Quotes

Where  there is love, mistakes are forgiven. – What Life Took From Me

Don’t allow other people’s issues to become your own. – Tika Sumpter

A woman always knows when she incites desire in a man. – What Life Took From Me

Too many details smell like lies. – Brave Woman

Sometimes, death is preferable to the agony of life. – ARROW

Dreaming carries no risks. The dangerous thing is trying to transform your dreams into reality.- Paulo Coelho

I want you to know. I need you to know. Not choosing me is OK. – Scandal

Everyone has something to hide. We  can’t just expose all our secrets to the world. That’s how we get hurt. It’s how we risk hurting other people. We have to decide how much we let out and keep the truth to ourselves. – Greys Anatomy

Feelings don’t care about time. – La Malquerida

True Power hides in plain sight. – Scandal

There is a difference between a man with ambition and a man who enjoys doing nothing with his life. – Cathy Williams

The life we end up getting depends entirely on the moves we make. – Cathy Williams

It is when life is at its most demanding that we must seek inner peace. Your own ability for  quiet reflection can be an oasis in the storm of life. – Balfour Legacy

Love is not found; it’s created and then held onto. Love is a decision. – Paul Hudson

Writing is the best way to talk without being interrupted. – Jules Renard

People tell you who they are but we don’t listen. Because we want them to be who we want them to be. – Mad Men

To love with an open mind is to love with an open heart. – Elite Daily

We don’t fall in love with someone who makes us happy. Sometimes, we fall in love with someone who makes us suffer. – Fearless Heart

Quotes.

I have been reading a lot lately; it is my pastime especially when it is a slow day at work. Most of these quotes and passages are from books I have read and my favourite shows. If they are mushy, blame it on the novels. I haven’t read a serious novel since The Fault In Our Stars? No, that’s not true. I returned to the author who got me hooked on to novels- Danielle Steel. And if you know her stuff she is as serious as they come. So serious that I first prepared myself by reading Five Days In Paris; a book I read in my teens before delving into her latest books.

“A beautiful woman alone is always vulnerable”- Anne Mather
“I’m the kind of girl who likes company. When traveling through hell.” – Fearless Heart
“Fear tells you where the edge is. Fear is a good thing.” - Gotham
“Torture is an art form. It is a skill you cultivate.” – ARROW
“Passion is a storm not love.”- Windeck
“The unloved and unlovely of this world are often invisible to those of affluence.” – Dorothy Clark
“Lust is not love, and passion can turn cold when expectations are not met, when deeply set needs are not answered.” – Sandra Marton
“It’s a wonder I haven’t abandoned all my ideals. They seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.” – Anne Frank (Echoes)
“Whoever saves one life, saves a world entire.” – Talmud (Echoes)
“When they act like you mean nothing to them, it means they are madly in love with you.” – Danielle Steel (Echoes)
“I wanted you to know that I love you, in case something happens to me when I go back. I want you to know that this man loves you, and will love you till the day he dies.” – Danielle Steel
“The important things were never easy. That is what made them important.” – Danielle Steel
“Some griefs are not meant to be shared.” – Danielle Steel
“Language could be every bit as filled with subtle textures that hold concealed messages as art.” – Penny Jordan

Echoes – Danielle Steel
Fearless Heart – Telenovela
Windeck – African Telenovela

The Kiss.

One never knows what they are going to come across once they go through old stuff. Like this poem from a Danielle Steel novel of the same title I read a couple of years ago. The unofficial book club I belong to hates Danielle Steel but I love her. I think that her novels make one aware of the tragedies of life and that it isn't a bed of roses.

A single moment,
etched in time,
shining brightly,
like a star in a midnight sky,
an eon, an instant,
a million years pressed into one,
when all stands still
and life explodes into infinite dreams,
and all is changed forever more,
in the blink of an eye.
                    -Danielle Steel

For someone who had an untroubled childhood (I read a bit of her memoirs) she is such a sad soul. I cannot honestly say that I have read a book of hers where I came away with the feeling of warmth and fuzziness in my heart, though the endings are usually as good as expected. My knowledge of literary works may not be so vast for me to say this but, it is rare to find an author of general fiction with most of her work steeped in sadness and sorrow.
I have had the pleasure of reading most of her work and going through the poem from ‘The Kiss’ reminded me of how long it has been since I read anything from her. The last books I remember reading were HRH (Her Royal Highness) and Bachelors. I should pluck up the courage and delve into some of her latest offerings and share poems I come across. I love that sort of thing.

The Best Advice I Ever Received.

My second foray into the Writers Challenge. I have been too under the weather to participate in the previous ones.
Day 10: The Best Advice I Ever Received.
 If memory serves, the best advice I ever received is something I have been carrying out for the longest time – ever since it was given me to date.

‘Whenever you’re reading a book, take note of quotes and passages that speak to you.’ – Uncle Abidan
I come from a family of readers and I myself are one. My uncle Abidan found me reading a Jeffrey Archer one day and passed on that piece of advice. He said it is something he used to do as a young man with good sight and one never forgets a quote or a passage they have read for there are situations that always bring them to memory.
Ever since that day, I find it odd reading a book without noting a passage or quote that speaks to me. I’m more of a literature connoisseur now instead of someone who used to read simply for the pleasure and fun of it. I even note quotes from some of my favourite shows on television and movies. This is why there are so many posts on quotes and passages here and the reason why my reading taste is eclectic.
This piece of advice resonated and stayed with me so much so that it is the only one I seem to remember because it is a habit. I read a lot and doing so feeds it which makes it a habit and not a one time thing.

Picture courtesy of Google

Self - Confidence.

We deny our own beauty because others can't or won't recognise it. Instead of accepting ourselves as we are, we try to imitate what we see around us.
We try to be what other people think of as 'pretty' and, little by little, our soul fades, our will weakens, and all the potential we had to make the world a more beautiful place withers away.
We forget that the world is what we imagine it to be.
We stop being the moonlight and become, instead, the pool of water reflecting it. Tomorrow, the water will evaporate in the sun. And all because, one day, someone said: 'You are ugly.' Or: 'She is pretty.' With those three simple words, they stole away all our self-confidence.
And we become ugly and embittered.
Manuscript found in Accra

I downloaded this book but I am yet to find the wherewithal and energy to get lost in it. I know a few people who have read and liked it. When I finally get round to it, I shall keep y’all updated.

Quotes

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• Love sought is good, but given unsought is better. – William Shakespeare
• Whoever you fall in love with has to love you back, or the ending just sucks. – Nora Roberts
• What we wear affects how we feel, how we act, how we move. – Nora Roberts
• You’re excuses are so lame they are limping. - Nora Roberts
• Beauty from order springs. – William King
• You don’t smile because you are happy. You’re happy because you smile. – Iris
• Sometimes, the questions are complicated but the answers are very simple. – Dr. Zeus
• Confidence was like lip gloss – all you had to do was put it on. – Nora Roberts
• Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. – Dallas
• Vengeance won’t heal a broken heart. – Dallas
• Rules are the thread that knits the fabric. – Nora Roberts
• Love is never wrong. Whether it’s for the moment, or it’s forever. – Nora Roberts
• You might like a man enough to go to bed with him, but you might not want to play with him.- Nora Roberts
• No friend poaches another friend’s man, even if she’s kicked him to the curb. – Nora Roberts
• Sex is better when you’re eating healthy. – Nora Roberts
• Men are like shoes. You’re supposed to try them on, wear them awhile – as long as they look good on you. Then toss them in the closet and shop for more. And every now and then, you pluck something out of the closet, try them on again and see how they look. The one thing you don’t do is let somebody else go rooting around in your closet. – Nora Roberts
• People and relationships never stop being a work in progress. – Nora Roberts
• It takes a lot of spine and stomach to make yourself into something when no one gives you a foundation. – Nora Roberts
• Love’s scary, and sometimes transient. But it’s worth the risks and the nerves. It’s even worth the pain. – Nora Roberts
• Seduce my mind and you can have my body, find my soul and I’m yours forever. – Anonymous
• Painting is a metaphor for control. – Klaus (TVD)
• Every woman is supposed to have one major culinary accomplishment to her credit – something she can show off whenever the occasion call for it. – Judith McKnaught (Paradise)
• Every man has a limit to what he is willing to take. – Paradise
• Every artist has a story. – Klaus (TVD)

P.S. There is a lot from Nora Roberts because I have been reading a 4 part series (The Bride Quartet) in her so many collections. I would recommend it to everyone that enjoys a good romance. Yes, fluff reading for now because I want to make my heart happy at the moment and romance is food for the soul - even if it is someone else’s.

I Love Technology: Adobe Digital Editions.

 Remember the post I did about my love for technology here? Well…I am falling more and more in love as I continue to discover.
A couple of days ago, I downloaded a torrent file collection of all Sandra Brown’s work that is Novels. When I tried to open it and get to reading, the file could not open due to the format and I lacked the proper program to open the .epub and .mobi extensions. I looked at all the titles I’d been dying to read as the thought of having to delete everything reared its ugly head!
I was so crushed, demoralised, tired and frustrated. Downloading the torrent had been done at my last hour of being online. Weird is I cannot spend more than three hours online contrary to some of my friends’' beliefs. It tires me out. Since I didn’t have the proper program to open the books, I put off the attempt to search for one, the prospect of deleting the entire collection and decided to sleep on it.
The first thing I did when I got online the next day was to look for the right program and download it. Don’t you marvel at how everything is available on the internet if you have the patience and will to try find what you want? Moments like these make me more appreciative of our generation’s technology advancements.
So, I read through some of the relevant information and suggested programs in my quest to finding the right one. I came across a list of all the programs one might need to open the .mobi and epub file extensions and Adobe Digital Editions caught my eye. I settled on downloading it simply because I am registered at acrobat and not only familiar but also a user of most of their programs.
After the download and installation, you know what happens next, Right? TESTING!! I got down to it since it was my first time and I love! love! love! it.
It comes with a virtual bookshelf for all the digital books. I was excited! I went on to insert all the books I had so far downloaded like a greedy kid trying to eat everything on the plate all at once! If this had been  a physical feat, I’d be exhausted for days.
Unlike Adobe Reader x, Adobe digital editions also comes with the book mark feature which enables you to bookmark where you left off in the book. You do not have to take a mental note of the page number or search for it when you return to the book. How cool is this? The reader in me is in book heaven though I can’t help but muss the days where I’d curl up with a paperback and lose myself in it til the end.
I love this Adobe Digital Edition because it is exclusively for the .mobi and epub file extensions and not pdf. Adobe Reader X IS still my number one love for pdf extensions and I can do so much with it. I don’t have to keep the book indefinitely on my laptop for one which Adobe Digital Editions encourages with its virtual bookshelf.

Emotional Strife!

Before my burial in some of Johanna Lindsey’s work, I took a plunge and read The Best Of Me by Nicholas Sparks to my utter regret. There are traits we readers exhibit; some are selective that is only read particular authors, some read the ending before starting the book and others read particular genres. I fall in the first and later categories.
I am a selective reader when it comes to both authors and genres. For example the only mystery I read is from Jeffrey Archer, John Grisham and Sidney Sheldon. I hate detective, medical, thriller genres. I like to know what I am getting myself into before I start a book. Mental and emotional preparedness, baby.
We all know Nicholas Sparks is a master where romance is concerned. The man has 3 of his works in the top five most romantic movies in the world after all.
I had in my life, never read a Nicholas Sparks though I have watched some of the movie adaptations. Armed with the knowledge of how good he is from what I saw in the movies-I took the plunge and read my first and last novel from him.
Why first and last? Because it was sad and I don’t read sad endings as a rule. The essence of me reading is to enjoy the story, escape and sigh over it. Unknowingly reading a book with a sad ending is not my style and I regretted it!
Funny thing though; after reading the book and chatting about it with my friends, I realised that all his works have sad endings. One half of the couple in all his movies die if not both. They are all sad! A fact you realise once the book is done.
The only person out there that I read with sad stories and endings is Danielle Steele. I know people who don’t read her as a rule but I do with a lot of pleasure because I know what I am getting myself into both emotionally and mentally. And I am willing to let her get to the hardest part of me and bring forth the feelings hidden there.
Since I have had too much romance and sadness from Johanna Lindsey and Nicholas Sparks respectively. I feel the need to get out of this emotional strife so the the time is probably right for my attack on the realistic Paulo Coehlo. I have heard good reviews from my friends and the little bit of The Alchemist audio I listened to last year makes me think I shall enjoy some of his work. As long as he doesn’t play on my emotions…

Down in the Doldrums…

It is no secret that I am a fan of the written word and an avid reader. I recently downloaded a zipped compressed file full of Johanna Lindsey’s work that is collection of novels, not all but some. Enough to fill my heart with joy.
I am a lover of her books. I read her when in school and going through some of the titles in the collection took me back to those days. I had no qualms re-reading some of the books I had read especially the Malory Family collection. I enjoyed those; so going through them again as a more appreciative literary person was very pleasant.
There is no doubt as to why she is one the best at historical romance. The dialogue, plot , wit, humour and story line not to forget romance all make her books a fun read. And in my opinion no one does sarcasm and humour best than the English. There is nothing like a good dialogue amongst the characters to make the story flow and draw you in without you realising it.
As a sucker for a good romance; I like seeing people in love and read about it in books and this is why I am down in the doldrums. Reading romance makes you reflect on how lacking your life is and wish to be in love… And having read some of her work back to back in a few days makes me want to be in love which is something for another day…

I Love Reading!

It feels so good to finally get back to what I love and am most passionate about in my life, that passion is reading. I am one of those avid readers, if I take long, I feel incomplete, and like something is lacking and I miss it.

Lately, I have been able to do just that; Read. I have read so many books that people get surprised when they find out but it is what I do. I had stopped reading for quite a few years due to a lack of access to novels. The guy I used to borrow from disappeared and also being done with school put a temporary stop to the passion.

 I am the type that hardly spends on a novel but given the chance, I will read it even if from someone else. I don't see the use of buying the book when I am going to be done reading it in a few hours and will probably lend it to a friend.

I used to go to my country's main bookstore, browse through the authors and titles or novels they had in stock.  If I came across a novel I was yet to read. I would take it off the shelf and make myself comfortable in the provided arm chairs, open the novel and read halfway through it. So as not to look suspicious and attract unwanted attention nor give myself away, I would stop midway through the novel, mentally mark the page I had stopped on then I'd leave only to return a few weeks later to finish the novel.

Surprisingly, I was able to carry off the act until one of the shop attendants found me one day, very caught up in the novel! Imagine my shock when she tapped me on the shoulder! She gave me such a fright that I couldn't even pretend or claim that I had been going through the summary! From then onwards, I wasn't allowed to sit in their arm chairs for more than five minutes and I also had to be visible whilst there so they could keep their watchful eyes on me. Due to that, my trips to the bookstore have been infrequent, why go when I can't indulge in my passion?

Where I work, our neighbor happens to sell her collection of novels and rents them out too since few people buy. That is how poor our reading culture is. I used to borrow from her until she refused to rent to me claiming I let my whole family and friends read her books thus returning them in frazzled conditions! I was too surprised because I am the only one that read her novels and aside from my mum, no one else reads in my family. Besides, my mum doesn't read as often as I do. I told her I will never rent from her again. She could as well eat her novels for all I cared!

One of my closest friends ended up giving me a few audio books and one in pdf format. I managed to read the one in pdf format within a few days despite having to read it from my laptop but I have to this moment failed to completely listen to the audio books. Funny thing is; one of the audio books is "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho. There are so many rev reviews about the book which should motivate me more but…

Whenever I make the decision to dedicate a day to give it a complete listen, I end up getting irritated by having my earphones on for more than an hour and my mind would keep straying. I am more of a paperback person than an audio listener. It is so weird having a book read to you by someone else instead of you doing it by yourself, having it in your hands and letting your imagination run wild.

I must say, I have some pretty awesome friends. They always try to help me out when it comes to novels and books. One of them recently sent me pdf formats of a few relationship books by Steve Harvey (he is the author of the season) and not only that, he introduced me to online piracy! I should not be proud of that but I am. I have been able to download a few other books and the reader in me is very appreciative because I can satisfy my craving and passion for books. The fact I have to read from my laptop doesn't get me down, much as I am a paperback person, pdf isn't so bad.

Every time I finish a book, I always think of the person that sent it to me and I end up appreciating them more and more. 

xxxShanahxxx 

Quotes Part 2

• Power forces people into ruin, blackens ambition.
• And when the dead walk, the living will fill these coffins-Sherlock Holmes
• It's unforgivable for me to have kept you in my heart all those years but I've never forgot about you, even for a minute.
• You can't explain feelings. They have no rules, they don't respect logic.
• The past is a wilderness of horrors.
• Sometimes, a man is too proud to show lack of resolution in front of the torturer or indeed one of his own country men, especially a traitor. Jeffrey Archer
• It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges and failing at what they do. And I believe in myself. Muhammad Ali
• You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She's not perfect-you aren't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together, but, if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can. The Great Bob Marley.
• Fashion knows no gender.
• A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous.
• If you don't cultivate roots in your heart, you never feel when you need to pull something out of it.
• Alliances are key. A man cannot build an empire on his own.
• Honesty is an expensive thing, don't expect it from cheap people.
• It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary, only wise men understand them.
• At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what happens to us and our lives become controlled by fate.
• A personal legend is what you've always wanted to achieve in your life.
• Butterflies are a good omen.
• Dreams are the language of  God.
• At a certain point in our lives we lose control of what's happening to us and our lives become controlled by fate…World's greatest lie.
• Butterflies are a good omen.
• The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world and never forget the drops of oil on the spoon.
• The principle of favor-ability- beginner's luck. Life wants you to achieve your personal legend.
• I may not say nice words, but my words are true.
• A gentleman with integrity keeps his vision even though you threaten his life.
• We are our experiences.
• You can't control the things that happen to you but you can control how you react to them- You Again
• Sometimes in order to achiever justice we need to break the law.
• Upset is an emotion specific to those who care- Vampire Diaries
• Even the dirtiest person in this world can get addicted to perfume and start smelling good.
• Success is liking yourself. Liking what you do and liking how you do it- Maya Angelou
• A cloud that is pushed by the wind doesn't have any road to take.
• No one is more foolish than the man who doesn't know of his foolishness.
• Love is as mysterious as God's ways. Sharon Shar.
• Chances multiply if you grab them.
• Hope is the last thing one can ever lose.

Beautiful Quotes

I have an uncle who loves to read as much as I do and he asked me to keep a book of quotes that is my own book for writing down words I find inspirational or beautiful from the volumes of books I read and also memorable lines I hear from the shows I love to watch. According to him, "you never know how true a quote is until you go through something that makes you remember those words."

I posted some of my first collection and I am gathering others. I came across a beautiful quote or two that I feel should be shared on their own and not lumped into one page with a whole load of others. I had these as notes on my Facebook page but I think this is a great way to preserve them  because I usually delete some of my Facebook notes. So, here are the ones that are too beautiful that they deserve to stand on their own;

·         You may not be her first, her last, or her only. She loved before she may love again. But if she loves you now, what else matters? She's not perfect-you aren't either, and the two of you may never be perfect together, but, if she can make you laugh, cause you to think twice, and admit to being human and making mistakes, hold onto her and give her the most you can... The Great Bob Marley.

·         I could promise to hold you, and to cherish you. I could promise to be there in sickness and in health. I could say till death do us part. But I won't. Those vows are for optimistic couples, the ones full of hope. And I do not stand here, on my wedding day, optimistic or full of hope. I am not optimistic. I am not hopeful. I am sure. I am steady. And I know. I am a heart man. I take them apart. I put them back together. I hold them in my hands. I ... am a heart man. So this, I am sure. You are my partner, my lover, my very best friend. My heart beats for you. And on this day, the day of our wedding, I promise you this. I promise you to lay my heart in the palm of your hands. I promise you ... me.  Burke Preston’s wedding vows on Grey’s Anatomy.