One of the coolest features of Goodreads is the ability to save my favorite quotes from books I read.

My most beloved books are full of highlighting and sticky tab notes, so I can easily return to significant passages for reference.

But sometimes I’m reading a library book or a novel I plan to pass o, so I don’t want to leave any permanent marks. In these cases, when I encounter a line I love, I slap on a page tab with an arrow pointing to the line. When I’m finished with the book, I log into my Goodreads account and find the quotes I love to save to my collection. It’s a pretty neat way to be able to look back and see what has moved me most from all the words I’ve read.

I was perusing my quote collection the other day and figured it would make a great blog post.

My primary interest in writing about books is exploring how we connect with and process what we read based on our life experiences and personalities. Even in a wonderfully written book, a few lines will stick out as particularly significant. The best writing is the stuff that feels like it was written just for me to take in.

Below are my most loved quotes from my reading experiences. Some are thoughtful and moving, some are funny, and they are all well crafted lines.

“In this life we love who we love. There were some stories in which facts were very nearly irrelevant.”
― Ann Patchett, State of Wonder

“If you read someone else’s diary, you get what you deserve.”
― David Sedaris

“The only way we will survive is by being kind. The only way we can get by in this world is through the help we receive from others. No one can do it alone, no matter how great the machines are.”
― Amy Poehler, Yes Please

“Optimism sprouts from the knowledge that you are in control of your own life, not your past and not those around you. Part of being in control is taking responsibility for how you feel. This means not just admitting to uncomfortable feelings but then examining your circumstances to see what can be done to change these feelings at the source.”
― Augusten Burroughs, This Is How: Proven Aid in Overcoming Shyness, Molestation, Fatness, Spinsterhood, Grief, Disease, Lushery, Decrepitude & More. For Young and Old Alike.

“Loving people and animals makes us stronger in the right ways and weaker in the right ways. Even if animals and people leave, even if they die, they leave us better. So we keep loving, even though we might lose, because loving teaches us and changes us.”     -Glennon Doyle Melton, Carry On Warrior

“It’s like this when you fall hard for a musician. It’s a crush with religious overtones. You listen to the songs and you memorize the words and the notes and this is a form of prayer. You attend the shows and this is the liturgy. You’re interested in relics — guitar picks, set lists, the sweaty napkin applied to His brow. You set up shrines in your room. It’s not just about the music. It’s about who you are when you listen to the music and who you wish to be and the way a particular song can bridge that gap, can make you feel the abrupt thrill of absolute faith.”
― Steve Almond, Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life: A Book by and for the Fanatics Among Us

“I kiss him and he kisses me and we laugh and we are close and I believe so deeply in that moment that I can tolerate his bullshit.”
― Jami Attenberg, All Grown Up

What do you think of these? What’s your favorite book quote?