Fantastic Lines From Non-Canon Literature

We're all familiar with Dickens' line, "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." (A Tale of Two Cities), Hinton's "Stay gold, Ponyboy." (The Outsiders), and Rowling's tear-jerking "Always." (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows). One of the amazing things about good writing is that the words can stick with you long after the book has been put down. However, the vast majority of our society-recalled quotes can be sourced from the Western Canon.

Non-classic and non-famous books often miss out on the fanfare of ironic hipster tops and widespread misquoting. Even fantastic authors get glossed over in school, forgotten by or unknown to the masses. And yet, some of the least well-known novels contain the most wonderful lines and phrases.

Therefore, I dedicate this ongoing post to "Fantastic Lines From Non-Canon Literature", which is just a fancy way of saying, "Awesome sentences from the book(s) I am currently reading".

I hope you enjoy, and - as ever - please feel free to comment below with your own additions!

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"Poor John. I wonder what went wrong...I like the bit about the pig very much."
             - Evelyn Waugh, 'Scoop'

(Buy it here: 'Scoop' by Evelyn Waugh)

"But trying to use willpower to overcome the apathetic sort of sadness that accompanies depression is like a person with no arms trying to punch themselves until their hands grow back. A fundamental component of the plan is missing and it isn't going to work."
             - Allie Brosh, 'Hyperbole and a Half'

"Geese have no business owning DVD players. It was entirely unacceptable."
             - Allie Brosh, 'Hyperbole and a Half'

(Buy it here: 'Hyperbole and a Half' by Allie Brosh)

"Recounting the strange is like telling one's dreams: one can communicate the events of a dream, but not the emotional content, the way a dream can colour one's entire day."
             - Neil Gaiman, 'Fragile Things'

"What I remember of him mostly then is how big he was. Corpulent. I suppose he was still a fairly young man back then, although I didn't see it that way: he was an adult, and so he was the enemy."
             - Neil Gaiman, 'Fragile Things'

"Do not be jealous of your sister:
know that diamonds and roses
are as uncomfortable when they tumble from one's lips as toads and frogs:
colder, too, and sharper, and they cut."
             - Neil Gaiman, 'Fragile Things'

"It was my first experience with pushing air through the mouth, vibrating the vocal cords on the way, and I used it to tell parent-teacher that I wished I would die, which it acknowledged was the inevitable exit strategy from world."
             - Neil Gaiman, 'Fragile Things'

(Buy it here: 'Fragile Things' by Neil Gaiman)

"'It isn't a quite dead garden' she cried out softly to herself, 'Even if the roses are dead, there are other things alive.'"
             - Frances Hodgson Burnett, 'The Secret Garden'

"Mary had not known that she herself had been spoiled, but she could see quite plainly that this mysterious boy had been. He thought that the whole world belonged to him. How peculiar he was and how coolly he spoke of not living."
             - Frances Hodgson Burnett, 'The Secret Garden'

"To let a sad thought or a bad one get into your mind is as dangerous as letting a scarlet fever germ get into your body. If you let it stay there after it has got in you may never get over it as long as you live."
             - Frances Hodgson Burnett, 'The Secret Garden'

(Buy it here: 'The Secret Garden' by Frances Hodgson Burnett)

"She doesn't like me reading things out, it causes her to sigh and roll her eyes. Sometimes she makes gestures behind my back. I've seen her in mirrors, pretending to strangle me."
             - Emma Healey, 'Elizabeth is Missing'

"All the hours Elizabeth and I spent going through the donations, and I never thought that one day one of us might be going through the things of the other."
             - Emma Healey, 'Elizabeth is Missing'

"The Ladies' door has a wooden cutout of a girl on it. Inside, there's an old woman, hunched into a cardigan. I step aside to let her pass, but she steps aside too. I step back; so does she. I walk closer. It's me in a mirror."
             - Emma Healey, 'Elizabeth is Missing'

"We stand for a long time. I start to get tired. And it's boring, waiting here. Helen has her head down, her hands clasped as if she's praying. She doesn't even believe in God. There's a mound of earth not far from where we stand: someone's going to be put in the soil - what do you call that? Planted, someone's going to be planted. I stare at the earth for a long time."
             - Emma Healey, 'Elizabeth is Missing'

(Buy it here: 'Elizabeth is Missing' by Emma Healey)