Favorite Quotes of 2013

In no particular order, here is a list of my favorite quotes from various books I read in 2013 (many of which were school assignments for Ruth, in case you're wondering why so many juvenile stories. They are beautiful stories, though, and I'm so glad I had the opportunity to read or reread them. I also read plenty of books that just weren't all that quotable. And, I read The Book Thief, which was my favorite book of the year, filled with so many beautiful words and passages that I couldn't pick just one for this list):

"…he who knows a bit of everything, knows nothing. But he who knows a little bit well, knows much of all." --Crispin: The Cross of Lead, Avi

"I suspect the truth is that we are waiting, all of us, against insurmountable odds, for something extraordinary to happen to us." --And the Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini

"Being happy takes a lot of practice, don't you think?" --Carry On Mr. Bowditch, Jean Lee Latham

"There is one plan which no one has yet suggested and which is well worth trying…We might all try minding our own business." --The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis

"Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed." --The Magician's Nephew, C. S. Lewis

"It is better to have crooked legs than a crooked spirit. We can only do the best we can with what we have. That, after all, is the measure of success: what we do with what we have." --The Door in the Wall, Marguerite de Angeli

"…what was the meaning of a man's life if it did not make the way better for those that came after him?" --Amos Fortune: free man, Elizabeth Yates

"Learning many different things in different ways allows the brain to make comparisons, with the result that we learn even more." --The Core, Leigh Bortins

"Simplicity is eloquent; it speaks loud and clear without insulting the intelligence of the listener." --Be a People Person: Effective Leadership Through Effective Relationships, John C. Maxwell

"When new beautiful thoughts began to push out the old hideous ones, life began to come back to him, his blood ran healthily through his veins and strength poured into him like a flood." --The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett