Arlaina Tibensky

“Reading makes me feel like I've lived a thousand lives in addition to my own.”

“...because being a smart-ass is always preferable to being a dumb-ass.”

“Getting all emotionally wrapped up in made-up people's lives gives me a chance to take a break from my own life [...].”

“Books and movies, they are not mere entertainment. They sustain me and help me cope with my real life.”

“This is the thing about great literature. It reads like truth and sticks to you forever and lets you know that you are not alone.”

“I didn't know that you could love and hate your parents totally separately and equally. But you can. And I do.”

“Karina, life can overwhelm you. The trick is to put your head down and just get on with it.”

“Every time I read a book, especially one that grabs my gus, there is another translucent layer added to what makes me, me.”

“Like when people (my parents) ask what I'm going to study in college and I say, "English." They say, "Oh. So you want to be a teacher?" And I want to cover my eyes and mouth with duct tape and pretend to be dead and done with it. No, you simpletons. I want to travel and write and live in a big city, and do cool things with my brain. This is not to disparage the fine and noble art of educating in any way. My English teachers have made me who I am today and I love them with a passion that surprises me. I just don't want to be one.”

“It is blissfully silent as Matt flutters his hands across my stomach and up the insides of my thigs, making me shiver. He smells like Downy fabric softener and sometimes tastes like it too....He smells like clean comfort and tastes like flowers, mint and salt. His arms are hard, his hips and thighs are solod with muscle, mouth hot, tongue alive, and all I want is wanting when we are in the darnkess in the L.”

“Her entire existence is trying to figure out what her life is supposed to be while her heart breaks a little bit everyday over the tragedy of being alive.”

“Crying and scratching. They are both supposed to offer relief, but they don't. My muscles feel bruised and my bones hurt where they get near my skin. I am happiest when I'm typing. And then I push the typewriter off my lap and curl my body around it like a sea horse and fall asleep like Esther, konwing that when I wake up, things will be more or lest exactly the same.”

“Existing is not quite enough. Passionate living is the best revenge.”