Book worms

[justfornow]

 

So I'm going to be a bit of a word nerd for a moment.

Last night, I ran across this site called Untranslatable, which is dedicated to foreign words that require sentences, paragraphs, or pages to explain their meaning. It got me thinking about my favorite words like that:

1. waldeinsamkeit: the feeling of being alone in the woods

2. saudade: a vague and constant desire for something that does not and probably cannot exist, for something other than the present, a turning towards the past or towards the future; not an active discontent or poignant sadness but an indolent dreaming wistfulness.

And then after that I got to thinking about my favorite lines from fiction:

1. It's not the first time he's looked at someone and thought forever, but it's the first time that 'forever' meant something greater than just a frozen, crystalline present.
-And Play A Favorite Song by linzeestyle . This is one of those lines that has stuck with me ever since I first read it over a year ago. Last night, I was going through my delicious and reading a few Kradam stories under my "ftw" tag. I've been craving good Kradam for a long time and I remembered that one, so I decided to read it. It's not my favorite plot ever (I prefer lots of angst and then they get together near the end instead of toward the beginning), but the writing is fantastic. And then I got to that line again and nearly died. It's just so beautiful.

2. He feels like he just jumped off a merry-go-around— he’s standing still, but the world is still spinning like mad all around him.
-This is also from a Kradam story, referring to Kris. I don't remember which fic it was, but I saved it in the notes on my computer.

3. 
"I Wanna Hold Your Hand.' First single. Fucking brilliant. Perhaps the most fucking brilliant song ever written. Because they nailed it. That's what everyone wants. Not 24-7 hot wet sex. Not a marriage that lasts a hundred years. Not a Porsche or a blow job or a million-dollar crib. No. They wanna hold your hand. They have such a feeling that they can't hide. Every single successful love song of the past fifty years can be traced back to 'I Wanna Hold Your Hand.'And every single successful love story has those unbearable and unbearably exciting moments of hand-holding. Trust me. I've thought a lot about this."
"'I Wanna Hold Your Hand,'" I repeat.
"And so you are, my friend. So you are." 
-From Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, the book. I'm pretty sure I've flailed about this passage before but it's just so brilliant. I'm pretty sure I've thought about it at least once a week ever since I first read it about 4 years ago.

ETA: I forgot to mention this, which is weird, because it might be my favorite one of all.
4. "Love doesn't break hearts, fear does."
-Adam in Sick Cycle Carousel by fakeplasticsnow. Just. Jesus.

Also:
5. "The human body is beautiful because it's artwork without an artist. It's spontaneous -- it's beautiful whether we appreciate it or not."
-Another Adam quote. I don't remember which fic this was from. But. Ugh. <3


I absolutely love when you're reading something and you come across a line that sticks with you forever. It's one of the greatest feelings ever. 

Comments

[untiltimeends.livejournal.com]

XD Thanks.

I'm not sure where I first heard that word, but it is so lovely. <3 I think saudade is probably my favorite word, though, because I just connect to it a lot. But I guess I also connect to waldeinsamkeit a lot, too, now that I think about it. XD Why, oh why, does English have to be such a lame language? I don't think we have any really awesome, hard-to-explain words. That being said, I think my favorite word that isn't foreign is "shenanigan." Haha. It just has a nice ring to it.

You need to read it. Even though that quote is the best part of the book, the entire thing is amazing.