I'm an avid reader, especially of contemporary and humorous teen fiction, but until recently it didn't occur to me to collect quotes from my favourite books, in the wonderful way that many people do on Goodreads and other reading sites.
I only began to do this after listening to audiobooks a lot. Suddenly, I found myself stopping the recording to scribble bits down. Maybe I did this because of the difference between print and audio stories. I can re-read an amazing sentence again and again for as long as I want, but when I listen, the words float past and are gone quickly - too quickly – so I feel the need to capture them. Or maybe I'm just discovering the joy of quotes.
Unfortunately, at the moment, my note-taking method is far from foolproof. Some of my notes make sense, and others... don't. For example, here are some of my most recent scribblings:
"Maybe girls need an island to find themselves. Maybe they need a place where no one's watching them, so they can be who they really are." - Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
"Why is it always easier..." 4:32 - listen again! - Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
As you can see, I don't always manage to transcribe quotes, probably because I'm too distracted by my need to get back to the story. And my recent notes from print books aren't that much better:
"I didn't care who kissed you first as long as I kissed you last." If We Kiss by Rachel Vail (Check!**)
"He smiled. God, I hate his smile, I love it so much." You, Maybe by Rachel Vail (Check!**)
(**I have since checked the quotes above, and they're accurate!)
When I was a student, I spent some time at a university in Central Italy, in a town called Perugia which is famous for its chocolate "Baci" (kisses). Inside the wrapping of each one is a love-related quote translated into various languages. When I first wrote the story which is now called Cool Cats and Melted Kisses (and which can be found in the Truth & Dare anthology edited by Liz Miles), I made up a small collection of quotes for chocolates and I settled on a pivotal one for the story. It sounds so "quote-like" that I'm now not entirely convinced it didn’t already exist, but I've searched high and low and as yet I haven’t found it anywhere else. Maybe I should eat vast quantities of chocolate to make sure...
Do you have a favourite quote from a book (or a chocolate)? I'd love to know.
In the meantime, if you'd like to win a copy of Truth & Dare, please leave a comment below and The Book Slooth will draw a winner. (Giveaway open internationally.)
Thank you very much for having me here, Isme!
Luisa Plaja
http://www.luisaplaja.co.uk
http://www.luisaplaja.co.uk
Truth & Dare edited by Liz Miles contributors: Jennifer Boylan, Sarah Rees Brennan, Cecil Castellucci, Emma Donoghue, Courtney Gillette, A.M. Homes, Jennifer Hubbard, Heidi R. Kling, Jennifer Knight, Michael Lowenthal, Liz Miles, Saundra Mitchell, Luisa Plaja, Matthue Roth, Sherry Shahan, Gary Soto, James St James, Shelley Stoehr, Sara Wilkinson, Ellen Wittlinger, and Jill Wolfson
Baci photo: Some rights reserved by Jerine http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerine/
COMPETITION INFORMATION:
OPEN INTERNATIONALLY
To enter, simply comment on this post, a winner will be drawn at random!
COMPETITION CLOSES: Thursday, Nov 10, 2011.
If you would like to spread the word, feel free to use the button (left) or the poster (above).
Good Luck everybody, and a huge thank you to Luisa!
If you would like to learn more about Luisa Plaja, Truth & Dare or Chicklish, you might find these links useful:
28 comments:
YAY! I heart competitions whole heartedly!
I don't usually write down quotes from the books I read but I wish I had the habit. Maybe I'll start writing them down one of these days.
Thanks for the giveaway!
entrelibros_blog at hotmail dot com
Thank you so much for the chance to win!
Rathouska(dot)jana(at)gmail(dot)com
enter me isme!
i always mean to write down quotes, but i shamefully lazy :( it's always too exciting to stop while i'm reading. and then i can't find them afterwards.
i meant to with graffiti moon, and what does blue feel like and saving francesca and so many others...
I would love to be entered Ismé, thank you
thebookish96(at)gmail(dot)com
The cover is amazing! Thank you for the giveaway.
artgiote at gmail dot com
I don't think i've ever written a quote down, although when reading i take note of really nice quites.
thanks for the giveaway:)
holz_twilight@msn.com
Thank you very much for the book!
annabell_lee_dk (at) yahoo.com
Thanks for the wonderful giveaway!
Malvina
darkenf(at)rocketmail(dot)com
Quotes are really importan, for instance, since I have the iPad 2 it helps a lot to be able to mark quotes down without ruining a real book. Yep, I don't like to mark books ^^U
And besides the cover being amazing (truly amazing) this book looks like a perfect read :D
Thanks for the giveaway and for making it international, hehe.
alaiel.kreuz@gmail.com
Alaiel
Thank you for the giveaway!
k_anon[at]hotmail[dot]co[dot]uk
I like copying notes, too! I collect funny or sad quotes fom books all the time. ;) Thanks for the chance!!
kah_cherub at hotmail dot com
thanks for the giveaway!
darksiry(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks so much for the giveaway!! ^^
giota22@msn.com
Thanks for this chance!
Do count me in.
carlos_durao AT hotmail DOT com
This book looks good. I am in love with the cover!♥
kaylalovesandrew09@yahoo.com
thanx so much got the giveaway! :)
r (dot) m (dot)haigh @ hotmail (dot) co (dot) uk
Awesome cover, bet the book is too! Thanks for the giveaway.
yumihamano@gmail.com
This is fabulous thank you.
marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com
I would love to have a copy of this fab book, thank you, krk.77@hotmail.co.uk
Thanks for the giveaway! :)
zaturna ( at ) gmail dot com
I don't take notes while reading - but I should! Will help with my reviews for sure!
baychriz at gmail dot com
Looks like great book! Thanks for the giveaway :)
hannahmariska at hotmail dot co dot uk
This book sounds awesome! I'd love to read it.
aikychien at yahoo dot com
Thanks for having this giveaway!
I always wanted to write down book quotes but was always too lazy to :P
ycelestial@hotmail.com
Just finished reading the fox inheritance. Here's one of my favourite quotes from the book.
I just think perfection and lasting through the ages is for greek statues, not us mere humans.
/ mary e. pearson
talkincode at gmail dot com
thanks for makign this international!!
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