My Top 10 Favourite Book Quotes

Today I want to choose 10 of my favourite book quotes- including first lines, interesting passages, and memorable quotes.

I think there are some book quotes that will stay with us forever. If you’ve studied a book in school, there will always be a memorable quote that you won’t be able to forget as you navigate through life- and if you’re a book lover certain quotes will stay with you forever.

These are all book quotes and passages that are well-written, and summon up feelings of remembrance or excitement.

Below, I have listed my top 10 favourite book quotes

‘Rebecca’ by Daphne du Maurier

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.”

This is the first line from one of my all-time favourite books, and never fails to draw me in. After recently re-reading ‘Rebecca‘, I found the book was just as captivating the second time round.

‘The Bell Jar’ by Sylvia Plath

“I thought it sounded just like the sort of drug a man would invent.”

Again, one of my favourite books! This quote just sums up the patriarchy of society, particularly for Esther, who is living in 1950s America. This quote refers to a drug which makes a woman forget her pain when she is having a child, so that she is not put off from having more children. So, instead of taking away her pain, the doctors are more concerned with making her a mother again.

‘No et Moi’ by Delphine de Vigan

“N’inquiète pas Pepite, je suis sûr que tout va bien se passer.”

“Don’t worry little one, I am sure that everything go well.”

As a bit of a worrier, this quote just makes me feel so happy, and I just think the word ‘Pepite’ is adorable! The fact that it’s in French, a language I’m passionate about, just makes it all the better 🙂 This book is so cute, and I have read it in both French and English, which I’m proud of! That is my own translation- if you have a better one let me know.

‘The Secret Life of Bees’ by Sue Monk Kidd

“‘There is nothing perfect,’ August said from the doorway. ‘There is only life.'”

I love this book and I just think this quote is so true about life. Although many of us may try to aspire to perfection, it is not possible, and the only choice is to accept life as it is, striving for happiness rather than perfection.

‘The Fault in Our Stars’ by John Green

“I couldn’t unlove Augustus Waters.”

I have a whole t-shirt with ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ quotes on (which I’m wearing at the moment, I’ve just realised!), but this is one of my favourites, and one that is perhaps less quoted. I was obsessed this book a few years ago, and it still holds a fond place in my memory 🙂 I also think this quote is just lovely.

‘Carry On’ by Rainbow Rowell

“The fact that Simon Snow is the most powerful magician alive. That nothing can hurt him, not even me.

That Simon Snow is alive.

And I’m hopelessly in love with him.”

This quote (okay, maybe that’s more like a whole passage, but still) was why I fell in love with this book– it’s just so perfect, and Baz and Simon’s love just makes me so happy, and fills me with a warm, fuzzy feeling! I’m in love with their love, if that makes sense.

‘Persuasion’ by Jane Austen

“Everything was safe enough, and she smiled over the many anxious feelings she had wasted on the subject.”

I really like this quote, I think that it really sums up what I’m like! I, like many people, worry about things that might happen, that could happen, that have a slim chance of happening, in the future, and none of these things ever happen, and worrying about them has been a complete waste of time.

So, as Jane Austen suggests, perhaps we should not waste our energy on worrying about things that probably won’t happen anyway, or, if they did happen, we would be completely capable of dealing with them!

‘Slaughterhouse Five’ by Kurt Vonnegut

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference.”

I don’t know why, but this quote just struck me as so true. We all have the power to change our own fate, but we also sometimes need to accept life as what it is. I actually read this quote in ‘Alex Woods versus The Universe’ by Gavin Extence, so I haven’t read ‘Slaughterhouse Five’, but it sounds like an interesting read!

‘Eleanor and Park’ by Rainbow Rowell

“Jesus. Was it possible to rape somebody’s hand?”

I really like this quote, because it shows the humorous tone of this book, but also the cute and adorable romance of Eleanor and Park. The fact that they both don’t know what to do with each other- and that they’re both so awkward- makes them such brilliant, real characters, and this quote sums up their tentative romance.

‘The Bell Jar’ by Sylvia Plath

“From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet… I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest… as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”

I really wanted to included another quote from ‘The Bell Jar‘, just because I love this book. This time, I went for one that sums up the struggle of women across the world. Women, often more than men, have to make life-changing choices, often feeling like they’re letting go of another choice if they choose a certain path in life.

This really resonates with women even in the modern-day, and so I think it’s a fantastic quotation.

What do you think of my 10 favourite book quotes? Do you know any of these quotes? What do you think would be on your list?

Let me know all your thoughts in the comments below 🙂

Happy reading x

Picture credits here