water for elephants

i just finished reading water for elephants by sara gruen after hearing it was a new york times best seller and now made into a movie that will be opening this friday. it was a very good book and i can't wait to see the movie this weekend! i felt the book had quite a bit of wisdom written half in the eyes of a 90-something year old man so i wanted to share some of the lines from the book that stuck out to me. check out the book!

• "age is a terrible thief. just when you're getting the hang of life, it knocks your legs out form under you and stoops your back. it makes you ache and muddies your heard and silently spreads cancer throughout your spouse." 

• "when you are five, you know your age down to the month. even in your twenties, you know how old you are. i'm 23 you say, or maybe 27. but then in your 30's, something strange starts to happen. it is a mere hiccup at first, an instant of hesitation. how old are you? oh, i'm--you start confidently, but then you stop. you were going to say 33, but you are not. you're 35. and then you're bothered, because you wonder if this is the beginning of the end. it is, of course, but it's decades before you admit it." 

• "although there are times i'd give anything to have her back, i'm glad she went first. losing her was like being cleft down the middle. it was the moment it all ended for me, and i wouldn't have wanted her to go through that. being the survivor stinks." 

• "i used to think i preferred getting old to the alternative, but now i'm not sure. sometimes the monotony of bingo and sing-alongs and ancient dusty people parked in the hallway in wheelchairs makes me long for death. particularly when i remember that i'm one of the ancient dusty people, filed away like some worthless tchotchke." 

• "life is the most spectacular show on earth" 

• "it's just a crazy damned life, that's all..." 

• "it's no good. even when i look straight into the milky blue eyes, i can't find myself anymore. when did i stop being me?"

• "we lean against the wall in silence, still holding hands. after about an hour she falls asleep, sliding down until her head rests on my shoulder. i remain awake, every fiber of my body aware of her proximity." 

• "afterwards, she lies nestled against me, her hair tickling my face. i stroke her lightly, memorizing her body. i was her to melt into me, like butter on toast. i want to absorb her and walk around for the rest of my days with her encased in my skin. i want. i lie motionless, savoring the feeling of her body against mine. i'm afraid to breathe in case i break the spell." 

• "even so, i wonder whether our affair isn't obvious. it seems to me that the bond between us must be visible." ( i love this, i think that's how love should be. visible to those around you without making a show of it ) 

• "with a secret like that, at some point the secret itself becomes irrelevant. the fact that you kept it does not." 

• "and then i laugh, because it's so ridiculous and so gorgeous and it's all i can do to not melt into a fit of giggles. so what is i'm 93? so what if i'm ancient and cranky and my body's a wreck? if they're willing to accept me and my guilt conscience, why the hell shouldn't i run away with the circus? it's like charlie told the cop. for this old man, this IS home."