For the love of quotes!

The Reading Nook #16

Words are magic. It’s amazing how they’re crafted to become things heavy with meaning, melodic to the mind’s ears, with the ability to stick and/or change lives. For a couple of years, I’ve been amassing my favourite quotes from books I read.

For the last edition of The Reading Nook last year, I shared some of my favourite quotes from books I read in 2023, and I’m back to do the same.

This time, I’m sharing 25 quotes with you. Let’s say I was intentional about picking 25 quotes because we’re entering 2025 but in reality, it was a coincidence. Out of the 25, five of them are from Substack newsletters I read this year that fiercely resonated with me and I kept aside to return to again and again.

The reasons I chose these quotes I’m sharing were either because I connected with them, liked the way they sounded, or just found them interesting.

Here it goes:

Substack Newsletter Quotes!

• ‘I can validate myself far better than anyone else can validate me.’ - Widening the heart’s window by

  Lisa Olivera

• ‘My job is to witness and nurture my body in its evolution, and to do my best to love it unconditionally, even when that goes against societal expectation.’ - It starts with the body by

  Amanda Greenidge

• ‘My only job is to keep writing and creating, regardless of what the outcome is. I can’t control the outcome or the impact of my work, and trying to control it only generates suffering for me.’ - Your job is just to keep creating by

  Auzin Ahmadi

• ‘I am learning that change must be slow to last long, and it can only be driven by self-compassion rather than self-judgement.’ - I turn 30 today by

  Carolyn Yoo

• ‘I don’t share my work to prove the worth of my words or the quality of my art. I share to be seen and as an act of rebellion against the fearful parts of me that’d rather not be perceived by others.’ - Show Up Anyway by

  Jamal Robinson

Book Quotes!

What You’re Looking For Is In The Library by Michiko Aoyama

Life is one revelation after another. Things don’t always go to plan, no matter what your circumstances. But the flip side is all the unexpected, wonderful things that you could never have imagined happening.

Evil Eye by Etaf Rum

But change didn’t happen with a single recognition, a single step in the right direction. It was messy, courage come and gone, steps taken forward, then back. It was bravery laced with fear.

Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum

You won’t know until you start. Don’t decide the future before it happens.

Life is too complicated and expansive to be judged solely by the career you have.

We’re all inadequate, weak and ordinary beings. But because we’re capable of being kind, for a moment – no matter how fleeting – we can be extraordinary.

there’s meaning in the act of trying (it’s important to ascribe meaning to things!). If the process is enjoyable (albeit difficult!), results shouldn’t be the focus.

Co-Wives, Co-Widows by Adrienne Yabouza

I’ve come to understand that life is never afterwards, never tomorrow. It’s only now.

How Beautiful We Were by Imbolo Mbue

What happened will never unhappen, […] what is to happen will happen—better you focus on what’s happening in front of you.

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See

You must speak if you wish to be heard.

Collapse Feminism by Alice Cappelle

No single human being can transform society, only collectives can.

A Spell of Good Things by Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀

I’m just trying to decide if marriage is what I want or what I’m supposed to want. It’s so easy to confuse the two.

Sister Spirit by Efua Traoré

‘We are in boarding school,’ she said. ‘It is normal to hear strange noises at night.’

Be(com)ing Nigerian by Elnathan John

In the beginning, the British created the Northern and Southern protectorates. Now, the nation was formless and empty and darkness covered our collective identity. And the British said: ‘Let there be Nigeria.’ And there was Nigeria. And the British saw that Nigeria was good (for them) and they separated the ruling class from the serfs.

I’d like to acknowledge Nigeria, with whom I am (still) in an abusive relationship. (Author’s acknowledgements).

And Then He Sang a Lullaby by Ani Kayode Somtochukwu

It is instinctual for the Nigerian state. Their plan, their solution, always, is to ban things, to demonstrate their ability to dominate.

Class war is actual war, with real-life casualties.

Ghostroots by ‘Pemi Aguda

Nonsense hardly ever shows itself immediately.

Women suffer enough. Don’t add man problem on top. Keep your shoes beside the door.

Drinking from Graveyard Wells by Lisa Yvette Ndlovu

The wretched of the earth are not meant to make art, we are supposed to be too busy surviving.

The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok

If you were ever to unleash yourself, your talents would burn brighter than the sun.

Do you have any favourite quotes you’d like to share? Let me know in the comments or by replying privately to this email.

It’s the last day of the year, how are you feeling?

I hope this new year is kind to you. I also hope that wherever you find yourself in 2025, you are kind to yourself. Thank you so much for being here. I appreciate your presence and I hope to see you next year :)