He Said, She Said — Favorite Book Quotes #MFRWauthor

Welcome to Week 40 of the Marketing for Romance Writers 52-Week Blog Challenge. This week’s prompt is Favorite Book Quotes — and this may just be the week that finally does me in. It’s not that I don’t read, it’s that I don’t remember any quotable quotes from the books I’ve read over the years.

There’s the classic line from Gone With the Wind, in which Rhett tells Scarlett, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” and that’s certainly a favorite because it’s such a great moment in both literature and film history. Scarlett had been so self-centered throughout the entire book that at the end, when she finally figured out which way the wind blew, it was too little, too late. Even though I’ve read the book and/or seen the movie more times than I can possibly count, my heart leaps a little every time Rhett delivers that line.

I’ve been racking my brain all week, trying to remember other favorite book quotes. and really drawing a blank. It’s true that my book club is currently reading Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier because every time I drive along I-10 and see signs for Mandeville, Louisiana, I hear “Last night, I dreamed I went to Manderley again,” but that’s a line that sticks in my head, not really a quote.

Mostly what I remember from books are the way the story makes me feel, not the precise lines that made me feel it. I am totally enamored of several books by Susan Howatch, for example–Penmarric, Cashelmara, Sins of the Fathers, Wheel of Fortune, and The Rich are Different, but I can’t remember a single line from any of them, despite numerous re-readings. What I do remember is that Howatch is a master of point-of-view. I am in awe of how she draws me deeply into the mind and heart of one character, only to switch point-of-view, at a dramatic part of the story, usually dropping me into the head of the first protagonist’s biggest enemy, and then drawing me into that person’s head and heart so completely, I grow to like them as much as the first guy. The fact that she does this six times in every one of her novels is breathtaking to me. But a particular line?

Well, there’s the opening paragraph of Cashelmara:

There were two subjects I never discussed: My dead wife and Cashelmara. So when I first met a woman with whom I could discuss both subjects with ease, it was hardly surprising that I should once again flirt with the idea of marriage.

Or there’s the opening of Penmarric:

I was ten years old when I first saw the Inheritance, and twenty years old when I first saw Janna Roslyn, but my reaction to both was identical: I wanted them.

but again, those are lines that stick in my head, not quotes I live by or anything. Not quotes I toss about in conversation.

If you asked me for quotes from movies, I’d have a dozen of ’em to share. I can’t figure out why I draw such a blank when it comes to book quotes, especially since I greatly prefer reading to watching movies. This is probably going to bother me for a while.

Oh! Wait! I do have a couple of favorite book quotes I almost forgot about: They are both from The Tao of Pooh:

and

Remember, this is a blog hop, so be sure to check out the blog posts from the other authors who are participating.

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