I have been down an Amy Hempel rabbit hole, and have been studying sentences. Sentences I read and sentences I write.
I have saved quotes all my life. They used to be taped to my closet doors when I grew up on my dead end street in Indiana. (I was not allowed to tape anything to the walls.) When I had a Franklin Planner I had a whole section in the back that had quotes from people and books I loved.
Recently, the quotes are highlighted in my Kindle and sent to me in an email from ReadWise. The other places they are kept are notebooks and my Keep app.
I have been learning to take the sentences apart that I love to see if I can figure out the mechanics of why I love them so. I am paying attention to the rhythm and the music of the sentences and how they feel in my mouth and my brain.
The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander
Coffee ceremony was the most sacred home ritual there was.
“Of all the things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work,” they said.
One Continuous Mistake by Gail Sher
A good book is you. That’s why you can’t put it down.
Small Victories by Anne Lamott
She took the purse with her everywhere.
The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan
“She said, ‘It’s for making the cake that looks like a fence?’ And then she called it ‘fence-cake’ for the longest time.”
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss
Even after they arrested him and burned all of his manuscripts, which were all blank pages, he refused to speak.
The Souvenir Museum by Elizabeth McCracken
The embarrassed feeling of having been so exhausted that she’d left the door open in a rainstorm evaporated.
Do you have favorite sentences you collect? I would love to hear some of your saved words.
This is such a cool idea for a post, Tammy! Here's my favorite sentence from your list:
"Even after they arrested him and burned all of his manuscripts, which were all blank pages, he refused to speak." Feel like I need to read the Souvenir Museum now!
Hi Tammy, quotes have always fascinated me too. I was fortunate to inherit a huge private library of mostly unusual books in 2011 - including an armful on quotes, Whoopee !! Since semi-retiring 3 years ago, I am delighted to be able to read approx 4 hours a day. Oh what frabijous joy. Peace, Maurice