Creative Writing Assignment #2: Your Favorite Book

To ask me to name a favorite book is a demanding thing to do. It's almost as hard as picking a favorite shade of your favorite color. And to tell people about it? I don't think anyone's got enough time to listen to what I have to say about my favorite books. So for this assignment, I decided to put together a string of quotes from some of my favorite books to create a story.

For You, A Thousand Times Over

She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting shadow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to a cork board like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew.

“Oh, the cleverness of me!” she said. “I pretend I am a princess, so that I can try and behave like one.  And now here is my secret, a very simple secret. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly. What is essential is invisible to the eye.”

So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane. She was like a song I'd heard once in fragments but had been singing in my mind ever since.

In my mind I could hear her say, “Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”

As she read, I fell in love the way you fall asleep: slowly, and then all at once. 

And in that moment, I swear I was infinite.

I hope it made as much sense to you as it did for me. After all, creating a cohesive story out of a bunch of unrelated lines isn't exactly a walk in the park. For those who are curious and unfamiliar to the quotes, I've linked each one to the book's Goodreads page. For those who recognize them, I salute you for having an excellent memory and exquisite taste in books. ;)