Simply Sunday (#33)
Simply Sunday is a reading meme run here at Books for a Delicate Eternity. It’s where you can share your favourite quote of the week; be it from a book, a novella, a short story, a poem – whatever you like!
My Simple Thing:
“Maybe girls need an island to find themselves. Maybe they need a place where no one’s is watching them so they can be who they really are.”
A quote from Libba Bray (Beauty Queens).
Why I Chose It:
Here I am with another Libba Bray quote. Because Libba Bray is QUEEN. Seriously.
I really like this quote because of the way it represents the expectations placed on girls (and women). There are so many expectations, from so many different angles of our lives. The way we look, the words we say, the conversations we have, the way we’re supposed to act, what we’re supposed to do in certain situations. There are so many preconceived ideas about the way that girls and women should simply be that it’s impossible not to come across them every single day.
So I love that about this quote. The way it acknowledges it both subtly and overtly. The way it makes you think about the way we act sometimes (or never, go girl) because it’s the way we think we should. And maybe we all do need a little island to ourselves (although without the evil people like the one in Beauty Queens) so we can escape that and really see who we could be and who we are without society’s eyes on us every moment of our lives.
What do you think of my Simply Sunday? Have you read any quotes you’ve loved recently?
Oddly enough, the first time I read Beauty Queens was, in fact, on a gorgeous, tiny, beachy island – and I think that it made the experience so much more beautiful & worthwhile. Every single line in this book (perhaps all of Libba Bray’s books) deserves to be quoted – but this one, especially, rings with truth. Thank you for sharing, my love. <3
Ah, that would have been so amazing! And yes, Libba Bray is a queen with her words, and I am always in awe of her talent. No problem, dear <3
This quote is seriously everything! I love how you broke it down and said it really breaks down societal conventions without people judging us. I can’t wait to read this book finally!
I know! I absolutely love it. Ah, thank you, lovely <3 I really hope you like it when you get around to reading it! <3
Oh, Chiara- this is one of my very favourite quotes from Beauty Queens. Every time I read it, hear it, think of it, I’m just… taken, for the briefest of moments, to a little quiet place in my mind where it moves in gentle circles, making me think, and I love it. I read other quotes and sometimes they make me smile or think or I like them and I decide to read the book they’re from, and then I’ll read them again and it will wear off, every now and then. But this one never does. It never fails to entrance me. It’s such a complex, beautiful, bittersweet quote. I’m very glad you shared it.
I’m also fairly certain Mary-Lou says it, and she is my favourite so there’s that, too.
YAY! I’m glad I managed to pick one of your favourite quotes from this book, and in general. I really, really like it, as well. And it does make you think, which is why I had a few more thoughts on it than I usually do in these posts.
I am pretty sure she does! I almost picked another quote from her, but this one won out in the end.
Wonderful quote -and I really like how you broke it down. It’s very true! There are so many things that girls should do, that it’s difficult for everyone to just BE authentic.
-Lauren
I’m so glad you liked it, Lauren! It can be difficult sometimes to just BE, which is why I liked this quote so much.