The Saucy Wenches Book Club

Sherlock Holmes once said that “the chief proof of man’s real greatness lies in his perception of his own smallness.” My smallness had been driven home. Now to be great. ~ Death & Desire , Deborah Wilde

“Harrow,” said Gideon, “if my heart had a dick you would kick it.” ~ Tamsyn Muir, Gideon the Ninth

“I love Tolkien,” she said quietly. It felt oddly freeing to be honest with someone. Most of the kids at her last school had cared more about movies and music than books. “And Herbert.” “ Dune was amazing. ‘Fear is the mind-killer.’ It’s so true, man.” “And Stranger in a Strange Land . That’s kinda how I feel here.” “You should. Nothing is normal in the last frontier. There’s a town up north that has a dog for a mayor.” ~ Kristin Hannah, The Great Alone

A successful lie is not fueled by the liar; it is fueled by the willingness of the listener to believe. You can’t expose a lie without first shattering the will to believe it. That is why leading people to truth is so much more effective than merely telling them. ~ Neal Shusterman, The Toll ( Arc of a Scythe #3)

Choosing a lover is a lot like choosing a therapist. We need to ask ourselves, is this someone who will be honest with me, listen to criticism, admit making mistakes, and not promise the impossible? ― Alex Michaelides, The Silent Patient

“We must believe in our souls that we are somebody, that we are significant, that we are worthful, and we must walk the streets of life every day with this sense of dignity and this sense of somebody-ness.” ~ Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys

“Manners are not like bonbons, Nina. You may not choose the ones that suit you best; and you certainly cannot put the half-bitten ones back in the box....” ~ Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow

“I think,” Hoa says slowly, “that if you love someone, you don’t get to choose how they love you back.” ~ N.K. Jemisin, The Stone Sky ( Broken Earth #3)

“A reader lives many lives.... The person who doesn’t read lives but one. But if you’re happy just doing what you’re told and reading what other people think you should read, then don’t let me stop you. I just find it sad.” ~ Grady Hendrix, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

“As Lisa Simpson once said, ‘It’s better to remain silent and be thought as a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.’ So I remained silent.” ~ Jodi Taylor, Just One Damned Thing After Another

Let’s face it, a lot of times love doesn’t work out. Yet even when it fails, it connects you to others and, in the end, that is all you have, the connections. ~ Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine , Gail Honeyman

“...you don’t stop loving a person when they’re hurt. You get stronger so they can lean on you.” ~ Kristin Hannah, The Great Alone

“The ability to tell your own story, in words or images, is already a victory, already a revolt.” ~ Rebecca Solnit, Men Explain Things to Me

“Sometimes she craved a little danger. And that was why she had book club.” ~ Grady Hendrix, The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires

“Life offers up these moments of joy despite everything” ― Sally Rooney, Normal People

“It occurs to me that maybe desire isn’t something overindulging helps. Maybe...I took a killing dose when I should have been poisoning myself slowly, one kiss at a time.” ― Holly Black, The Wicked King

She had to follow the flame in her heart. The flame the tree had given her. The realization of what she had to do carved pieces from her soul. She tasted salt on her lips. Tears ran down to her chin and fell in fat drops. ~ Samantha Shannon, The Priory of the Orange Tree