The Saucy Wenches Book Club

“Are we going for an anchor or a compass? A memory to ground you, or a spark to guide you forward?” ~ Becky Chambers, A Closed and Common Orbit ( Wayfarers #2)

“Having someone care about you makes you want to give a shit, especially if you’re having trouble caring about yourself.” ~ Kate Racculia, Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts

“Children know everything about beauty,” Titch countered softly. “It is adults who have forgotten.” ~ Esi Edugyan, Washington Black

“You shouldn’t listen to him, Aunt. He’s a pirate.” “Nonsense, dear. I would not be caught dead talking to a pirate.” “But Aunt, have you not noticed his earring? Boots? The extensive collection of weaponry about his person?” Miss Plim sniffed. “A lady does not look at a man’s person, Charlotte.” ~ India Holton, The League of Gentlewomen Witches ( Dangerous Damsels #2)

“She wondered whether there would ever come an hour in her life when she didn't think of him – didn’t speak to him in her head, didn’t relive every moment they’d been together, didn’t long for his voice and his hands and his love. She had never dreamed of what it would feel like to love someone so much; of all the things that had astonished her in her adventures, that was what astonished her the most. She thought the tenderness it left in her heart was like a bruise that would never go away, but she would cherish it forever.” ~ Philip Pullman, The Amber Spyglass

I don’t know anything, other than that it’s only when something’s damaged beyond repair that we realize how beautiful it was. ~ Rosie Walsh, The Love of My Life

“They say you really appreciate a garden only once you reach a certain age, and I suppose there is a truth in that. It’s probably something to do with the great circle of life. There seems to be something miraculous about seeing the relentless optimism of new growth after the bleakness of winter, a kind of joy in the difference every year, the way nature chooses to show off different parts of the garden to its full advantage.” ~ Jojo Moyes, Me Before You

“Really, there was nothing more dangerous than a woman who knew her own worth.” ~ Olivie Blake, The Atlas Six

“History, memory is by definition fiction. Once an event is no longer present, but remembered, it is narrative. And we can choose the narratives we tell—about our own lives, our own stories, our own relationships. We can choose the chapters we give meaning.” ~ Rebecca Serle, One Italian Summer

“You know, I read somewhere that sixty percent of us can’t go more than ten minutes without lying. Little slippages: to make ourselves sound better, more attractive, to others. White lies to avoid causing offence. So it’s not like I’ve done anything out of the ordinary. It’s only human.” ~ Lucy Foley, The Paris Apartment

“I could tell by the way you looked at her, she was something real special.” “How did I look at her?” He was afraid to find out. “Ah, son. Like a summer day showing up after a hundred years of winter.” ~ Tessa Bailey, Hook, Line, and Sinker

“You kiss him and next thing you know he’s saving your ass and he’s buying you scones and calling you a smart-ass in a weirdly affectionate tone.” ~ Ali Hazelwood, The Love Hypothesis

Life was never a matter of one decision alone. Life was just a bunch of tiny steps, one after another, each a conclusion that lead to a dozen questions more. She still had no idea what she was going to do about her job, or her crew, or anything else. But she knew where she was headed now, and that wasn’t nothing. ~ Becky Chambers, The Galaxy, and the Ground Within

I wanted to tell the man that everyone alive on this fluke little planet was on the spectrum. That’s what a spectrum is. I wanted to tell the man that life itself is a spectrum disorder, where each of us vibrated at some unique frequency in the continuous rainbow. ~ Richard Powers, Bewilderment

“There are several kinds of happiness, Washington. Sometimes it is not for us to choose, or even understand, the one granted us.” ~ Esi Edugyan, Washington Black

“I do not understand men.” That made him chuckle, deep in his chest. “Yes, ye do, Sassenach. Ye only wish ye didn’t.” ~ Diana Gabaldon, A Breath of Snow and Ashes

“We all matter, and no one should feel like they can’t ask for help when they need it. If someone says they’re hurting, please listen. Please take them seriously. Please be kind. If you’re hurting, please be kind to yourself.” ~ Helen Hoang, The Heart Principle

“Someone should tell you you’re beautiful every time the sun comes up. Someone should tell you you’re beautiful on Wednesdays. And at teatime. Someone should tell you you’re beautiful on Christmas Day and Christmas Eve and the evening before Christmas Eve, and on Easter. He should tell you on Guy Fawkes Night and on New Year’s, and on the eigth of August, just because.” ~ Dana Schwartz, Anatomy: A Love Story

“Our love is stronger than time, greater than any distance. Our love spans across stars and worlds. I will find you again, I promise.” ~ Sarah J. Maas, House of Sky and Breath