I have all the books I could need, and what more could I need than books? Catherynne M. Valente More Quotes by Catherynne M. Valente More Quotes From Catherynne M. Valente That stirring which had fluttered in her on first glimpsing the sea—that stirring landlocked children know so well—moved in her now, with the golden stars over head, and the green fireflies glinting on the wooded shore. She carefully unfolded the stirring that she had so tightly packed away. It billowed out like a sail, and she laughed, despite herself, despite hunger and hard things ahead. Catherynne M. Valente firefly stars children Her heart ached as though a knife had quietly slipped between her ribs. Catherynne M. Valente ribs knives heart Even if you’ve taken off every stitch of clothing, you still have your secrets, your history, your true name. It’s hard to be really naked. You have to work hard at it. Just getting into a bath isn’t being naked, not really. It’s just showing skin. Catherynne M. Valente hard-work taken life I have terrible nightmares, you know. Every night when I come home from a long day’s dying, I take off my skin and lay it nicely on my armoire. I take off my bones and hang them up on the hatstand. I set my scythe to washing on the old stove. I eat a nice supper of mouse-and-myrrh soup. Some nights I drink off a nice red wine. White does not agree with me. I lay myself down on a bed of lilies and still, I cannot sleep. Catherynne M. Valente nice wine home Death is not a checkmate…it is more like a carnival trick. You cannot win, no matter how you move your Queen. Catherynne M. Valente queens winning moving Truly, Autumn is my season,” the scarlet beast chorted. “Spring and Summer and Winter all begin with such late letters! But Autumn and Fall, I have loved best, because they are best to love. Catherynne M. Valente summer spring fall Humanity lived many years and ruled the earth, sometimes wisely, sometimes well, but mostly neither. Catherynne M. Valente humanity earth years She liked anything orange: leaves; some moons; marigolds; chrysanthemums; cheese; pumpkin, both in pie and out; orange juice; marmalade. Orange is bright and demanding. You can't ignore orange things. She once saw an orange parrot in the pet store and had never wanted anything so much in her life. She would have named it Halloween and fed it butterscotch. Her mother said butterscotch would make a bird sick and, besides, the dog would certainly eat it up. September never spoke to the dog again — on principle. Catherynne M. Valente halloween dog mother Never trust anyone under one hundred! Catherynne M. Valente never-trust-anyone never-trust hundred I wouldn't even consider it if I were you. But then if I were you, I would not be me, and if I were not me, I would not be able to advise you, and if I were unable to advise you, you'd do as you like, so you might as well do as you like and have done with it. Catherynne M. Valente able done might All children are heartless. They have not grown a heart yet, which is why they can climb tall trees and say shocking things and leap so very high that grown-up hearts flutter in terror. Hearts weigh quite a lot. That is why it takes so long to grow one. But, as in their reading and arithmetic and drawing, different children proceed at different speeds. (It is well known that reading quickens the growth of a heart like nothing else.) Some small ones are terrible and fey, Utterly Heartless. Some are dear and sweet and Hardly Heartless at all. Catherynne M. Valente reading sweet children Readers will always insist on adventures, and though you can have grief without adventures, you cannot have adventures without grief. Catherynne M. Valente reader grief adventure She did not want to read this book from start to finish, or rather, she thought perhaps it did not want her to. Instead she practiced the art of bibliomancy, trusting the book to show her what it wanted her to know. Catherynne M. Valente want book art What is the world but a boxing ring where fools and devils put up their fists? Catherynne M. Valente devil boxing world She was not filled up with the sight of him, the way she had seen her sisters fill up, like silk balloons, like wineskins. Instead, he seemed to land heavily within her, like a black stone falling. Catherynne M. Valente filled-up sight fall Perhaps all a Tsaritsa is is a beautiful cold girl in the snow, looking down at someone wretched, and not yielding. Catherynne M. Valente girl snow beautiful And as we watched, the Tsar of Death lifted up his eyelids like skirts and began to dance in the streets of Leningrad. Catherynne M. Valente leningrad eyelids skirts Such lonely, lost things you find on your way. It would be easier, if you were the only one lost. But lost children always find each other, in the dark, in the cold. It is as though they are magnetized and can only attract their like. How I would like to lead you to brave, stalwart friends who would protect you and play games with dice and teach you delightful songs that have no sad endings. If you would only leave cages locked and turn away from unloved Wyverns, you could stay Heartless. Catherynne M. Valente lonely song love Because I’m a cat. A big one, the Panther of Rough Storms, in fact. But still a cat. If there’s a saucer of milk to spill, I’d rather spill it than let it lie. If my mistress grows absent-minded and leaves a ball of yarn about, I’ll bat it between my paws, and unravel it. Because it’s fun. Because it’s what cats do best. Catherynne M. Valente cat fun lying I believe we have an utterly unique specimen on our hands: a child who listens. Catherynne M. Valente unique believe children
