#the reader trilogy

“Were they all just stories whose endings had already been written, the dates of their deaths pinned to the page with periods?”

“‘Nothing is written,’ said the Phoenix. ‘You humans always think you're destinied for greatness. Destiny is a myth. Destiny is the only myth. The gods choose nothing. You chose.’”

“‘I believe there are far more possibilities than happily ever after or tragedy. Every story has the potential for infinite endings.’”

“‘Your future can be whatever you wish. We all have the power to choose our own destiny.’”

“Destiny is a path that is both chosen and set before you, and though you may walk it with free will, the end is still the end.”

“What is written always comes to pass.”

“‘The thing about fate, Magnus: even if we can't change the big picture, our choices can alter the details.That's how we rebel against destiny, how we make our mark. What will you choose to do?’”

In a world where the only evidence of your existence was a body subject to decay and the works you left behind when the body was gone, you tried all manner of things to convince yourself that your life had some meaning, some permanence.

There were three ways to kill a king: You could face him with all the force of your military might, and in the end one of you would fall. You could stab him from behind like a coward, cringing in the shadows. Or you could kill him slowly, from the inside out, so he wouldn't even know until it was too late. If you did your job right, he might even thank you for it. These were the differences between Soldiers, Assassins, and Politicians. Only Politicians did it with a certain flair.

Survival is overrated.

People passed stories from mouth to mouth like kisses, or plagues, until they flowed down the streets, into gutters, streams, and rivers, down to the ocean itself.

Living is messy.

Sentiment makes fools of us all.

Worry's what keeps us safe, girl

One was clutching the Book to his chest, under his crossed arms, as if trying to press it into his ribs, until his lungs filled with letters and his heart became a pulsing paragraph.

But look at your world and your life seems to shrink, to cities of paper and seas made of ink. Do you know who you are, or have you been misled? Are you the reader, or are you the read?

This is a word, and a word is a spell - a promise to keep or a secret to tell. Controlling the word means the power to frame how the ages of history remember you name.

Are you hero or villain? A savior or spy? Some titles are lovely. Some titles are lies. You can claim who you are, now that you've found your voice. But those who are chosen will not have a choice.

This is a story as vast as the sea, but on its waters, you'll never be free. No matter your course, your future is set, and destiny laughs as she tightens the net.

Some stories are true, some are not, and most fall somewhere in between.

The words we speak are powerful. They have the ability to shape worlds and start wars, to build bridges and break hearts.

Knowledge is power, but it is also a burden. Once you know something, you can never unknow it. It stays with you, shaping your thoughts and actions forever.

To read is to enter into a sacred pact with the author, to surrender ourselves to the story and allow it to shape us in ways we never thought possible.

To deny oneself the pleasure of reading is to deny oneself the greatest gift of all

If you're reading this, then maybe you know you ought to read everything. And maybe you know you ought to read deeply. Because there's witchery in these words and spellwork in the spine.

Were they all just stories whose endings had already been written, the dates of their deaths pinned to the page with periods?

Wanting the world to be a better place than it is? That doesn’t make you weak. That makes you the kind of person this world needs.

If you didn't like your own life, you changed it. You ran away. You did something spectacular. you didn't steal someone else's story and pretend it was yours.

But being smart was overrated. Being stupid and brave and curious? Now that’s something stories are made of.

“You’re good.”

“At fieldstripping a rifle, or doing it one-handed?”

“Both.”

“Been dealing with guns since I could talk. Been one-handed since I was born.”