Friday, December 27, 2013

Book Kaleidoscope 2013 – Day 2: Top Five Most Memorable Quotes


While the first category (Top Five Book Boy Friends) is relatively easy, picking memorable quotes turned out to be a harder one. And books I have read this year—although not too many—contains many good quotes. These five I have picked are probably not the best of all, but they are five quotes that first popped in my head, and thus, being the most memorable ones for me. Here they are:

5. The Confession by John Grisham


The quote is from Keith Schroeder, a reverend who is accidentally involved in a death penalty case. He criticizes the death penalty as it is actually a systematic killing empowered by law. I agree!


4. The Portrait of A Lady by Henry James


It might not be a very inspiring line from Ralph Touchett; and you must read the book to know the emotional touch of what Ralph says to Isabel. It’s an ordinary line, but it really reminds me of one particular event—the most emotional one—that made me cry when reading this book. I cannot reveal more than this without revealing the whole story.


3. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy


Again, this quote might not have any meanings for you, not touching, nor inspiring. It’s Andrew Bolkonski’s line during the war. It’s memorable to me because that quote made me realize the true nature of a war. I have never thought about it before I read War and Peace, and Tolstoy has changed my way of thinking about war after I finished it. This quote extracted what Tolstoy meant to say about war.



2. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling


And this is the most memorable wisdom from Professor Albus Dumbledore. I feel that this is one of the big messages Rowling wants to convey by writing Harry Potter (besides about love conquering evil). It talks about the freedom to choose what we would become, it’s a free will, and even God could not control our choices. He only leads us, persuades us to be good, but in the end, it’s our own decision that decide what we become. It’s a simple, yet strong, quote!


1. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald


And the winner is…..of course….this famous ending from The Great Gatsby. I loved it even when I first read it (and didn’t quite understand most of the prose). I loved it more after rereading it (and now understand it quite much). The quote is laden with hidden meanings, but Fitzgerald wrote it beautifully. It’s Nick Carraway’s line talking about how Americans (represented by Gatsby in this story) pursue their dream while still holding the past. One of the most memorable quotes from one of the most memorable book!              

What about you? Share your memorable quotes in the linky below!



17 comments:

  1. from the quote no.4, i can catch (a little) the emotional touch you mean though i haven't read the book.
    well, i mean, its not really ordinary :)

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  2. coba ya kalo terjemahannya Gatsby nggak kacrut mungkin akan jadi salah satu buku favoritku tahun ini secara ceritanya jleb banget :(

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    1. Yup. Gak pengen coba baca Englishnya, Lis? ;)

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    2. aduh, nyerah deh mbak, klasik banget pastinya dan bahasanya lebih susah, nyerah --"

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  3. JK Rowling is probably one of the most talented authors ever - who could write so many best quotes, it's so hard to choose only one of them :)

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  4. This Gatsby quote is fantastic. I've read the book twice, but both times in translation, so the next read will definitely be in English.

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  5. John Grisham's quote should be written on every wall in this world. Although I still believe that some people deserve death penalty, depends on their crime.

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    1. Perhaps some people do deserve death penalty, the question is still the same, who are we, that we have the right to kill others? because God is the only one who posses that right. I think it's what Grisham meant in the quote.

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  6. Rowling, Grisham and Fitzgerald, just asking why there is no Dumas or Zola :D

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    1. Zola never bothers much about wise words. The only memorable quote from him (for me) is from Germinal (the ending). But you're going to read it next year anyway, eh? ;)

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  7. Tit for tat, equivalent exchange *merenung*

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  8. jadi makin penasaran ama The Great Gatsby :))

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  9. From the 5 quotes, I love JK Rowling's and Fitzgerald's, because those are the only books I've read from all 5.

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    1. LOL! But both are inspiring and beautiful, aren't they?

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