“I think with sadness of all the books I’ve read, all the places I’ve seen, all the knowledge I’ve amassed and that will be no more. All the music, all the paintings, all the culture, so many places: and suddenly nothing. They made no honey, those things, they can provide no one with any nourishment. At the most, if my books are still read, the reader will think: There wasn’t much she didn’t see! But that unique sum of things, the experience that I lived, with all its order and its randomness — the Opera of Peking, the arena of Huelva, the candomblé in Bahía, the dunes of El-Oued, Wabansia Avenue, the dawns in Provence, Tiryns, Castro talking to five hundred thousand Cubans, a sulphur sky over a sea of clouds, the purple holly, the white nights of Leningrad, the bells of the Liberation, an orange moon over the Piraeus, a red sun rising over the desert, Torcello, Rome, all the things I’ve talked about, others I have left unspoken — there is no place where it will all live again. At”
―
Sarah Bakewell,
At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others
“Life is short and precious and we never know what is around the corner. So you live for now, seize every moment that comes your way and if you're going to look back on your life with regret, it's easier to regret the things that you did do, rather than the things you didn't” ― Holly Martin, Fairytale Beginnings
“For the author as for God, standing outwith his creation, all times are one; all times are now. In mine own country, we accept as due and right – as very meet, right, and our bounden duty – the downs and their orchids and butterflies, the woods and coppices, ash, beech, oak, and field maple, rowan, wild cherry, holly, and hazel, bluebells in their season and willow, alder, and poplar in the wetter ground. We accept as proper and unremarkable the badger and the squirrel, the roe deer and the rabbit, the fox and the pheasant, as the companions of our walks and days. We remark with pleasure, yet take as granted, the hedgerow and the garden, the riot of snowdrops, primroses, and cowslips, the bright flash of kingfishers, the dart of swallows and the peaceful homeliness of house martins, the soft nocturnal glimmer of glow worm and the silent nocturnal swoop of owl.” ― G.M.W. Wemyss
“Romance isn’t always about big gestures though,’ Harry said. ‘Sometimes it’s the words the man finds or the effort that he has gone to. It doesn’t have to be something expensive.” ― Holly Martin, One Hundred Proposals
“Why do silences mean something different when we're with different people? With you, it's never awkward, is it? It's just silence. But with other people, I feel the need to fill it with inane ramblings. What's wrong with silence?” ― Holly Martin, Snowflakes on Silver Cove
“Home isn’t always a house and it isn’t always where you grew up; sometimes it’s just a feeling.” ― Holly Martin, Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky
“I guess it's like friendship. Some people come and go from your life like ships passing in the night, some people stay forever. It's funny though, when you meet forever friends, you just know that they are going to be your friend for the rest of your life - there's that connection there that you don't get from those fleeting friendships.” ― Holly Martin, Snowflakes on Silver Cove
“Some beauty is fleeting, some lasts a lifetime.” ― Holly Martin, Snowflakes on Silver Cove
“Life is for living, for wringing out every last drop of joy, not simply existing.” ― Holly Martin, Christmas at Mistletoe Cove
“Find something you love, something you’re passionate about and do it. Life is too short and we never know what is around the next corner so be silly and wild and wacky and never fear what people will think of you. Those that judge you will not be important to you and those that are important to you will be silly right along with you.” ― Holly Martin, The Summer of Chasing Dreams
“Be kind, be hopeful, never stop learning, read everything. Be brave and chase those dreams.” ― Holly Martin, The Summer of Chasing Dreams
“Don’t save for a rainy day, spend your money now. Don’t avoid the puddles, go dancing in the rain and other such “seize life” clichés.” ― Holly Martin, Summer at Buttercup Beach
“Love is like the sun on a hot summer's day, this burning ball of light that is too bright to look at. It's standing on top of the cliffs in fifty-mile-an-hour winds, the force and power of the wind is so strong it can knock you off your feet, it makes you feel like you can't breathe, but as you stand there with your arms outstretched, felling its strength as it roars past you , it makes you feel so alive. You, my friend, have that look that you're about to be knocked off your feet.” ― Holly Martin, Sunshine and Secrets at Blackberry Beach: A gorgeous uplifting romance to escape with this summer
“Real power doesn’t come from having a million followers, good hair, a Louis Vuitton purse, a new car, a new home, a title, a partner, or anything that can be weighed, measured, or acquired. Real power is the thing you’ve always had inside you. Real power doesn’t need to be demonstrated or boasted. Real power is the ability to be in your skin, to know who you are, to know you will always be okay. Real power comes from your gut and your heart and your courage and your bravery and your love. Real power can never be taken away from you and never lost once it’s found. It’s the kind of power that people like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks and the Dalai Lama all had or have—a quality within unaffected by outer circumstances, an eternal flame that cannot be touched.” ― Holly Whitaker, Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol
“Life is short and filled with missed opportunities – and when life tosses us something wonderful we should grab it and hold onto it with both hands.” ― Holly Martin, One Hundred Christmas Proposals
“All my hard work had come to fruition that day: the new fireplace housed a might Yule log that warmed the room, casting reflections across the crystal and silver. I admired the forest green of the brocaded furniture, and the holly gathered in red ribbons hung about the walls. I decided that whatever temper Michael might be in, I would not let him spoil our first Christmas.The new damask cloth was spread with a fine repast: Peg's own Yule cakes looked even daintier than those I had already sampled. A great wheel of cheese had pride of place, beside magnificent pies of game and fruit. On a great round platter was a salamagundy salad as fresh as a bouquet of flowers; concentric rings of every delight: eggs, chicken, ham, beetroot, anchovies, and orange.” ― Martine Bailey, A Taste for Nightshade
“eyes locked” ― Holly Martin, The Blossom Tree of Dreams
“Sex” ― Holly Martin, The Secrets of Clover Castle
“When things seem too good to be true, they usually are.''I'll give you that. But sometimes, very occasionally, the stars align, fate does her job and two people who are destined to be together actually meet.” ― Holly Martin, The Christmas Tree Cottage
“Life is short and precious and we never know what is around the corner. So you live for now, seize every moment that comes your way and if you're going to look back on your life with regret, it's easier to regret the things that you did do, rather than the things you didn't” ― Holly Martin, Fairytale Beginnings
“For the author as for God, standing outwith his creation, all times are one; all times are now. In mine own country, we accept as due and right – as very meet, right, and our bounden duty – the downs and their orchids and butterflies, the woods and coppices, ash, beech, oak, and field maple, rowan, wild cherry, holly, and hazel, bluebells in their season and willow, alder, and poplar in the wetter ground. We accept as proper and unremarkable the badger and the squirrel, the roe deer and the rabbit, the fox and the pheasant, as the companions of our walks and days. We remark with pleasure, yet take as granted, the hedgerow and the garden, the riot of snowdrops, primroses, and cowslips, the bright flash of kingfishers, the dart of swallows and the peaceful homeliness of house martins, the soft nocturnal glimmer of glow worm and the silent nocturnal swoop of owl.” ― G.M.W. Wemyss
“Romance isn’t always about big gestures though,’ Harry said. ‘Sometimes it’s the words the man finds or the effort that he has gone to. It doesn’t have to be something expensive.” ― Holly Martin, One Hundred Proposals
“Why do silences mean something different when we're with different people? With you, it's never awkward, is it? It's just silence. But with other people, I feel the need to fill it with inane ramblings. What's wrong with silence?” ― Holly Martin, Snowflakes on Silver Cove
“Home isn’t always a house and it isn’t always where you grew up; sometimes it’s just a feeling.” ― Holly Martin, Christmas Under a Cranberry Sky
“I guess it's like friendship. Some people come and go from your life like ships passing in the night, some people stay forever. It's funny though, when you meet forever friends, you just know that they are going to be your friend for the rest of your life - there's that connection there that you don't get from those fleeting friendships.” ― Holly Martin, Snowflakes on Silver Cove
“Some beauty is fleeting, some lasts a lifetime.” ― Holly Martin, Snowflakes on Silver Cove
“Life is for living, for wringing out every last drop of joy, not simply existing.” ― Holly Martin, Christmas at Mistletoe Cove
“Find something you love, something you’re passionate about and do it. Life is too short and we never know what is around the next corner so be silly and wild and wacky and never fear what people will think of you. Those that judge you will not be important to you and those that are important to you will be silly right along with you.” ― Holly Martin, The Summer of Chasing Dreams
“Be kind, be hopeful, never stop learning, read everything. Be brave and chase those dreams.” ― Holly Martin, The Summer of Chasing Dreams
“Don’t save for a rainy day, spend your money now. Don’t avoid the puddles, go dancing in the rain and other such “seize life” clichés.” ― Holly Martin, Summer at Buttercup Beach
“Love is like the sun on a hot summer's day, this burning ball of light that is too bright to look at. It's standing on top of the cliffs in fifty-mile-an-hour winds, the force and power of the wind is so strong it can knock you off your feet, it makes you feel like you can't breathe, but as you stand there with your arms outstretched, felling its strength as it roars past you , it makes you feel so alive. You, my friend, have that look that you're about to be knocked off your feet.” ― Holly Martin, Sunshine and Secrets at Blackberry Beach: A gorgeous uplifting romance to escape with this summer
“Real power doesn’t come from having a million followers, good hair, a Louis Vuitton purse, a new car, a new home, a title, a partner, or anything that can be weighed, measured, or acquired. Real power is the thing you’ve always had inside you. Real power doesn’t need to be demonstrated or boasted. Real power is the ability to be in your skin, to know who you are, to know you will always be okay. Real power comes from your gut and your heart and your courage and your bravery and your love. Real power can never be taken away from you and never lost once it’s found. It’s the kind of power that people like Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., and Rosa Parks and the Dalai Lama all had or have—a quality within unaffected by outer circumstances, an eternal flame that cannot be touched.” ― Holly Whitaker, Quit Like a Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed with Alcohol
“Life is short and filled with missed opportunities – and when life tosses us something wonderful we should grab it and hold onto it with both hands.” ― Holly Martin, One Hundred Christmas Proposals
“All my hard work had come to fruition that day: the new fireplace housed a might Yule log that warmed the room, casting reflections across the crystal and silver. I admired the forest green of the brocaded furniture, and the holly gathered in red ribbons hung about the walls. I decided that whatever temper Michael might be in, I would not let him spoil our first Christmas.The new damask cloth was spread with a fine repast: Peg's own Yule cakes looked even daintier than those I had already sampled. A great wheel of cheese had pride of place, beside magnificent pies of game and fruit. On a great round platter was a salamagundy salad as fresh as a bouquet of flowers; concentric rings of every delight: eggs, chicken, ham, beetroot, anchovies, and orange.” ― Martine Bailey, A Taste for Nightshade
“eyes locked” ― Holly Martin, The Blossom Tree of Dreams
“Sex” ― Holly Martin, The Secrets of Clover Castle
“When things seem too good to be true, they usually are.''I'll give you that. But sometimes, very occasionally, the stars align, fate does her job and two people who are destined to be together actually meet.” ― Holly Martin, The Christmas Tree Cottage
