The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake

"She called Joseph the desert, one summer afternoon when we were all walking along the Santa Monica Pier, because, she explained, he was an ecosystem that simply needed less input."

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, p. 52
By Aimee Bender
Published 2010

oh hello

A short hello and thank you. I'm so pleasantly surprised by everybody who has stopped by this creaky site. I especially love the messages patiently sitting in my inbox. Many of those messages suggested that I open the site to comments, and after evidently crawling to the bottom of every to-do list, I finally spent the whole five seconds it took to click "show" and "anyone." Let thoughts fly.

Charlotte's Web

"... with men it's rush, rush, rush, every minute. I'm glad I'm a sedentary spider."

"What does sedentary mean?" asked Wilbur.

"Means I sit still a good part of the time and don't go wandering all over creation. I know a good thing when I see it, and my web is a good thing. I stay put and wait for what comes. Gives me a chance to think."

Charlotte's Web, pp. 60 - 61
By E.B. White
Published 1952

Mick Harte Was Here

 "You know, like at first you have this gut reaction to something and you're positive that you're totally right. Only after a while, it creeps into your mind that the other guy may actually have a point. Then the next thing you know, his point's making more sense than your point. Which is totally annoying. But still, it happens."

Mick Harte Was Here, p. 79
By Barbara Park
Published 1995

Gold Boy, Emerald Girl

"'When one is young, one thinks of love as the most important thing,' Professor Shan said, still facing the window. 'It's natural if you think so, though I do hope you've learned a few things from the books I've read to you. One could waste one's life pursuing a flower in the mirror, a moon in the river, but that is not what I want to see happen to you.'"

Kindness from Gold Boy, Emerald Girl, p. 38
By Yiyun Li
Published 2010

James and the Giant Peach

"My dear young fellow," the Old-Green-Grasshopper said gently, "there are a whole lot of things in this world of ours that you haven't even started wondering about yet."

James and the Giant Peach, p. 78
By Roald Dahl
Published 1961

The Tiger's Wife

"You must be joking," he said. "Look around. Think for a moment. It's the middle of the night, not a soul anywhere. In this city, at this time. Not a dog in the gutter. Empty. Except for this elephant - and you're going to tell your idiot friends about it? Why? Do you think they'll understand it? Do you think it will matter to them?"

The Tiger's Wife, p. 55
By Téa Obreht
Published 2011