The Seeker's Guide by Elizabeth Lesser

Whether they're from new novels or tried-and-true classics, great passages jump out as if they're speaking directly to the reader. Take a look at the lines that have stuck with these Oprah.com readers, then tell us which favorite book quotes you've underlined. 

"A tender heart and a brave soul light up the path for others with the kind of luminosity that heals and enlivens. So don't worry about being good. Instead, discover how both good and bad live within you. Deeply accept the shadows even as you seek the light. Believe in change. Take full responsibility for who you are and what you want. And from such forthright wisdom, your goodness will prevail and your kindness will blossom and your heart will be healed." — Elizabeth Lesser, The Seeker's Guide

As quoted by Nancy from Highland Park, Illinois

 
I Know This Much Is True by Wally Lamb

"Mongrels make good dogs." — Wally Lamb, I Know This Much Is True
    
As quoted by Billie from Tire Hill, Pennsylvania
Turnarounds: Brains, Guts and Stamina by Peter McCann

"Not every flu is pneumonia. There are lots of big and small problems in life and very few real disasters. The turnaround is a vital job, but it is only a job. Your health and your spouse and children are far more important. Never sacrifice your health, spouse and children. Remember that, and you will survive as a human being no matter what occurs during a turnaround." — Peter McCann, Turnarounds: Brains, Guts & Stamina 

As quoted by Virginia, Toronto, Canada
The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

"Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity." — Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture Watch  

As quoted by Allirani, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav

"Do not insist that the universe comply with your understanding of it." — Gary Zukav, The Seat of the Soul  

As quoted by Brenda, Winnipeg, Canada

The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho

"A child can always teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires." — Paulo Coelho, The Fifth Mountain

As quoted by Maria from Taby, Sweden
Ride the River by Louis L'amour

"Do not let yourself be bothered with the inconsequential. One only has so much time in this world, so devote it to the work and the people most important to you, to those you love and things that matter. One can waste half a lifetime with people one doesn't really like or doing things when one would be better off somewhere else." — Louis L'amour, Ride the River

As quoted by Laura from Anchorage, Alaska
Matilda by Roald Dahl

"So Matilda's strong young mind continued to grow, nurtured by the voices of all those authors who had sent their books out into the world like ships on the sea. These books gave Matilda a hopeful and comforting message: You are not alone." — Roald Dahl, Matilda

As quoted by Carla from Phillipston, Massachusetts
Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

"Grief is a most peculiar thing; we're so helpless in the face of it. It's like a window that will simply open of its own accord. The room grows cold, and we can do nothing but shiver. But it opens a little less each time, and a little less; and one day we wonder what has become of it." — Arthur Golden, Memoirs of a Geisha

As quoted by Linda from Newaygo, Michigan
Hamlet by William Shakespeare

"For there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so." 
— William Shakespeare, Hamlet

As quoted by Anne from Buckner, Missouri
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

"It is only with one's heart that one can see clearly, what is essential is invisible to the eye." — Atoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince

As quoted by Patti from Sunnyside, New York
East of Eden by John Steinbeck

"You're going to pass something down no matter what you do or if you do nothing. Even if you let yourself go fallow, the weeds will grow and the brambles. Something will grow." — John Steinbeck, East of Eden

As quoted by Nancy from Mount Holly, North Carolina
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Marie Rilke

"Once the realization is accepted that even between the closest of human beings infinite distances continue to exist, a wonderful living side by side can grow up, if they succeed in loving the distance between them which makes it possible for each to see the other whole against the sky." — Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

As quoted by Grace from Athens, Greece
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy

"He thought that in the beauty of the world were hid a secret. He thought the world's heart beat at some terrible cost and that the world's pain and its beauty moved in a relationship of diverging equity and that in this headlong deficit the blood of multitudes might ultimately be exacted for the vision of a single flower." — Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses

As quoted by Alice from Bluffton, Ohio
A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle

"Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists." — Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth

As quoted by Kristi from Modesto, California
Return to Love by Marianne Williamson

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?" — Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love

As quoted by Brenda from Griffith, Indiana
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston

"There are years that ask questions and years that answer." — Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God

As quoted by Patricia from Mount Holly, North Carolina
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

"Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light."  — J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

As quoted by Catherine from Fairfield, Iowa
Winter's Tale by Mark Helprin

"The treasures of the earth were movement, courage, laughter and love." — Mark Helprin, Winter's Tale
As quoted by Cyndie from Brookfield, Wisconsin

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

"But lifting a person's heart—now that matters. The whole problem with people is...they know what matters, but they don't choose it. ... The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters." — Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees

As quoted by Bridget from Katonah, New York
The Shack by William P. Young

"If anything matters then everything matters. Because you are important, everything you do is important. Every time you forgive, the universe changes; every time you reach out and touch a heart or a life, the world changes; with every kindness and service, seen or unseen, my purposes are accomplished and nothing will ever be the same again."  — William P. Young, The Shack

As quoted by Kelli from Grand Junction, Colorado

What favorite quotes have you underlined?

See what other book clubs are reading next.