My Favorite Quotes About Books: Part One

Like any lover of books, there are moments when a quote about books just hits home for me. Some are silly, some I secretly think are about me and others are quite astute glimpses at the relationship between books and society. They are all awesome. However, like most quotes extracted from the modern libraries of unattributed, misattributed and/or made up quotes, these may be off. If you notice a discrepancy, please feel free to note it and provide a source. Thanks.

"You want weapons? We’re in a library! Books! The best weapons in the world! This room’s the greatest arsenal we could have – arm yourselves!" ~ The Tenth Doctor

For those of you who don't know Doctor Who, go watch seasons one through now of the more recent incarnations. I'm serious. I have nothing more to say to you until you have done so. For the rest of you, you may recognize this as a quote from "Tooth and Claw." The Doctor is trapped by a werewolf and finds one of his temporary companions idiotic when he (the companion) remarks that they have no weapons while standing in a library.

"The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame." ~ Oscar Wilde

There is not much to say about this quote other than that it is unfailingly true. However, I would go on to say "or fear." Some books that are banned for being immoral contain nothing shameful, but they strike fear into those who believe them to be pathways to some sort of religious faux pas.

"Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new after all." ~ Abraham Lincoln

I love this quote coming from a man who may not have had original thoughts, but was obviously very inspired by thoughts, be they his or those of other people. Nonetheless, I can very much relate to this quote. I often find myself reading something and wanting to sit in a room with the author and express my agreement, saying, "I often think that as well. Thank you for saying it."

Shelly Barclay

More Shakespeare Quotes Translated

Awhile back, Cracked Spines had a post about translated Shakespeare quotes. For the most part, the post was a gag, though the translations were essentially correct. There seems to be a demand for Shakespeare quote translations, so here we go again. The quotes are broken up by which piece they appeared in. Unfortunately, we cannot translate everything, so here are some of the more famous quotes from the most popular Shakespeare pieces.

Romeo & Juliet Quotes Translated

"These violent delights have violent ends and in their triumph die like fire and powder, which as they kiss consume." ~ Friar Laurence

Here, Friar Laurence is giving Romeo advice about his quick and passionate love of Juliet. Given the context of the quote, it seems that the Friar is telling Romeo not to move too fast or too hard in love. Perhaps his fervor does not bode well for the relationship as it can make the love that is there burn out quickly. If he could love calmly and tamely, he would be safer. The word violent here seems to mean passionate. However, the word does foreshadow the violent end of the lovers' lives.

"A plague on both your houses!" ~ Mercutio

In this scene, Mercutio is cursing the Capulets and the Montagues. The violence and animosity between the two families has torn both of the families apart. So, when he says "A plague on both your houses." he means to curse the two families, not literally their houses.

"A greater power than we can contradict hath thwarted our plans." ~ Friar Laurence

This is the Friar's way of telling Juliet that their plans are ruined and Romeo is dead. It is unclear whether he speaks of a god or fate here, but he is clearly saying that a power that they are helpless against has messed up their plans to fake Juliet's death and bring the two lovers together again in life.

"O happy dagger! This is they sheath; there rust and let me die." ~ Juliet

Here, Juliet is not saying so much that the dagger is happy; but that she is happy it is there. This is the scene in which she sees her husband lying dead and decides to take her own life. The sheath she speaks of is her chest. So, she is saying, I am thrilled there is a dagger here, I am going to plunge it into myself and hope that it will rot there and succeed in killing me.

"But soft. What light through yonder window breaks?" ~ Romeo

In this scene, Romeo is speaking to himself. He is essentially saying, "Be quiet, a light is coming on in that window. I wonder who it is?" He later realizes it is Juliet.

"O I am fortune's fool." ~ Romeo

Romeo says this after the scene where he is driven to kill Tybalt to save himself. He is saying that he is a victim of fate, that he has been played a crappy hand by fate. In short, he is saying "That really sucks."

Macbeth Quote Translations

"Present fears are less than horrible imaginings." ~ Macbeth

In this scene, Macbeth fears for the future. This line is essentially him telling himself that what he is thinking is not worth fear for he does not know what the outcome will be. What he is afraid of in his mine are just thoughts.

"Come what come may. Time and hour run through the roughest day." ~ Macbeth

Taken in context, this is one of several mentions in this scene of leaving the future to chance. Macbeth does not want to worry, so he says, let what will happen, happen. Time goes by no matter how hard or happy the day.

"Screw your courage to the sticking place and we'll not fail." ~ Lady Macbeth

This is Lady Macbeth bullying her husband, essentially. He has misgivings about murdering Duncan. She is essentially saying, if you find your courage and hang on to it, we will succeed in this murder.

A Midsummer's Night Dream Quote Translations

"I'll put a girdle round about the earth in 40 minutes." ~ Puck

With this line, Puck (the troublemaker elf of the play) is saying he can travel around the entire world in 40 minutes.

"And yet, to say the truth, reason and love keep little company together nowadays." ~ Bottom

The meaning in this quote is rather clear, but it is a popular quote, so those who do not know the context may need to find the meaning. Here, the character Bottom is saying that people in love do not behave reasonably more often than not and vice versa.

"And those things do best please me that do befall preposterously." ~ Puck

Puck is saying here that he is happiest when ridiculous things happen. Order does not suit him.

So, here are a scant few popular Shakespeare quotes translated. Please feel free to leave comments in the comments section for other quotes you would like to see translated. However, there is no guarantee that the humor will be left out next time.

Shelly Barclay

Anonymous Quotes on Life and Relationships by an Unfamous Author

We usually do book reviews, talk about authors and other randomness. Therefore, I figured a little more randomness on Cracked Spines couldn't hurt. Here are some random anonymous quotes from an anonymous author. You know who you are and thanks for the quotes.

"Pain makes you selfish. You react to things in a way you normally would not when you are in pain. The problem is, loved ones who hurt you never see that and think that your selfishness is the root of the problem, not the pain that they cause."

"Marriage is like taking a professional dive from a high diving board. You either fully commit to the jump and land safely in the water, stop short and look like an idiot or flop as you leap and wind up bleeding and amnesiac on the way down. Nonetheless, it is better to look like an idiot than to get all the way to the end and have to figure out who you are all over again."

"When you love someone and that person betrays you, you go on loving that person, but acting like you hate him, so no one knows how much it hurt or you pretend like nothing happened. Either way, you look and feel like an ass."

"I never understood why so many writers kill themselves. If they are ever pissed off, sad or feeling crazy, they can just write stories in which they kill everyone that pisses them off, have a happy life and ramble on like a lunatic. They should always take great pains to ensure no one reads those stories, though, lest they get arrested or put in a loony bin. Still, it beats offing yourself. That being said, I am a writer, so I contemplate killing myself on a daily basis. In fact, my obsession with suicide is why I am writing this."

"Having a bad day at work does not make you depressed. Having a poorly functioning brain does."

"Inspiration is a cruel thing. When it is fantastic, it is either fleeting or it engulfs your entire life. When it is not so good, it convinces you that a piece of crap is brilliant."

"The people with the worst lives give the best advice, so quit knocking hypocrites. They know their sh*t."

Well, there have it, some uninspirational quotes from an unfamous, anonymous author. That is all for now.

Shelly Barclay

Quotes on Reading by Famous Authors

Writers are some of the most voracious readers in the world. That is because to love writing, you must first love to read. (I am sure someone else has said something similar. If not, feel free to quote me on that when I am a famous writer a.k.a. dead.) Writers also have a lot to say, so there is great deal of quotes from writers on reading. The following quotes are my favorites. (Too bad. If you were writing this, you could add your favorites, but you are not, so you are stuck with mine.) I have added why they are my favorites and what I think of them as well. Yes, it is my sole aim to bore you to death. If you have not been bored to death, feel free to leave what you think of these quotes in the comments section.

"Let us read and let us dance - two amusements that will never do any harm to the world." ~ Voltaire

I love this quote because I love to read and I love to dance. Of course, I only do the latter when no one is around. Believe me; it is best if the world is not subjected to what I think of as dancing. As for the second part of Voltaire's quote, I have to agree with him. Barring any future calamity that somehow causes reading and dancing to be world-altering events, both are pretty harmless in the great scheme of things.

"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." ~ Mark Twain

This is probably the wisest quote you will see in this article. It goes without saying that one who does not use an ability is on equal footing with those who do not possess the ability. Either could better themselves by using or developing the ability, so they are of equal potential as well.

"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." ~ Harper Lee

I have to admit that what I love most about this quote is that it comes from Harper Lee. I love that woman. The quote itself is something to which I cannot relate. I love to read, whether I feel I may lose "it" or not. I do relate to the idea that reading and breathing are equally essential. I cannot imagine a life without either.

"There is no such thing as a moral or immoral book; books are well written or badly written." ~ Oscar Wilde

I love this quote because it reminds me that some people really love to blame books for immoral things. The same is true for any work of art. However, the art itself is not immoral. Immorality only exists in humans and only for those who subscribe to the idea that there is such a thing as "morals."

"You don't have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them." ~ Ray Bradbury

Oh, Ray Bradbury. He is the Elvis of my bookshelf. Anyway, back on topic. This is absolutely right. Convince the masses that they do not have to read or that they should not read and you have lost all things written by and for those of that culture. Slowly, but surely, that culture will die. However, that is only true of cultures that rely on the written word. Some have flourished through oral histories.

"If you don't have time to read, you don't have time to write." ~ Stephen King

Stephen King has said a lot about writing, this being the quote that hit home the most for me. I truly do not think a person can or should write if they do not bother to read. Of course, I think the quote would be more fitting if it was, "If you don't have the time to read, please do not bother to write."

"We read to know we are not alone." ~ C.S. Lewis

While I do not agree with all of Mr. Lewis' quotes on reading, I do agree with this one. I am sure that every avid reader who stumbles on this article will be able to recall a time of loneliness when they turned to a book for company. Consciously or subconsciously, we seek friends and enemies in literature.

"How well he's read, to reason against reading." ~ William Shakespeare

Oh, Shakespeare. Thou art a master of sarcasm. That is why I love this quote. I love sarcasm.

"Easy reading is damn hard writing." Nathaniel Hawthorne

I have read some books that are damn easy to read and I appreciate the fact that they must have been difficult to right. The reason that I can appreciate that is, in my opinion, I have never been able to accomplish easy reading in all my years of writing.

"The difference between literature and journalism is that journalism is unreadable and literature is not read." ~ Oscar Wilde

What an astute observation, Mr. Wilde. While this quote does not hold true for all, it does hold true for many. Too often, I have met people who read the veriest slop from the keyboards of journalist and argue until their face turns blue. All the while, these people do not bother with literature, including history book, books on society, etc. Such people are doomed to be spouters of propaganda. I love this quote because I have to deal with such people everyday.

"A book must be an ice axe to break the seas frozen inside our soul." ~ Franz Kafka

I think I just like this quote because it is beautiful in Kafka's depressing way. I think what he is trying to say here is that a book must touch us, else it is unworthy and easily forgotten.

Well, that is it for great quotes from great writers for now. Perhaps I will add to this list further down the line with a part two. If you know of any great quotes on reading from great writers, please feel free to add them in the comments section.

Shelly Barclay

Shakespeare Quotes Translated

I was taking a gander at some Shakespeare today when I realized that he made everything sound much more significant than it really was. I mean, you can take any Shakespeare quote and take it out of his phrasing and it sounds, well, like crap. That was the beauty of Shakespeare. Read on to see what I mean.

Shakespeare: "Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry" ~ From Hamlet

Translation: "Don't borrow or lend money. Whether you borrow or lend it, you will probably get screwed. Also, loans mess up the economy." (I am not sure on the last bit. He could have meant, "Loans make it harder to breed animals properly" or "Loans make it harder to get married.")

Shakespeare: "The lady doth protest too much." ~ From Hamlet

Translation: "God, she whines a lot." or "Her protestations lead me to believe that she is hiding something."

Shakespeare: "Brevity is the soul of wit." ~ From Hamlet

Translation: "If the joke isn't short, it isn't funny."

Shakespeare: "When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions." ~ From Hamlet

Translation: "When the going gets tough, it keeps getting tougher."

Shakespeare: "The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool." ~ From As You Like It

Translation: "It takes a smart man to know he is an idiot."

Shakespeare: "Tempt not a desperate man." ~ From Romeo and Juliet

Translation: "It's not nice to bring beer to an AA meeting."

Shakespeare: "For you and I are past our dancing days." ~ From Romeo and Juliet

Translation: "We're old."

Shakespeare: "A plague on both your houses." ~ From Romeo and Juliet

Translation: "I hope both of you and both of your families die horrible deaths."

Shakespeare: "O my love, my wife! Death, that hath suck'd the honey of thy breath
Hath had no power yet upon thy beauty." ~ From Romeo and Juliet

Translation: "Even though I think you're dead, I still think you're hot."

Shakespeare: "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall." ~ From The Merchant of Venice

Translation: "How good of a person you are has no bearing on how successful you will be."

Shakespeare: "As he was valiant, I honor him; but, as he was ambitious, I slew him." ~ From Julius Caesar

Translation: "I liked him, but he was getting greedy, so I had to off him." (Sounds like a line out of The Sopranos.)

Shakespeare: "There's daggers in men's smiles."

Translation: "Just because he's smiling, does not mean he will not shank you."

All translations are my own. Be advised that I only speak limited Shakespearean, so don't expect this list to be relevant or useful. (Like how I saved that for the end?)

Shelly Barclay