“Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hand unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes, A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life." -Romeo & Juliet, Shakespeare “It's so simple, in a way, I mean, two young people fall in lo…

"Live like a hero. That is what the classics teach us. Be a main character. Otherwise, what is life for?" - J.M. Coetzee Jenn Weinheimer says these lines "remind me that we can't just passively check the boxes in life and consider that a life. Elizabeth imploring Paul to "live [his] life so that someone might want to put [him] in a book" is a remin…

"Please follow your heart, win or lose."- J.D. Salinger When Robert Graham was in his early 20s, he read J.D. Salinger's novella “Seymour: An Introduction” and felt compelled to copy down a few lines on a notepad. He then folded up that piece of paper and stuck it in his wallet, where it’s been for the past 30 years. As a classically trained musici…

"You become responsible forever for what you've tamed." - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry "This line jumped out at me when I read The Little Prince for the first time in French and again, when I read the English translation. The beauty of the line and the lesson from the fox has continued to resonate with me throughout my life. - Mei Ling Mei is a lifelon…

"No one can love you the way a mother can. No one can hurt you the way a mother can." - T Kira Madden "Has this book changed the way I look at motherhood? I would say, absolutely, 100%, and that's probably one of the reasons I like it so much." - Michelle Leung As a librarian with a talent for reading an entire book in a few hours, Michelle says T …

"But that's the way it works in fairy tales, too, isn't it? Something always goes wrong, or there wouldn't be a story. You have to be strong, you have to earn your happily ever after." -From Dreams Underfoot by Charles de Lint “Of course the whole story is beautiful, but I believe that fairy tales are supposed to have a lesson at the end ... and in…

“For to wish to forget how much you loved someone - and then, to actually forget - can feel, at times, like the slaughter of a beautiful bird who chose, by nothing short of grace, to make a habitat of your heart.” From Bluets by Maggie Nelson. “I was so affected by this book, that I held it against my chest and I hugged it.” - Honey Lapcharoen As a…

"If there were no thunder, men would have little fear of lightning." From Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. “This was one of the first adult novels I ever read - and loved - after reading an MG (middle grade) version of it. I kind of attribute it to starting my love of adventure stories.” -Rob Shapiro Rob Shapiro is a writer who…