The Saucy Wenches Book Club

“Garbage is a window to a person’s soul. A bit like their internet browsing history, but a whole lot smellier”... ~ Megan Goldin, Stay Awake

“To effectively contain a civilization’s development and disarm it across such a long span of time, there is only one way: kill its science.” ~ Liu Cixin, The Three Body Problem

“A world where people loved and valued books and learning so much that they were willing to die for them. Can you imagine what such a civilization was like?” ~ Sarah J. Maas, House of Flame and Shadow

“Did she predict the defeat of the armada, or did she somehow bring it about? There is a fine line between a saint and a witch, and I wonder if you are prepared to walk it.” ~ Leigh Bardugo, The Familiar

“Of all the good things.” He grasps my hips as I roll them into his. “Of all the good things I’ve felt in my fucking life, you are the best.” ~ Ali Hazelwood, Bride

Perhaps the eternal chain of being was not a chain at all but a ring, one life not ending where the other begins but all souls overlapping. ~ Lauren Groff, The Vaster Wilds

“You were such a lonely little girl, weren’t you? Whispering to grass. Befriending sticks. Dreaming yourself into movies and books. Every screen, every page, like a door to another world, remember?” ~ Mona Awad, Rouge

“Wherever you are, the richness and complexity and inexhaustible, unplumbable thereness of the whole rushes in through your eyes and your ears and your nose and across your skin. Every single thing around you is right there and so are you. The teeming world is right there, and all of it is neither good nor bad, it just is.” ~ Naomi Alderman, The Future

“How are you so smart?” I asked, suddenly confronting myself with the fact that a cat was typing and understood theories of class and labor. “No offense, but your brain is the size of a walnut.” HOW ARE SO MANY HUMANS SO UNINTELLIGENT? Hera typed back. THEY HAVE BRAINS THE SIZE OF SEVERAL WALNUTS. ~ John Scalzi, Starter Villain

To let the infotainment bath of the day stream over you was to slowly scrub away at the skin of your own humanity. ~ Stephen Markley, The Deluge

There’s a gaping hole in my memory from the moment I answered the phone on my desk on what was definitely a blue-sky summer’s day until the moment I woke on the park bench this morning to the biting chill of an approaching winter. ~ Megan Goldin, Stay Awake

Turn your face up to the sky. Listen. The world is trembling into possibility. The world is reminding us that this is what the world does best. New life. Rebirth. The greenness that rises out of ashes. ~ Margaret Renkl, The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year

The HubSystem that controlled their habitat, that they were dependent on for food, shelter, filtered air, and water, was trying to kill them. And in their corner all they had was Murderbot, who just wanted everyone to shut up and leave it alone so it could watch the entertainment feed all day. ~ Martha Wells, All Systems Red ( The Murderbot Diaries #1)

“There are things far worse than death. Like her when she’s annoyed.” He jerked his chin in my direction. “She likes to stab things then. But when she gets angry? You’ll see exactly what a god is capable of.” The Priest’s eyes darted to me, and I smiled tightly. “I do get stabby. And I’m already annoyed by a whole list of things.” ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout, The War of Two Queens

That’s the thing about revolutions—you typically can’t see them while they’re happening. They’re usually met with more suspicion than belief. And they’re only really solidified and celebrated in hindsight. Maybe it’s the scientist in me, but I’d like to believe that we’re in the middle of a revolution that will only be recognizable in years to come. ~ Christine Blasey Ford, One Way Back: A Memoir

The truth may be stretched thin, but it never breaks, and it always surfaces above lies, as oil floats on water. ~ Laura Shepherd-Robinson, The Square of Sevens

“Yes?” he asked. “Fuck me like a god,” she said. “If you wish it,” he said. “I wish it.” ~ Scarlett St. Clair, A Touch of Chaos

“So what do you like to watch on television?” I ask, hoping she’ll take the hint. She frowns like I offended her. “I prefer to read.” “That’s great! What do you like to read?” “Books.” “What kind of books?” “The kind with words.” ~ Freida McFadden, The Housemaid

“What I am is an adult woman with agency and the tools to make choices. Feel free to, you know, treat me accordingly.” ~ Ali Hazelwood, Bride

“A person’s troubles are not measured by the size of those troubles, but by how much they weigh on the individual carrying them.” ~ Jessica George, Maame

“I hope your dogs are all loyal and goofy and good-natured and that your chickens remain free of demons.” ~ T. Kingfisher, Nettle & Bone

“The people we love help teach us who we are. The best versions of who we are, if we’re lucky.” ~ Katherine Center, The Bodyguard

“I loved school! I loved reading. But we only got three days a week, if that. It was always being canceled because of a heat wave, a blackout, or teacher shortages. Your generation is so fortunate. Stability is one of those luxuries that people most often take for granted.” ~ Nick Fuller Googins, The Great Transition

The gift of the equinox, the day when there are as many hours of light as of darkness, is the gift of Janus, of looking ahead even as we look behind. ~ Margaret Renkl, The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year

“Humans have the memories of gnats. Dragons hold grudges.” ~ Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame

There was a point, when he was younger, where he’d dreamed of understanding grown-up conversation. Now he could, and realized he’d overestimated it. ~ Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind

It takes courage to let down your armor, to welcome people to see you as you are. Sometimes I feel the same as you: I can’t risk having people behold me as I truly am. But there’s also a small voice in the back of my mind, a voice that tells me, “You will miss so much by being so guarded.” ~ Rebecca Ross, Divine Rivals

“Words define us, they explain us, and, on occasion, they serve to control or isolate us.” ~ Pip Williams, The Dictionary of Lost Words

“So now what?” I said. “Neither of us can get that gun, and if you try to attack me my cat will murder you.” “I’m thinking,” Jacobs said. “You’re bleeding,” I said. “I can do both.” ~ John Scalzi, Starter Villain

“Violence against nature always goes hand in hand with violence against people.” ~ Stephen Markley, The Deluge

I like to see books spread out on a table like a banquet. Every time I pass by, I’m tempted to sit down and begin something delicious, or to pick up where I left off the last time I played hooky from work, the work that colonizes most of the rooms in our own house. ~ Margaret Renkl, The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year

“There’s no such thing as being an observer. Doing nothing is doing something. Being passive has consequences.” ~ Megan Goldin, Stay Awake

Cleon looked at [his reflection in] the mirror again and thought he looked a bit better if he did not actualize the third dimension. ~ Isaac Asimov, Forward the Foundation

It is a moral failure to miss the profound beauty of the world, said the voice in her mind. Yes, she said aloud, for now she did see the sin in full. ~ Lauren Groff, The Vaster Wilds

“Light matters just as much as darkness. Play matters as much as work, and kindness matters as much as cruelty, and hope matters as much as despair. More so, even. Because tragedy is a given, but joy is a choice.” ~ Katherine Center, Hello Stranger

“What if none of this is real? What if there was never a Transition, and this is one big quantum simulation to see what would’ve happened if the world had rallied together to overcome the worst of the Crisis?” ~ Nick Fuller Googins, The Great Transition

“Now I don’t fucking care who you are, so long as you’re mine.” Her eyes shot to his, again full of surprise. “Because I’m yours, Day. I’m fucking yours.” ~ Sarah J. Maas, House of Flame and Shadow

Winter is when I reorganise my bookshelves and read all the books I acquired in the previous year and failed to actually read. It is also the time when I reread beloved novels, for the pleasure of reacquainting myself with old friends. ~ Katherine May, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times

“It’s a leap of faith to love people and let yourself be loved. It’s closing your eyes, stepping off a ledge into nothing, and trusting that you’ll fly rather than fall. And I know you will. It might not be right now, but I know you. Sooner or later, you’ll fly.” ~ Sangu Mandanna, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Ruth had learned only one thing from the current reality, and it was that everything held together by tacit agreement that it would. All it took to unravel something was one party deciding to do just that. There was no real structure to prevent chaos. There was only a collective faith in order. ~ Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind

“What a stupid melodramatic thing for her to do. What a goddamn Danielle Steel move, Nic! If this were a novel, I’d stop reading right now. I’d throw it across the room.” ~ Gabrielle Zevin, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

“Strength—real strength—is not doing what someone asks you, necessarily. Strength is turning up every day to a situation that is intolerable, unbearable even, just to support the people you love.” ~ Jojo Moyes, Someone Else’s Shoes

“Be warned, a heart is not like the battery you used to have. It’s stong, but fragile. It will lift you up. It will ache without reason. You’ll find yourself feeling things you never thought possible. A heart changes everything.” ~ T.J. Klune, In the Lives of Puppets

“Dad always tried to tell us.” Brennan’s voice softens. “In a world of dragon riders, gryphon fliers, and dark wielders...” “It’s the scribes who hold all the power.” ~ Rebecca Yarros, Iron Flame

“Ever since I’ve met you, I’ve wanted to break every rule.” Aiden turned away, the muscles in his neck tensing. He sighed. “You’ll become the centre of someone’s world one day. And he’ll be the luckiest son of a bitch on this earth.” ~ Jennifer L. Armentrout, Pure

Trouble has smelled like a lot of things in my life. A job gone wrong. A one-way street I never should have turned down. A man in faded Levi’s with a smile that broke my heart half a dozen times and loved it back together again. ~ Deanna Raybourn, Killers of a Certain Age

“The gods know what would happen if all us females were unsupervised. Absolute anarchy. Cities would crumble.” ~ Sarah J. Maas, House of Flame and Shadow

“Ah, but that’s the most important challenge of them all,” Jack said as he set his mug aside on the fireplace mantel. “You can’t win until you face your fears. Until you face your fears, your fears are winning.” ~ Meg Shaffer, The Wishing Game

“It’s okay if we turned entire cities full of people into nuclear ash, but the idea of monsters having a nibble afterward was just too much.” ~ John Scalzi, The Kaiju Preservation Society

“You can’t make people love you. But you can give the love you long for out to the world. You can be the love you wish you had. That’s the way to be okay. Because giving love to other people is a way of giving it to yourself.” ~ Katherine Center, The Bodyguard