Gems from Jodi Picoult's Nineteen Minutes

I blogged about reading Nineteen Minutes in August 2009. Today, finally, I'm done with reading the book. :D

Here are a few gems from this book:

1. If we don't change the direction we are headed, we will end up where we are going. (Chinese Proverb)

2. You can't undo something that's happened; you can't take back a word that's already been said out loud. You'll think about me and wish that you had been able to talk to me out of this. You'll try to figure out what would have been the one right thing to say, to do. I guess I should tell you, Don't blame yourself; this isn't your fault, but that would be a lie. We both know I didn't get here by myself.

3. Nobody wants to admit to this, but bad things will keep on happening... Maybe bad things happen because it's the only way we can keep remembering what good is supposed to look like.

4. Whether or not you believe in fate comes down to one thing: who you blame when something goes wrong. Do you think it's your fault - that if you'd tried better, or worked harder, it wouldn't have happened? Or do you just chalk it up to circumstance?

5. I know people who'll hear about the people who died, and will say it was God's will. I know people who'll say it was bad luck. And then there's my personal favorite: They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

6. Sometimes, I wonder: If everyone's else opinion is what matters, then do you ever really have one of your own?

7. When you begin a journey of revenge, start by digging two graves: one for your enemy, and one for yourself. (Chinese Proverb)

8. I think a person's life is supposed to be like a DVD. You can see the version everyone else sees, or you can choose the director's cut - the way he wanted you to see it, before everything else got in the way. There are menus, probably, so that you can start at the good spots and not have to relive the bad ones. You can measure your life by the number of scenes you've survived, or the minutes you've been stuck there.

9. Probably, though, life is more like one of those dumb video surveillance tapes. Grainy, no matter how hard you stare at it. And looped: the same thing, over and over.