writing for me instead of only for others.
Love the image of “guilty as dogs with the holiday turkey in our jaws.” Was the rest of the book as evocative?
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