Random lines from page 77

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is 'Opening Lines (Best, favorite, funny, unique, shocking, gripping, lines that grabbed you immediately, etc.)' but I decided to change that a bit. I went through my books  and one by one, I turned to page 77 and pulled out whatever lines I like. I didn't do this with ebooks, sadly, because almost all of them uses locations instead pages which is just weird to me. I picked 77 because I like things in 7. Here are some memorable and wonderful lines I found.

01 |

I heard about a disease people get from vacationing in places so beautiful they are psychologically incapable of handling it. Their intimate contact with pure unadulterated beauty makes them come apart at the seams. This may be such a place. I understand why Zoe wrote 'wish you were here.'
— Postcards From a Dead Girl by Kirk Farber

02 |

You can be betrayed in your sleep. The whole world can tilt while you're dreaming of butterflies.
— The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman

03 |

She had never felt sorry for herself; she had only felt tired and cross, because she disliked people and things so much. But now the world seemed to be changing and getting nicer. If no one found out about the secret garden, she should enjoy herself always.
— The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

04 |

A chill ran through us like a gusting breeze, as if we had all realized for the first time why we were here, in the gathering darkness, about to cross into a part of Joya that had been forgotten for a generation. It was unknown, unmapped and home to a murderer.
— The Girl of Ink and Stars by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

05 |

So today when the girl in the lunch canteen had reached out to snatch away Elsa's scarf, Elsa decided to continue the discussion on the girl's own intellectual level. She simply threw her glass of milk at her and ran for it.
— My grandmother sends her regards & apologies by Fredrik Backman, translated from Swedish by Henning Koch

06 |

He climbed over the stone wall. Water hit the hulls of the small boats lined up along the shore. He could hear himself breathing, hear the beats of his heart starting to speed and then slow as he moved away from the beach and entered the settlement. It was as though someone, somewhere, were dreaming this and he had crossed into it without permission. Everything both familiar and foreign.
— Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon

07 |

It was night in the city. We watched the people come and go while we waited at the light: businessmen and office girls, young people and old, all beautifully aglow in the headlights. Enveloped in the silent cold, bundled in sweaters and coats — it was the hour when everyone was headed for someplace warm.
— Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

Got any favorite lines or quotes from books?

For more Top Ten Tuesdays, visit That Artsy Reader Girl here.

Some Fictional Fun

Cordy at Any Merry Little Thought came up with this 'Would You Rather' questionnaire involving fictional characters that I actually know, most of them anyway. I love answering questions so I thought I join in.

01 | Would you rather be a tenant of Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley?
Mr. Knightley – I think he will be kinder but Mr. Darcy can also be kind but probably a little difficult to negotiate if you catch him in a bad mood.

02 | Would you rather spend a day in the 100 Acre Wood or Neverland?
Neverland but only if I get to be a real kid and not a pretend kid.

03 | Would you rather attend a tea party with the Mad Hatter and company or meet the Wizard of Oz?
The wizard – perhaps he can send me to somewhere more fun.

04 | Would you rather spend a summer at Netherfield with Jane and Mr. Bingley, or at Hamley Hall with Squire Hamley?
The Squire – I think he would let me spend the whole summer in his library and will probably let me wander around his land.

05 | Would you rather be "rescued" by Gilbert Blythe or Colonel Brandon?
It really depends on what type of rescue. Both of them are very capable but I probably would choose Gilbert Blythe but only because I think he and I would have a good laugh afterward.

06 | Would you rather marry Laurie or John Brooke?
I don't like either one of them so no to both.

07 | Would you rather have to participate in a skirmish as a member of Robin Hood's Merry Men, or as a member of the Musketeers?
Robin Hood's Merry Men because I really prefer not to deal with royalties, well, I just think think Merry Men have more fun.

08 | Would you rather have a jolly holiday in a chalk painting or enjoy a tea party on the ceiling with Uncle Albert?
No idea what chalk painting is or who Uncle Albert is (too lazy to look them up) but I've always like tea parties if there is cake involve.

09 | Would you rather have to chaperone, through their entire courting experience, Lydia Bennet or Anne De Bourgh?
I'm pretty sure there would be a lot of work involve with Lydia and yet, it might be a bit boring with Anne but at least, she is probably easier to persuade, so probably Anne.

10 | Would you rather marry Mr. Wickham or Mr. Elton?
Neither, they're both terrible! I think I rather run away and become a maid.

11 | Would you rather spend the rest of your life in Middle Earth (starting from the time of the journey of the ring), or Narnia (starting from the time of the Pevensie's first visit)?
Narnia but mostly I find Middle Earth to be a bit too dark and depressing.

Feel free to answer any of these questions. Visit Cordy for other participants.

Why I love books

'the beast's library' - version 2

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is 'Reasons Why I Love [insert your favorite book title, genre, author, etc. here].' I decided to go with 'Reasons why I love books' but perhaps it should be 'How I love books'?

01 | Shop for books — I have always borrowed from the library so to own even just a few books is pure joy.

02 | Write, review, talk, complain about books on my blog — no need to explain this one

03 | Organize books on my (tiny) shelf and a half — I like the idea of having my own library even if it's a tiny one. I don't know about other people but I enjoy re-arranging my books. But I don't alphabetize and don't organize in any way except by height, hardcover/paperback and sometimes by the color of the spines.

04 | Maybe, kind of lend my books out — I'm reluctant to lend my books to people because I just think they would not take care of them as I would. I know books are meant to be read until it falls apart but I really prefer to keep them as clean and in as good condition as possible. I don't read books in bathrooms or kitchens or any overheated rooms or read with wet or dirty hands. I just think if people don't treat books well, I don't see any reason to allow them to borrow my books.

05 | Read books any time and anywhere — well, I really would not recommend reading in the bathroom (see #4 above).

06 | Take my time reading — sometimes I think if you read a book too fast, you don't enjoy it as much  but that's probably my excuse for taking a long time to finish one book.

07 | Learn from books — so maybe sometimes there are things I don't want to know about but that's the risk you take when you open a book.

08 | Travel/go on vacation in books — I don't like to travel so books for me is a form of travel. And there's plenty of lovely places to go besides earth.

09 | Read and re-read favorite books until I get sick of them— I used to not re-read books but now I do it more often because news books doesn't interest me as much as they used to or maybe my taste have changed and I just don't know it. But I enjoy re-reading books.

10 | Enjoy a break from reality — books are my constant source of calm or at least, distractions from my worries.

What do you love about books?

For more Top Ten Tuesdays, visit That Artsy Reader Girl here.