Books

"Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show." --David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

"What is hardest to accept about the passage of time is that the people who once mattered the most to us are wrapped up in parantheses." --The Cider House Rules by John Irving (429)

"Preconceived opinions, foregone determinations, are all I have at this hour to stand by: there I plant my foot." --Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

"It is like the first disinterested sigh a lover sends over the telephone wires, the sigh that signals the earliest beginning of the end." --The Hours by Michael Cunningham (178)

"If people knew the story of their lives how many would then elect to live them?" --The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy (387)

"The scariest moment is always just before you start. After that, things can only get better." --On Writing by Stephen King (269)

"Sentenced to my life for however long God feels like laughing." --Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

"She drew them away, and he turned to the door, found his coat and hat under the faint gas-light of the hall, and plunged out into the winter night bursting with the belated eloquence of the inarticulate." --The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton (92)

"Fate is an obligation I don't understand--the reasons that random beast passed over her deserving soul in favor of mine." --Catfish and Mandala by Andrew X. Pham

"War is always about betrayal, betrayal of the young by the old, of idealists by cynics and of troops by politicians." --Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer, quoting "A Culture of Atrocity" by Chris Hedges

"Well, they bill by the minute, these lawyers, just like the cheaper whores." --The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (292)

"In my experience, the most staunchly held views are based on ignorance or accepted dogma, not carefully considered accumulations of facts." --Spook by Mary Roach (18)

"To all those who lead monotonous lives in the hope that they may experience at second hand the delights and dangers of adventure." The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie

"The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them." --Stephen King

Movies and Television

"The one boy that's really liked me, and he's a demon robot. What does that say about me? --Willow in Buffy the Vampire Slayer

"This game is rigged man. We like them little bitches on the chessboard." --Bodie in The Wire, Season 4 Finale

"Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self esteem, first make sure that you are not, in fact, just surrounding yourself with assholes." --William Gibson

Inspiration

"Do one thing every day that scares you." -Eleanor Roosevelt

"If you're putting less than 100% effort into something, you're wasting your talent." -Steve Prefontaine

"There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you're interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient. When you're committed to something, you accept no excuses; only results."
-Ken Blanchard

“The myth that women should not lift heavy is advanced only by women who fear effort and men who fear women.” -Eric Midkiff, Olympic Weightlifter

"Life begins at the edge of your comfort zone." -Neale Donald Walsch