Walter Moers · 704 pages
Rating: (14.7K votes)
“Wednesdays were the best thing about Atlantis. The middle of the week was a traditional holiday there. Everyone stopped work and celebrated the fact that half the week was over.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“Life is too precious to be left to chance”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“On horseback you feel as if you're moving in time to classical music; a camel seems to progress to the beat of a drum played by a drunk.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“A bluebear has twenty-seven lives. I shall recount thirteen-and-a-half of them in this book but keep quiet about the rest. A bear must have his secrets, after all; they make him seem attractive and mysterious.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“I never trained, however, because I was a spontaneous talent. Practising spoiled my style.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“I had dispensed with a rudder on the principal that fate must be given a chance.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“It's quite simple, just follow the dotted line," the Planmaker explained. "Don't let any bad idea lead you astray. Don't let them persuade you to take a short cut or take one yourself. Life is a winding path. One sometimes has to make detours. That's my humble opinion, anyway.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“People always covet what they themselves do not possess.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“Beneath me lay the Lake of Oblivion, above me loomed Insanity.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“The written word is redundant on the high seas. Why? Because paper gets wet too easily.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“That's the reward for your good deed,' I explained, 'a clear conscience. It really perks you up.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“When bad habits become a habit, you have to turn over a new leaf.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“Da ist auch noch ein anderer Geruch in der Luft, der Geruch von Feuern, die in der Ferne brennen, mit einem Hauch Zimt darin - so riecht das Abenteuer!”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“There are times when the truth is the worst possible thing you can come out with.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“He wasn't such a bad fellow after all. The rudiments of self-improvement and the intention to achieve it were definitely present.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“I know people whose lives have been transformed by a good deed.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“You can't beat a good education!”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“Das Leben ist zu kostbar, um es dem Schicksal zu überlassen.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“He gave me a look of mingled anticipation, curiosity, and compassion, like a cat with a captive bird in its claws.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“...but I was urged on by a courage born of despair.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“...I simply wasn't born to remain in the same place for evermore...”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“It was part of the beauty, but also the tragedy, of this sport that the spectators were the ultimate judges of who sat on the throne.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“Few minded what their fellow citizens got up to as long as they themselves were left in peace.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“It felt as if a shaft of lightning had gone in through one ear and out the other...Armies of dead men went marching through my head. I heard a noise like a cosmic scream. My brain turned to ice. Then the ice cracked in all directions and disintegrated into tiny particles like snowflakes, and each snowflake was afflicted by a pain of its very own. In the end, everything went black. I found myself looking out into the universe. Seated on a diminutive planet made of glass was a red dwarf who had twelve important messages for me.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“WI felt I ought to comment on that, but nothing occurred to me.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“Αν ίσως μάζευε κανείς δέκα χιλιάδες θαλάσσιους ελέφαντες μέσα σε μια κοιλάδα του βυθού και τους έβαζε να μουγκρίσουν όλοι μαζί από έρωτα, κι αν έβαζε παρέα και ένα εκατομμύριο μπάμπουρες να ζουζουνίζουν βόσκοντας μέλι και γύρη, θα μπορούσε να πλησιάσει κάπως το επίμονο μουγκρητό της ικανοποίησης που έβγαινε από τα χείλια του Βασιλικού Φαλαινόσαυρου.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“Una buena mentira piadosa es con frecuencia mucho más excitante que una verdad. Es como si se pusiera a la verdad un vestido bonito.”
― Walter Moers, quote from The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear
“I'm mad because girls as young as eight years old are being shamed about their bodies. Fifth graders go on diets and admire Instagram pics of celebs in waist trainers. Some of the people I'm closest to have struggled with eating disorders. I'm mad at an industry that suggests that painfully thin is the only acceptable way to be. Please don't get on me for skinny shaming. If that's how you are shaped, God bless, but we gotta mix it up, because it's upsetting and confusing to women with other body types.”
― Amy Schumer, quote from The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo
“Our raw imperfections make us real and make us human but they don't make us.”
― Jay McLean, quote from Kick, Push
“Virtue and wealth seldom go together. The greatest criminals are also the wealthiest men."
-The Cripple”
― F. Sionil José, quote from Dusk
“with their mouth open they’ll eat an average of five spiders a night, which is kind of believable if you think about it. Another time Rodrick told me that it’s dangerous to wake someone up when they’re sleepwalking. I thought there could be a chance he was actually telling the truth, because I’m pretty sure I heard that one somewhere else. ZZZZZ”
― Jeff Kinney, quote from Double Down
“Hey!” a voice calls out behind us, and we turn to find Ryder standing beside the row of orange lockers outside Mr. Jepsen’s classroom. I have no idea why he’s out of class early, and I don’t care. “I just heard the announcement--congrats.”
“Thanks,” Morgan chirps. “This is epic, right? Both of us.”
Ryder nods, his gaze shifting from Morgan to me.
I duck my head, averting my eyes. This is worse than when I hated him, I realize. At least then, it wasn’t awkward. I could just ignore him and go about my business. Now I feel all queasy and mad and breathless and guilty. I need to get away from him. Fast.
Mercifully, Morgan glances down at her watch. “We gotta get going. There’s a meeting in the media center.”
“Right,” Ryder says. “But, uh…Jemma, could I talk to you for a second after school today? Before practice, maybe?”
My gaze snaps up to meet his. “I…um, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“I’ll be quick,” he says. “Actually, maybe I’ll come over to your house after dinner. That way I can say hi to Nan.”
“She’s…really not up to visitors.”
“Really?” He fixes me with a stare, one brow raised in disbelief. “’Cause your mom said just the opposite.”
Crap. Now what? I’m out of excuses. Besides, the last thing I want to do is pique Morgan’s curiosity. “Oh, fine. Whatever.”
“Great. See you then.” He turns and heads back into the classroom without a backward glance.
I have no clue what he wants to talk about. Things are already uncomfortable enough between us as it is. No use making it worse by discussing things that don’t need to be discussed. We made out, even though I hadn’t bothered to break up with Patrick first. It was a mistake--a big mistake. End of story.
The memory of that night hits me full force--his shirt was off; mine was close to it. My cheeks flare with sudden heat as I recall the feel of his fingertips skimming up my sides, moving beneath my bra as he kissed me like no one’s kissed me before. Ho-ly crap.
Stop.
“What was that about?” Morgan asks me as we continue on our way. “He was acting kinda weird, wasn’t he?”
“I didn’t notice,” I say with a shrug, going for nonchalance. “Anyway, we should hurry. We’re probably late already.”
“Maybe he wants you to ask him to escort you,” she teases, hurrying her step.
I match my pace to hers, needing to take two steps for every one of hers. “Yeah, right,” I say breathlessly.
“Hey, you never know.” She looks at me and winks. “Weirder things have happened.”
Oh, man. She has no idea.”
― Kristi Cook, quote from Magnolia
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