Book and movie quotes

Over the weekend I cut down a tree and a few limbs off of two others. I was being careful. I used ropes to keep the branches from falling where they shouldn’t (like on my head, but also the garden around them). So instead, while taking the rope off a branch after I cut it down, the knot came undone more easily than expected and the end of the branch caught me in the face. When I checked I found I’d received two cuts just above the jaw-line on one side.

After tending to it I began to think forward to Monday, when my co-workers would inevitably ask me what happened. I was all prepared with the perfect line from a book: “[I] took a duck in the face at 250 knots”.

Then reality set in. I can think of maybe two people who would recognize that line, and none of them work with me.

It’s not fair, but books just aren’t as quotable as movies. Part of it is the nature of books vs. movies. When reading a book you’re cruising through the words at a uniform speed, and most of us don’t really hear the words in our head. They flow straight into our brain, by-passing the “quotable quote” detectors. When everything–the setting, the dialogue, the descriptions–is written out, individual lines just don’t stand out.

It’s also because movies are just so much better at setting up lines. They can use pauses and timing in ways books can’t–at least not predictably. And it’s coming in through our ears and eyes simultaneously, which likely engages our memory better.

But then there’s also the problem with the sheer variety of reading available. The chances of someone, even someone who reads regularly, having read the same book as you are rather slim, really. And given the low retention rate of individual lines, you may have read the same book, but not remembered the same lines.

There are relatively few movies, by comparison, and only a few are going to grab the viewers enough to become part of the daily culture. Their lines resonate, to the point that people who’ve not even seen the movie can still borrow the quotes. (I’ve never seen “Better Off Dead,” but I can throw “I want my two dollars!” out there with the best of them.)

It’s a bummer. There are some really good lines in books some times. But it’s just so much harder to make that instant connection with another fan.

First lines, on the other hand, are another story. There are quite a few memorable first lines. But it’s not the same. Don’t believe me? Without looking it up first, leave me a comment with a really memorable book line. Let’s see what you’ve got.