Favorite Quotes….

So the other day someone asked me what my favorite quote was from The Wise Man’s Fear. I stopped to think about it. And thought.

And thought.

It took me a long while to think of any quotes at all from the book. Which seems odd to me, as I’ve spent the better part of the last year revising it.

For some reason, this isn’t a problem with The Name of the Wind. I have to know a hundred little quotable bits from that book. I can probably do a dozen off the top of my head right now.

There’s  the classic ones:

“It was the patient, cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die.”

“You may have heard of me.”

Kvothe obviously has a bunch of good lines, as he’s not only the protagonist, but the narrator for most of the book as well:

“The day we fret about the future is the day we leave our childhood behind.”

“We are more than the parts that form us.”

“Metal rusts, music lasts forever.”

A few from Bast:

“We all become what we pretend to be.”

“You are not wise enough to fear me as I should be feared.”

“You do not know the first note of the music that moves me.”

A few from Elodin:

“Blue! Blue! Blue!”

“You lack the requisite spine and testicular fortitude to study under me.”

“Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.”

And from some of the supporting characters:

“Yes I am, isn’t it wonderful?”

“All stories are true.”

“A poet is a musician who can’t sing.”

I could go on and on….

Despite this, I have a hard time thinking of The Wise Man’s Fear in terms of quotes. I think it might be because I’ve been focusing on it in terms of plot, character development, story arcs, etc etc. Not in terms of tidy little quotable soundbites.

Or maybe it’s just that The Wise Man’s Fear isn’t as quotable is The Name of the Wind.

So I’m curious, do y’all have some favorite quotes from The Wise Man’s Fear?

And since I’m asking, I wouldn’t mind knowing what some of your favorite quotes are from The Name of the Wind, too….

If so, would you mind posting them in the comments below?

Curiously yours,

pat

P.S. Also, a little attribution wouldn’t hurt. By which I mean it would be nice if you mentioned which book your quote was from, and who exactly said it….

This entry was posted in book twoBy Pat553 Responses

230 Comments

  1. NoJoy
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:25 AM | Permalink

    I don’t have the book in front of me, but my favorite is the bit from p. 27 of TWMF about “use” vs. “utilize” and “moreover”. The first is a pet peeve of mine, and my wife says I use moreover too much. :)

    • Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:21 PM | Permalink

      You don’t have the book in front of you, but it’s on page 27?

      How many times have you read that section that you just happen to remember the page number?

      • echo
        Posted May 14, 2011 at 12:59 AM | Permalink

        This doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, but you should look up Demetri Martin, especially the ‘If I’ act.

        Just saying…

        echo

    • Emmaline
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:40 PM | Permalink

      Sorry, Pat and NoJoy, the word should be ‘quotation’ not ‘quote’. It’s a pet peeve of mine that the two are used incorrectly. ‘Quotation’ is a noun and ‘quote’ is a verb; you ‘quote’ someone or something to get a ‘quotation’.

      My favourite quotation is: ” Did they get the boy’s ass back on?.” LOL! (p. 556)

      My second favourite is: “We all know what kind of story this is.” (p. 688)

      • Specksynder
        Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:53 PM | Permalink

        People being pedants and then being wrong about their pedantry is a pet peeve of mine.

        “Quote” is a verb, but it’s also a noun synonymous with “quotation” and has been for at least a few hundred years. Get over it.

        • Blarghedy
          Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:09 PM | Permalink

          I’m quite the pedant, though I try all sorts of hard to be correct when I pick people’s nits.
          Yes. I’m doing this on porpoise.

        • Emmaline
          Posted May 9, 2011 at 7:37 PM | Permalink

          My mistake – I forgot you speak American, not English. : )

          Pat, your writing is wonderful to read, whether in English or American; I would not read it otherwise! :D

          Specksnyder, I have been a pedant for the past 40 years and have just recently retired – because of students like you. ;p

      • Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:29 PM | Permalink

        Quote is both a noun and a verb. Check a dictionary.

        • Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:54 PM | Permalink

          Now now, people. We’re all friends here. Don’t make me pull this blog over….

          • Tacroy
            Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:09 PM | Permalink

            … but if the blog is a car, then where is it going?

            This raises more questions than it answers :(

          • ktsmom
            Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:37 PM | Permalink

            “How many more miiiiiiles????”, she whined from the back seat?

            ;-)

          • ad occidentum
            Posted May 9, 2011 at 4:41 PM | Permalink

            @ Tacroy – the car’s going to Tinuë of course. ;)

          • Posted May 9, 2011 at 4:44 PM | Permalink

            The tone of my comment came across negative and I apologize. You can keep the blog on the road. :) Are we there yet?

          • brrbear
            Posted May 10, 2011 at 2:22 AM | Permalink

            I have to pee!

          • DrFood
            Posted May 10, 2011 at 9:45 PM | Permalink

            Half an hour.

            Go to sleep.

          • Lorelei
            Posted May 13, 2011 at 9:01 AM | Permalink

            ‘But I want to be there nowwwww…’, she whined under her breath with a giant, overzealous sigh underlined with dramatic under-tones.

          • JRo
            Posted May 28, 2011 at 2:09 PM | Permalink

            -Kicks the back of Pat’s seat repeatedly and tugs on his seat belt.- Can we go to Cracker Barrel?

          • NathanielLionRoar
            Posted April 15, 2012 at 2:50 PM | Permalink
      • shadowfreud
        Posted January 24, 2016 at 2:35 AM | Permalink

        the only thing worse than a prick is an ignorant, attention-hungry, self-righteous one.

        first of all, language is a fluid, ever-changing thing that impossible to really pin down. it’s dictated by peoples’ usage. what’s considered incorrect one day may slowly shift into popular usage the next. if a word or phrase originally intended for one meaning has developed alternative widespread usage, who’s to say that’s not also correct?

        secondly, the closest thing to an authority to the english language that we have, the Oxford English Dicttionary, does in fact define quote as also a noun, meaning a quotation:
        http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/156907?rskey=M6bNJ6&result=2&isAdvanced=false#eid

    • Aero
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 2:57 PM | Permalink

      “…by universal custom, your enemy is never more polite than when he is planning or has planned your destruction.”
      — James Clavell, Shogun

    • Jim
      Posted May 19, 2016 at 2:39 PM | Permalink

      Very, very late to the party, I still wanted to add a few favorites.

      “Stick by the Maer and he will lead you to their door.”

      “This sword’s name was Caesura. This sword was the jarring break in a line of perfect verse. It was the broken breath. It was smooth and swift and sharp and deadly. The name didn’t fit like a glove. It fit like skin. More than that. It was bone and muscle and movement. Those things are the hand. And Caesura was the sword. It was both the name and the thing itself.”

      “You are beautiful, Shehyn. For in you is the stone of the wall, the water of the stream, and the motion of the tree in one.”

      “The Lethani is like water,” I responded without thinking. “It is itself unchanging, but it shapes itself to fit all places. It is both the river and the rain.”

      “I would be whole, but I would be less than I am now … When I dream, I have two hands.”

      “All you have to offer the world is your anger.” (!)

      “Anyone who does not enjoy this fine stew is hardly one of the Ruh in my opinion.”

      “It was deep and wide as autumn’s ending. It was heavy as a great river-smooth stone.”

  2. NoJoy
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:27 AM | Permalink

    And maybe not technically a quote, but the name of Kvothe’s class with Elodin.

    • mynightstar
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 2:42 AM | Permalink

      I agree, if you mean the one about the class being everywhere and all the time? I really enjoyed that one.

      • Korosia
        Posted May 10, 2011 at 11:55 AM | Permalink

        I think he might mean “Introduction to not being a stupid Jackass”

        But i do love them both :D

        • mynightstar
          Posted May 10, 2011 at 3:55 PM | Permalink

          Oh, right! Thanks.
          (“Unlikely Maths” is still my favourite)

        • pink_nessie
          Posted May 20, 2011 at 4:02 PM | Permalink

          Agreed. The name of Elodin’s class cracks me up.

  3. Ariel
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:31 AM | Permalink

    “Maybe the soft creaking of your tendons as you clench your fists is like a sweet symphony to me.” -The Cthaeh, Wise Man’s Fear
    Basically everything the Cthaeh says. I don’t even have my book in front of me, I just love that quote so much I memorized it. The scene with the Cthaeh is my favorite scene out of both books. I wonder if that means I’m a sick, twisted human being? I just think it has some beautiful lines.
    I have a few more, but I’ll have to wait until I have my book, because I don’t remember those ones word for word.

    • Mojojojo449
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 12:16 PM | Permalink

      Mine to! The part with the Cthaeh is my all-time favorite!

    • pendragon87
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 4:43 PM | Permalink

      I love the entire part of the fae, but something about the Cthaeh really got me. the whole scene is beautiful and yet horribly dark. I’ve read that chapter like 100 times.

  4. Shea
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:33 AM | Permalink

    From NOTW:
    “Congratulations. That was the stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. Ever.”
    “Have you ever been annoyed and amused with yourself at the same time?”

    • lyraadriana
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 1:59 PM | Permalink

      That’s the moment that not matter how many times I’ve read the book will always make me laugh out loud. I can hear the tone of that sentence perfectly in my mind.

      • laurafromNY
        Posted May 11, 2011 at 7:25 AM | Permalink

        @ Shea and @lyraadriana: Both are my favorite, though I must say, the first more so than the other. I pictured it perfectly in my mind and was cracking up aloud.

  5. FantasticBastard
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:35 AM | Permalink

    My favorite quote from TWMF comes from Bredon, speaking of Meluan:

    “If there were a woman [he said] who loved me with one-tenth the passion this lady feels for you, I would count myself the luckiest of men.”

    I think I like it more because of Bredon’s juxtaposition of Meluan’s seething, unfathomable hatred for Kvothe with what that could be like as love. Good stuff.

    (“Is ‘excrescence’ even a word?” from that same passage is pretty badass too.)

  6. Kelly
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:37 AM | Permalink

    I don’t even have to think very hard about this. TWMF, chapter seventy-six, spoken by our narrator: “I ate the entire little cheese, including the rind.” I laughed out loud for a long, long time when I first read that. In fact, I wanted to have you inscribe something about eating soft cheeses in my book when I went to your Chicago signing, but I was too chicken to ask.

    • cynrtst
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:20 PM | Permalink

      That’s my favorite quote too, including the “kind of person who eats the rind of the little cheese”

      • toastedfroglegs
        Posted May 9, 2011 at 4:59 PM | Permalink

        this is also my favorite quote and when pat signed my book i had him write “eat the whole little cheese…” in the cover:) yay wisconsin!

  7. peterbinks
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:43 AM | Permalink

    “A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet introspection”

    I believe that is Kvothe, though I’m not sure.

    Also, anything by Elodin, especially the classroom scene.

    • O. Isacoa
      Posted June 9, 2011 at 4:39 PM | Permalink

      Kvothe says it but he’s quoting Teccam.

  8. jec81
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:45 AM | Permalink

    “You may have heard of me.”

    ever since i went to patrick’s book signing in chicago in march, i have been kicking myself for not asking him to inscribe the books with “patrick rothfuss (you may have heard of me).”

  9. Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:48 AM | Permalink

    Mine is either

    “The things they produced in Alchemy Complex made Arsenic look like sugar in your tea.”

    From Wise Man’s Fear by our Narrator.

    Or from Name of the Wind,

    “Before it was just a story, but now I can believe it. This is the face of a man who has killed an angel.” Thought by Chronicler.

    • arves
      Posted May 13, 2011 at 7:59 PM | Permalink

      “Before it was just a story, but now I can believe it. This is the face of a man who has killed an angel.” Thought by Chronicler.

      That gives me incredible gooseflesh every time I am reading it.

      Everything the Cthaeh says is just too good. His words are like venom, but a really badass venom that makes me shiver and read it over and over.

      • The Wise Mans Fear
        Posted May 18, 2011 at 4:03 AM | Permalink

        The scene and words that the Cthaeh speaks seems so beautiful and lovely, very angelic yet its has words are as maliciousness as a venom that would kill a man in a second…

    • The Wise Mans Fear
      Posted May 18, 2011 at 3:57 AM | Permalink

      Agreed :)

  10. sancie
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:48 AM | Permalink

    My favorite line from TWMF was Elodin’s: “Uresh. Your next assignment is to have sex. If you do not know how to do this, see me after class.” That cracked me up…

    My favorite line from NTW was from Auri and it was something she said about an owl and I cannot for the life of me remember what… This is gonna bug me all day…

    • DraccusPlum
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:58 AM | Permalink

      Oh, I had forgotten about that line from Elodin – that cracked me up, and cracked me up again remembering it.

    • Alatarsand
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:43 PM | Permalink

      That TWMF quote is also my favorite, And I almost got it inscribed on my book in St. Louis. “Blue! Blue! Blue!” won out.

      The owl thing that Auri says: “Owls are wise. They are careful and patient. Wisdom precludes boldness. That is why owls make poor heroes.”

      • Alatarsand
        Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:44 PM | Permalink

        (p 620)

      • sancie
        Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:17 PM | Permalink

        That was totally it :) Love it! Thanks for finding it :)

    • The Wise Mans Fear
      Posted May 18, 2011 at 3:59 AM | Permalink

      AHA definitely that was absolutely hilarious!! (that spelling of hilarious looks wrong to me…)

  11. The Stray
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:50 AM | Permalink

    From TWMF, Chapter 73:

    “Teccam claims it is better to have a mouthful of poison than a secret of the heart…Given enough time, they cannot help but crush the heart that holds them. Modern philosophers scorn Teccam, but they are vultures picking at the bones of a giant. Quibble all you like, Teccam understood the shape of the world.”

    The bit about Tempi asking why the Maer is looking for hairy balls was hilarious and left me in stitches, but I don’t remember quite which chapter that was in.

    Elodin talking about teaching: “Master Kvothe, I am trying to wake your sleeping mind to the subtle language the world is whispering. I am trying to seduce you into understanding. I am trying to teach you. Quit grabbing at my tits.”

    • Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:24 PM | Permalink

      So many people have loved that scene. It was one of the ones I was originally thinking of cutting to streamline and shorten the University section.

      I’m glad I didn’t.

      • Blarghedy
        Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:15 PM | Permalink

        I find it interesting that you wanted to shorten the time spent in the University. I don’t think I have a preference, either way, but the two people to whom I introduced your books both say they disliked how long he was training with the Adem. Speaking of which, how do you pronounce Adem? I’ve always pronounced it something like “ah-dem”, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s supposed to be more like “ay-dem”.

        • CrymsynEve
          Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:14 PM | Permalink

          The audiobook pronounces it as “ay-dem”.

          • mutinyonthebay
            Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:23 PM | Permalink

            I cannot help but to notice, however, that the audiobook tends to pronounce everything in its “hard” variant. (Ay-dem, Ay-myr, arc-an-ist, El-oh-din, Ay-lar, etc.) While reading, I tended to pronounce things softly, as it tended to sound nicer to my ear. (Ah-dem, Ah-myr, arc-a-nist, El-uh-din, Ah-lar, etc.)

        • TangentialMind
          Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:18 PM | Permalink

          I wonder stuff like that all the time… Glad I’m not the only one!

          • CrymsynEve
            Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:30 PM | Permalink

            I read them as a mix. I read “ay-dem” and “ay-myr”. Elodin is tricky, because his name sounded like “el-lou-din” to me. Almost like a long ooh noise.

        • ktsmom
          Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:49 PM | Permalink

          And how on EARTH do you pronounce “Cthaeh”???
          cuh-THAY?

          I say the others:

          ah-DEM
          eh-LOH-din
          ah-MEER
          ar-CAN-ist

          (You have to show the syllabic emphasis with all caps, or no one can tell how you’re pronouncing it)

          • Liam
            Posted May 9, 2011 at 10:13 PM | Permalink

            I definitely pronounced it kuh-THAY-uh.

            (and for that matter, I was ah-DEM, EL-oh-din, Aye-myr, AR-can-ist)

            Also the Cthaeh scene was probably the coolest scene I’ve ever read in a book.

          • mynightstar
            Posted May 10, 2011 at 2:31 AM | Permalink

            I’m not sure I trust myself to write correctly in your way on how I would pronounce the words so I’ll use phonetic transcript instead: /kə’θaə/, /’ɑmy:r/, /’ɛlodin/, /’a:dəm/ and /’alɑ:r/.
            However, I realize I’m very influenced by Nordic languages when I say this (I’m from Sweden) so it might not be good :/.

            In many ways, I also thought the Cthaeh scene was interesting.

        • celebrenithil
          Posted May 9, 2011 at 7:20 PM | Permalink

          It is clear.
          We need Pat to go on Forvo.com and pronounce those words and settle our torturing questionings.

      • mselj854
        Posted May 9, 2011 at 10:06 PM | Permalink

        I love that quote! I am so glad that you didn’t cut it out. It w as one of those times when you are reading and you laugh so loud that everyone gives you weird looks and wonders if your not just a little bit deranged.

      • Sherry
        Posted May 21, 2011 at 3:01 AM | Permalink

        I’m so very pleased you left this scene in. As a long time (wo/lu)rker of a local technical college, I have had the great pleasure of befriending and helping wonderfully brilliant people of all ages in spite of my own lacking academic skills. I have had enough recurring bouts of being ‘mom’ to many clever young people that the hubris of their stompy expectations of immediate knowledge-gratification has lost it’s frantic luster and become the trademark e-peen waggling cry for help. Though married 12 years and quite faithful, I have to say, Master Linguist Elodin made my heart race in both sympathy and awe for his eloquence when I read this. I’m so very glad my friend recommended your books to me last week. Please write more. Please. =)

        P.S. I have quoted your first book more often in drips and drabs to my friend, but your second has had more lengthy attention in that I’ve quoted whole scenes. Both are wonderful. Each in its own way.

      • Oliver Stein Inc.
        Posted November 6, 2011 at 11:10 AM | Permalink

        That scene has been my ace in the hole for getting people to read your book! can you post some other deleted scenes?

  12. Taedirk
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:50 AM | Permalink

    “It was the same scolding any child receives. Stay out of the neighbor’s garden. Don’t tease the Bentons’ shepp. Don’t play tag among the thousand spinning knives of your people’s sacred tree.”

    Kvothe narrating at the end of Ch. 118, WMF

    • CrymsynEve
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:14 PM | Permalink

      I love that quote, that was, incidentally, my FB status a few days ago.

    • Skoivan
      Posted May 11, 2011 at 12:42 PM | Permalink

      Yes! And I always read it like it was a grandmother essentially saying “I’ve told you a thousand times!…”

    • Banhmisohorny
      Posted May 12, 2011 at 12:06 PM | Permalink

      Yes. That is the one!

  13. duvey42
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:55 AM | Permalink

    WMF, chapter 8. Kvothe and Elodin.

    “Master Elodin, why don’t you want to teach me naming?”
    “That’s the wrong question, try again.”
    “Why are you burning your clothes?”
    “Nope. Not even close to the right question.”
    “Oh God, whose rooms are these?”
    “Very Good. I would also have accepted, ‘Why don’t you have a key for this room?’ or ‘What are we doing in here?'”

    WMF, chapter 7, Auri
    “I know. You have a stone in your heart, and some days it’s so heavy there is nothing to be done. But you don’t have to be alone for it. You should have come to me. I understand.”

    • James66
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:33 PM | Permalink

      I love that scene with Elodin and kvothe. It was ingenious.

      • pink_nessie
        Posted May 20, 2011 at 4:24 PM | Permalink

        Anything with Elodin. That crazy man is hot. @.@

    • lucodyne
      Posted October 3, 2011 at 12:53 AM | Permalink

      In all seriousness, I’d give anything to have a friend like Auri.

    • Michael Hardy
      Posted February 10, 2019 at 4:00 PM | Permalink

      The quote you picked from Auri… I love it! Yet somehow every time I get to it when I’m re-reading TWMF there will unfailingly end up with someone that’s cutting onions directly under my nose… I’M NOT CRYING, YOU’RE CRYING!

      The other scene with Auri that will make tear up with out fail is actually where TSRoST links up with TWMF…

      The Wise Mans Fear: Day 2
      Chapter 11: Haven (Dialogue between Auri and Kvothe)
      Kvothe has just given Auri 3 gifts (as because he was a perfect young gentleman that evening)

      Auri: Now stand up, I have 3 things for you as is only fair.

      Narration: I came to my feet and she held out something wrapped in a piece of cloth. It was a thick candle that smelled of lavender.

      Kvothe: What’s inside of it?

      Narration: I asked

      Auri: Happy dreams, I put them there for you.

      Narration: I turned the candle over in my hands, a suspicion forming.

      Kvothe: Did you make this yourself?

      Narration: She nodded and gave a delighted grin.

      Auri: I did, I am terribly clever!

      Narration: I tucked it carefully into one of the pockets of my cloak.

      Kvothe: Thank you, Auri.

      Narration: Auri grew serious.

      Auri: Now close your eyes and bend down, so I can give you second present.

      Narration: Puzzled, I closed my eyes and bent at the waist. Wondering if she had made me a hat as well. I felt her hands on either side of my face, then she gave me a tiny delicate kiss in the middle of my forehead. Surprised I opened my eyes, but she was already standing several steps away, her hands clasped nervously behind her back. I couldn’t think of anything to say. Auri took a step forward.

      Auri: You are special to me. – Me reading this part ?

      Narration: She said seriously, her face grave.

      Auri: I want you to know, I will always take care of you. – Me reading this part ?

      Narration: She reached out tentatively and wiped at my cheeks.

      Auri: No, none of that tonight. This is your third present: If things are bad you can come and stay with me in the Underthing. It’s nice there and you’ll be safe.

      Kvothe: Thank you, Auri.

      Narration: I said, as soon as I was able.

      Kvothe: You are special to me too.

      Auri: Of course I am!

      Narration: She said matter of factly.

      Auri: I am as lovely as the moon!

  14. josh
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:55 AM | Permalink

    “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

    • sevvack
      Posted May 20, 2011 at 1:55 PM | Permalink

      Yes, thats one of my favorites too. increadably poetic. you rule pat!

    • zacharymstein
      Posted December 16, 2014 at 6:33 PM | Permalink

      So I’m three years, seven months, and a handful of days late (not to mention that it’s unlikely anyone will read this unless they have as much free time at work as I do and that seems unlikely) but this is one of my favorite quotes as well. I fairly certain it’s a reworking of a John Dryden quote (wouldn’t some of my literature professors be pleased to know some of what they said stuck) but I much prefer this version.

  15. direwolf
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:56 AM | Permalink

    “The sight of you is all the fouler, knowing that you once were fair.” – Selitos to Lanre from NTW

    Also, the eponymous advice from WMF is probably my favorite quote, but I doubt you need help remembering that one. “There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

  16. npod42
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:58 AM | Permalink

    Really, there are too many to count. Here are a few I enjoyed. I apologize, the first is a bit long. Also, I only own the kindle version, so I can’t really give page numbers.

    “We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That’s as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.” -Kvothe, talking about his lute, the first time that he played at the Eolian in this book.

    “Uresh. Your next assignment is to have sex. If you do not know how to do this, see me after class.” -Elodin

    “Books are a poor substitute for female companionship, but they are easier to find.” -Kvothe

    “I am trying to wake your sleeping mind to the subtle language the world is whispering. I am trying to seduce you into understanding. I am trying to teach you…Quit grabbing at my tits.” -Elodin

    “It’s the questions we can’t answer that teach us the most.” -Kvothe, when talking about his father made puzzles for him to solve

    Last but certainly not least…
    “There is a great deal of difference between a penis and heart.” -Vashet

    • CapitanaCanija
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:08 PM | Permalink

      No doubt, my favourite quote from the book is the first you have posted: “We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That’s as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.”

      • shawnoyes
        Posted May 12, 2011 at 10:51 PM | Permalink

        This is my favorite as well. I’ve been going through a lot lately (my fiancée broke up with me a month before the wedding). I’ve been torn about how I feel about her and us. This passage spoke volumes to me. It accurately sums up everything I feel about love.

        Thank you Pat. Sincerely.

        • pink_nessie
          Posted May 20, 2011 at 4:28 PM | Permalink

          <3 Feel better. <3 Pat heals all wounds.

    • Kat
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 4:08 PM | Permalink

      This one is my favorite, too, although I would have selected the end part: “Anyone can love a thing because. That’s as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.” When I read this in WMF it gave me shivers and I thought “That, *that* is what love is about, and Pat Rothfuss knows his business here.”

    • Papoula
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 9:05 PM | Permalink

      I really love that bit about love… So much so that it’s the quote I chose for my wedding invitation! :-)

      • Skoivan
        Posted May 11, 2011 at 12:45 PM | Permalink

        That is awesome! I’d like to put in a vote that your wedding invitations are officially the best EVER. (so far…)

  17. DraccusPlum
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:02 PM | Permalink

    The entirety of the Plum Bob, where Kvothe keeps trying to figure out what’s acceptable to do, and everyone has to keep explaining to him why it’s not okay. “I’m telling you three times…” in particular, but every line for that entire part of the book had me in hysterics/awe. There are others, both stirring and funny, but re-typing that much just seems…excessive?

    • wmconnor
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 9:21 PM | Permalink

      LOL. I loved that whole bit too.

    • Skoivan
      Posted May 11, 2011 at 12:46 PM | Permalink

      That was one of many chapters that had me rolling with laughter.

  18. manson
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:02 PM | Permalink

    TWMF Kvothe with Simmon and Fela
    “A meat pie or a fruit pie?”
    The whole plum bob scene with Simmon is hilarious, every time I read it I laugh out loud. Just thinking about it has me smiling.

  19. barnacle
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:06 PM | Permalink

    I have an entire wall of quotes on the cork-board above my computer.. so staring at it.. let’s see what I can find from your books!

    “It was more like the two of us had entered into a business partnership in order to more efficiently pursue our mutual interest of hating each other.”

    “If I’d been whoring before class and waved a corset at him, no one would have thought twice about it!”

    “”What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Chronicler snapped, “You’re just spouting nonsense now.”
    “I’m spouting too much sense for you to understand.”

    “By your logic I should also be in charge of Solinade dances, needlework, and horse theiving.”

    and..
    “Anker stared at me from behind the bar, as did everyone else in the room. “That was not my fault,” I said, pointing at the door. “She went crazy on her own.”

    I have a feeling I missed a few, but all the quotes are jumbled anyway.. I also have a feeling this comment will now be excruciatingly long. Oh well, enjoy!

    • barnacle
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:09 PM | Permalink

      Sorry, just saw this and it needs to be added!

      “And then there was Abenthy, my first real teacher. He taught me more than all the others set end to end. If not for him, I would never have become the man I am today.
      I ask that you not hold it against him, he meant well.”

      • sevvack
        Posted May 20, 2011 at 1:58 PM | Permalink

        i love that one too.

    • Alatarsand
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:49 PM | Permalink

      “I’m thinking twice about it now.”

    • Posted June 10, 2011 at 5:16 AM | Permalink

      A wall of quotes?? That is infinitely amazing! I’m never going to have wallpaper again!

  20. Hxlgg
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:06 PM | Permalink

    WMF; Chapter 114; Page 753:

    “Aethe, near my heart.
    Without vanity, the ribbon.
    Without duty, the wind.
    Without blood, the victory.”

    The entire section surrounding the Adem was beautiful and moving. I was luckily enough to have you, Pat, inscribe (one of) my book(s) with the last line of this quote. It will be one of my most-treasured possessions. Thank you.

  21. Rob
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:07 PM | Permalink

    All of the following are from Wise Man’s Fear . . . .

    Elodin is far and away the most quotable character in the book. His irreverence flowing through anything he says leaves me laughing, or at least smiling, almost all the time. I had to put the book down just to finish laughing when he burned Hemme’s clothes.

    I enjoyed the discussion on pomace, between Chronicler and Kvothe, just because my head is usually too full of other things to enjoy such a dialogue on the finer points of language.

    Bast’s dramatic little quip about beating Chronicler ten colors of red, if he hit him again, also bears mentioning.

  22. ivercrest
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:07 PM | Permalink

    I’ve only read Wise Man’s Fear once so…I’ll need to read it again to get a good grasp of what I find quotable in there but…this quote…

    “Music is a proud, temperamental mistress. Give her the time and attention she deserves, and she is yours. Slight her and there will come a day when you call and she will not answer. ”

    …from the name of the wind is one of the powerful passages I’ve ever read. As a professional musician who makes their career writing, performing, and conducting music….this quote ABSOLUTELY personifies…for me…what it’s like to be a musician. The first time I read this passage it hit me physically…like a shot to the gut….thank you…for you words.

  23. origami
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:07 PM | Permalink

    “The red ones offend my aesthetic.” -The Cthaeh

  24. Hecuba
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:08 PM | Permalink

    ‘Your face is like the perfect kitchen’ – Denna, NOTW

    ‘ “Do you know what would happen, if you tried to kill Ambrose?” Simmon asked… “There’d be a trial, I suppose, ” I said slowly, “and people would buy me drinks” ‘ – WMF

    • Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:27 PM | Permalink

      Oh. I forgot that Denna quote. That’s one of my favorites….

    • Kara J
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:31 PM | Permalink

      Both of those are amongst my favourites, as is:

      “You lack the requisite spine and testicular fortitude to study under me.”

      That last one made me snort tea out of my nose :-P

  25. Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:09 PM | Permalink

    Hey, Pat.

    Well, I posted this as my Facebook status and got like a hundred likes:

    “We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because.That’s as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.”

    And… I liked it too :)

    The book was great. I’m already waiting for the next one ;)

    • Henkemeyer
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:37 PM | Permalink

      Same here — this was my FB status, and it blew people away! This is my favorite quote.

  26. faile556
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:09 PM | Permalink

    WMF – Denna “This has ever been my hope. For without hope what do any of us have?”

  27. Mojojojo449
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:10 PM | Permalink

    “Whose room is this?”-Kvothe, WMF (that’s from memory so I’m not sure if that’s exactly how it’s phrased)

  28. jdrake13
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:11 PM | Permalink

    Two came to mind right away:

    Elodin talking about teaching: “Master Kvothe, I am trying to wake your sleeping mind to the subtle language the world is whispering. I am trying to seduce you into understanding. I am trying to teach you. Quit grabbing at my tits.”

    Kvothe talking about studying: “Books are a poor substitute for female companionship, but they are easier to find.” I shared this with everyone.

  29. McWhoopass
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:11 PM | Permalink

    Hands down is this passage by Elodin in The Name of the Wind:

    “Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. There are seven words that will make a person love you. There are ten words that will break a strong man’s will. But a word is nothing but a painting of a fire. A name is the fire itself.” –The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss

    • TroyLeonardo
      Posted November 13, 2014 at 11:33 AM | Permalink

      What page number is this quote on?

    • Vash0013
      Posted February 20, 2015 at 8:53 AM | Permalink

      This is by far my favorite quote in the whole book, I can’t think of anything that can top this one.

  30. Murdoc the Mad
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:12 PM | Permalink

    From when Elodin is speaking with Lorren through his window, on top of Masters’ Hall in the dead of night:
    “Tombs is for feckless tits who can’t chew their own food. My boy’s a Re’lar. He has the feck of twenty men! He needs to explore the Stacks and discover all manner of useless things.”

    • feory274
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 7:04 PM | Permalink

      I also love the ending of that when Elodin promises Loren that he can cut off Kvothe’s thumbs if he does anything. And Elodin tells him to be careful ’cause he never knows when Loren is serious or not.

  31. Federico
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:13 PM | Permalink

    TWMF, chapter 113:

    Vashet: “I will admit, I’ve never had a studen offer himself up for a vicious beating in order to prove he’s worth my time.”
    Kvothe: “That was nothing. Once I jumped off a roof.”

    That cracked me up for a long time…

    • Fra
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 4:16 AM | Permalink

      that is mine favorite too. Actually, I used it. The problem was: it’s not so funny if you ever did it. He did. Jumped off a roof, I mean. And it was stupid when he did it the first time too! Great bragging about it!

  32. origami
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:14 PM | Permalink

    Boo I wish I had the book on me. I’ll have to come back with more. But in the part with Kvothe, Elodin and Auri on the roof, when Kvothe looked at Elodin’s eyes and saw that they were “utterly sane”.

  33. Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:14 PM | Permalink

    Lifechanging quote from The Wise Man’s Fear:
    “Bones mend, regret stays with you forever”

  34. duo1733
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:15 PM | Permalink

    Now I’ve only read A Wise Man’s Fear once so I’m sure I’ll pick up more.
    Kvothe; “I’m old enough to feel old.

    Kvothe; “Your smile is like cool water on my dry, tired heart.”

    That second one may be a little off.

    And sense I’ve read The Name of the Wind 4 times and listened to it about 8 times I remember a lot more, but my favorites are.
    Kvothe; “What can you offer me that’s worth the price of remembering?”

    Kvothe; “Nothing but the truth could break me. What is harder than the truth?”

  35. Jado
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:16 PM | Permalink

    Even if there is less quoteable material in WMF, there are certainly a lot more moments in the book which made me laugh compared to NOTW. This isn’t to say NOTW isn’t funny it’s just WMF had some really great moments!

    As for the quotes:

    “A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet introspection”

    and this one part of the original tag-line really appeals to me:

    “I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during the day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep”

  36. Cmmorgado
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:18 PM | Permalink

    I just made an account on here after following it for two years just so I might answer this question.

    My favorite quote in The Wise Man’s Fear from lips of Kvothe: “It was worth blood and fear of death to see her fall in love with him. Just a little. Just the first faint breath of love, so light she probably didn’t notice it herself. It wasn’t dramatic, like some bolt of lightning with a crack of thunder following. It was more like when flint strikes steel and the spark fades almost too fast for you to see. But still, you know it’s there, almost where you can’t see, kindling.”

    My favorite quote from The Name Of The Wind from the pen of Patrick Rothfuss: “Chris, don’t fuck this one up or I’ll de-corn your cob…”, which is in reference to my totally destroyed paperback copy.

    • fordified
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:21 PM | Permalink

      “don’t fuck this one up or I’ll de-corn your cob…”

      Logged for later use. Thank you Patrick via Chris.

  37. kanneblei
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:25 PM | Permalink

    Kvothe to Vashet after his first “lesson”:
    “This was nothing, once I jumped off a roof.”
    That had me laughing for quite a while.

    Also from WMF:
    “Her skills in love, they do suffice,
    In close embrace, men find her nice.”
    LOL, pwned!

    And one of the best quotes from NotW was when he was up on the roof holding the tile:
    “I could have, and I didn’t. I made my choice and I regret it to this day. Bones mend. Regret stays with you forever.”

    Greetings from Brazil, Pat. Your book is great, it spread like fire amongst my friends. Me and my sister keep exchanging e-mails and SMSs whenever we think we’ve found something new to the story. I’m guessing we solved quite a few of mysteries from the clues you left :)

    • Nola
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 7:38 PM | Permalink

      So this comment reminds me of something that I’ve been wanting to ask on this blog for a while.

      Sorry, Pat. This comment is directed more to your fans than you.

      Does anyone know of a forum (or would like to set up a forum/mailing list/something better) to discuss the books. I love in depth reading and Pat has placed so many subtle hints in his books. I want to discuss my theories with people who are as obsessed as I am, however I don’t want to potentially ruin anything for anyone.

      I’ve already got a name for the forum….

      What’s all the Roth-FUSS about?

      And yes, it took me a while to come up with that awful pun. And yes, I’m pretty pleased with myself…

      • PT_Nerd_FT_Tchr
        Posted May 11, 2011 at 8:59 AM | Permalink

        goodreads.com, specifically the “Sword and Laser” group has “The Kingkiller Chronicles” thread discussing the books.

        • Robertk
          Posted May 12, 2011 at 6:36 PM | Permalink

          I have a thread going on the Facebook WMF group. No one has particiated as of yet which stuns me really? Like you I noticed the little tidbits that keep you up at night wondering.

      • Matt Knecht
        Posted May 13, 2011 at 1:02 PM | Permalink

        Jo Walton is doing a re-read of both books with weekly posts and active discussion in the comments thread at Tor.com. We’re up to Chapter 23 of NotW.

    • seank888
      Posted April 17, 2012 at 8:29 PM | Permalink

      I’ve noticed those clues too I’ve just given NOTW to a friend but he’s not even out of Tarbean yet so I don’t have anyone to talk to about. I’ll probably go join the fb group now.

  38. krug3232
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:26 PM | Permalink

    My favorite. It touched my heart.

    “You have a stone in your heart, and some days it’s so heavy there is nothing to be done. But you don’t have to be alone for it. You should have come to me. I understand.” ~Auri

  39. Ursula
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:26 PM | Permalink

    You already posted my favorite quote: “Words can light fires in the minds of men.”

    This always makes me think of MLK, and more recently, Obama’s 2008 campaign. I love to have this quote, from one of my favorite books, associated with Obama’s campaign and the fire so many of us felt during that time.

    Obama/ Kvothe 2012

  40. mgwa
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:28 PM | Permalink

    So many great quotes already cited! I don’t have one favorite quote, so I’ll mention a scene. My son and I both agree that the scene where Auri goes to Kvothe’s room to comfort him is the best scene you’ve written in either book. Brings tears to my eyes every time I read it.

  41. Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:29 PM | Permalink

    :) of course my favs are the Auri Quote you wrote in my book: “Yes I am, isn’t it wonderful?” and in the second book: “Why would anything clever think it was a lettuce?” Thanks by the way for writing them in! :)

  42. figmentj
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:31 PM | Permalink

    “Only priests and fools are fearless, and I’ve never been on the best of terms with God.” – Kvothe, TNOTW, p. 47

    “Call a jack a jack. Call a spade a spade. But always call a whore a lady. Their lives are hard enough, and it never hurts to be polite.” – his father, TNOTW, p. 60

    The whole bit about being “beautiful, seen” from Bast on p. 716.

    Ditto all the folks quoting Elodin in the classroom from TWMF.

    Also liked the part about not understanding love, or music, or him (when comparing the barmaid to Felurian) – not sure of what page that one’s on.

    • Little My
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:28 PM | Permalink

      Ditto NOTW p. 60. I’d forgotten that one, but always thought it was a great quotable quote.

  43. HikaShin
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:31 PM | Permalink

    From TWMF, when he’s talking to Fela and Sim.

    “Fela, you are just gorgeous,” [Kvothe] said. “I would give you all the money in my purse if I could just look at you naked for two minutes. I’d give everything I own. Except my lute.”

    Then later.

    “I was just looking to trade,” [Kvothe] said. “Unless you are willing to let me see you naked.” [Kvothe] hefted the purse with [his] other hand and met Fela’s eye. “Sim says it’s wrong, but he’s and idiot with women. My head might not be screwed on quite as tightly as I’d like but I remember that clearly”

  44. Zivtele
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:33 PM | Permalink

    I’ve left the book at my boyfriends … but the bit where Kvothe and Auri are talking about lettuce and shoes makes me smile every time! :)

    “What did you bring me?” I countered.
    She grinned. “I have an apple that thinks its a pear. And a bun that thinks it’s a cat. And a lettuce that thinks its a lettuce.”
    “It’s a clever lettuce then.”
    “Hardly,” she said with a delicate snort. “Why would anything clever think it’s a lettuce?”
    “Even if it is a lettuce?” I asked.
    “Especially then,” she said. “Bad enough to be a lettuce. How awful to think you are a lettuce too.”

    Found it online, hope it’s accurate :)

    Can’t find the one about shoes. But it is the one where Kvothe says to Auri that she needs shoes and when she asks him what would be in them, he replies: “Your feet.”

    • Zivtele
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:40 PM | Permalink

      I have read many books with many great characters, but Auri most definatley is my favourite.
      In fact, if I ever have a daughter I’d love to name her that.
      Problem is, I am Latvian and in Latvian “Auri” means howling… so maybe not.

      • TangentialMind
        Posted May 12, 2011 at 6:51 AM | Permalink

        Interesting…

      • daniellerenee
        Posted October 6, 2011 at 12:12 AM | Permalink

        Verrry interesting.

    • jasperflint
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 6:29 PM | Permalink

      I love this scene so much. Auri definitely has the best lines.

  45. lys
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:33 PM | Permalink

    Although I enjoyed everything said by Kvothe under the influence of the plum bob and just about everything said by or about Elodin, two quotes that leap to mind as bits I enjoyed from WMF are:

    “She didn’t scowl exactly, but it looked like she was getting all the pieces of a scowl together in one place, just in case she needed them in a hurry.”

    “Their eyes went to the flickering fire, then back to me. I was one of those. I meddled with dark powers. I summoned demons. I ate the entire little cheese, including the rind.”

    • Little My
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:29 PM | Permalink

      Yes, yes! That one about the scowl was perfect.

      • DrFood
        Posted May 10, 2011 at 9:57 PM | Permalink

        I loved the idea of scowl construction.

    • feory274
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:15 PM | Permalink

      because we all know that eating the rind is very bad manners

    • Skoivan
      Posted May 11, 2011 at 12:59 PM | Permalink

      Those cheese rind eaters are a dangerous lot.

  46. GilR
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:36 PM | Permalink

    I had a list of a few but most were mentioned already :P, but I would like to offer my favorite one-liner:

    “I’ve waited a long time to show these flowers how pretty you are”
    -Kvote, Wise Man’s Fear

  47. grundolf
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:38 PM | Permalink

    Hi Pat (and everyone else),

    This is OFF TOPIC, but I thought I’d post it here rather than send an email because one of the regulars might be able to answer this question that’s been niggling away at me.

    So the premise is that Kvothe is telling his story orally, each book being one day. But the WMF felt way too long, so I checked out how long the audiobook is. More than 40 hours, while the NOTW comes in just over 24. Even if you discount descriptions of things going on in the present, it’s a stretch. So does this take place on a planet where days are way longer, or can Kvothe dilate time, or is it ‘magic story time’ , like in folk tales where the youngest son has to work for a witch for 3 years but every year is only a day? Or are we effectively reading the Chronicler’s account, with more flourish – although that doesn’t work, because we see things he doesn’t know about. Or are we not supposed to let that get in the way of a good story? I’d greatly appreciate if someone could clearthis up for me or could point me to a post where Pat talked about this!

    • Ariel
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:44 PM | Permalink

      This is just me, but I’m gonna guess the answer is, “It’s a story. Suspend disbelief and don’t worry about it.” Meaning, there is no perfect, logical explanation for exactly how many hours this story takes for Kvothe to tell in its entirety. Pat Rothfuss told an unbelievably cool and creative story, and I just try to enjoy it, and ignore the nagging little things like this — because they’re really not important to the story itself. =)

    • The_Eleventh_Evien
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:36 PM | Permalink

      My 2 cents? The passage of time is poorly measured by the spoken/written word. Think about this:
      How long does it take you to get out of your chair, walk over to a table, and pick up an apple?
      Now how long does it take for you to describe that? And what if you’re suddenly attacked by a bat along the way?

      Consider that many instances of the book unfolded in the space of seconds, IE: Bast summoning fire and a black bird to demonstrate his power – That took place in the snap of a finger and the clap of the hand.

    • Angelbaka
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:39 PM | Permalink

      Among other things, Chronicler woke rather late in the day for the first day (Being concussed will do that to you) and I think they had rather more interruptions on the first day. Mostly, though, I think Chronicler just woke up really late. Of course, there’s also the issue of ‘translation’. Kvothe is presumably telling Chronicler his story in Common, not English. It’s quite possible he just put his phrasing in common as something that translated to a much longer phrase in English. This happens a lot with translation. That, of course, is just a method of suspension of disbelief, because while I wouldn’t put it past Rothfuss to actually have Common laid out in it’s entirety as a language, I can’t see him writing the actual book in it and then translating it to English. That’s a bit obsessive, even for him.

      Of course, you should also be suspending disbelief. I mean, c’mon. Of course, if Randall can have Star Wars ruined by Indo-European word roots, I suppose you could have NotW ruined by speaking time… Still, seems like a shame to loose such a great story to something so inconsequential.

  48. Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:41 PM | Permalink

    it has already been posted, so count this as another vote for it.

    “We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That’s as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite, to know the flaws and love them too, that is rare and pure and perfect.”
    -Kvothe, The Wise Man’s Fear

  49. laura rose
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:43 PM | Permalink

    My favorite:

    “You are my shiny penny on roadsides.” (Kvothe after Denna gives him the lute case)

  50. The Delicious
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:46 PM | Permalink

    Not so much a quote, but the joke about the child with the golden screw for a belly button just absolutely slayed me.

    • Sedulo
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 2:17 AM | Permalink

      I was reading that section all alone in my kitchen and laughed so hard I cried. Then I couldn’t keep reading the book becasue I kept laughing becasue I couldn’t stop thinking about the scene and the punchline.

    • brrbear
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 2:36 AM | Permalink

      my wife thought i went mad, laughing, then crying, then laughing again. and the worst (funniest) part was i was laughing so hard, i couldn’t tell her the joke…

    • Skoivan
      Posted May 11, 2011 at 1:03 PM | Permalink

      I had to put the book down because I was laughing so hard I had tears in my eyes. I think I almost choked because I was laughing so much.

  51. Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:48 PM | Permalink

    Pure wisdom :)

    “A story is like a nut, A fool will swallow it whole and choke. A fool will trow it away, thinking it of little worth.” But a wise women ffinds a way tocrack the shell and eat all the meat inside”.
    Vashet

  52. Lupo.
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:48 PM | Permalink

    The Name of the Wind

    Chapter 57; Page 419, Paperback; When Kvothe talks about Denna:

    “Her easy smile could stop a man’s heart. Her lips were red. Not the garish painted red so many women believe makes them desirable. Her lips were always red, morning and night. As if minutes before you saw her, she had been eating sweet berries, or drinking heart’s blood. No matter where she stood, she was in the center of the room.” Kvothe frowned. “Do not misunderstand. She was not loud, or vain. We stare at a fire because it flickers, because it glows. The light is what catches our eyes, but what makes a man lean close to a fire is the warmth you feel when you come near. The same was true of Denna.”

    And of course; my favourite:

    Chapter 92; Page 719, Paperback:

    “And i swear by the night sky and the ever-moving moon: if you lead my master to despair, I will slit you open and splash around like a child in a muddy puddle. I’ll string a fiddle with your guts and make you play it while i dance.”

    Remember folks, Don’t fuck with Bast.

  53. andriam
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:49 PM | Permalink

    “You do not know the first note of the music that moves me.” (Bast) …In fact his whole threatening speech to Chronicler was amazing.

    “All stories are true…But this one really happened, if that’s what you mean.”(Skarpi)

    Agree with Fer, “Bones mend. Regrets stays with you forever.” (Kvothe), has always been my top favorite…

    And the part where he gets used shoes…
    “Because pride is a strange thing, and because generosity deserves generosity in return. But mostly because it felt like the right thing to do, and that is reason enough.”

    I’ve also always loved this exchange between Kvothe and Denna:
    “It’s a good heart.”
    “Is it saying anything?”
    “Nothing I can hear.”
    “Listen harder.”

    “We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because.That’s as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.”

  54. Thanoseid
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:49 PM | Permalink

    This From Gran (just after Kvothe his rescued the girls from the fake Edema Ruh) :” If a leg goes bad, you cut it off…and some folk just need killing. That’s all there is to it”

    • pekko
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:58 PM | Permalink

      When I read this my first thought was that Pat was channeling Malcolm Reynolds.

  55. Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:52 PM | Permalink

    This is my all time favorite quote from “Name of the Wind”

    “His voice is like a thunderstorm, and his hands know every secret hidden deep beneath the cool, dark earth.” -Auri

    I think about it all the time and have posted it in a few places. Love it.

  56. jaydelott
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:55 PM | Permalink

    There is one quote from TWMF that my husband and I occasionally exchange to provoke giggles:

    “…and the boy’s ass fell off.”

    Reading the book aloud to each other for the first time–I was the one orating, and I had to keep pausing all through that little story to control my helpless mirth. I did not know how it was going to end, and still I couldn’t keep my voice steady. Then that final line popped out, and we both spent several breathless minutes convulsed in a fit of laughter. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything so brilliantly ridiculous in all my life. It was beautiful.

    But I was also very proud of you for this line on page 340:

    “When someone tells you a piece of their life, they’re giving you a gift, not granting you your due.”

    You have given us a lovely gift, Pat. And whatever pressure your newfound fame and fans place upon you, it is this one line that lets me know you understand. You owe us nothing, and we must wait patiently, respectfully, for the stories that we crave. They are yours to give, not ours to take.

    • AngryOgre
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:22 PM | Permalink

      I second that last paragraph.

    • lilacmoon71
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 4:20 PM | Permalink

      jaydelott, You read the book out loud to each other? The first time through? What incredible patience! I had a difficult time to stop reading long enough to feed my children!

      • jaydelott
        Posted May 11, 2011 at 10:27 PM | Permalink

        It is an exercise in patience, but well worth the investment. Good literature reveals even greater depths when savored slowly. And the children eventually learn to raid the fridge for themselves…

    • jasonsexton2010
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 4:40 PM | Permalink

      I also strongly agree with your last paragraph.

    • wmconnor
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 9:27 PM | Permalink

      That first is also a favorite quote of mine. That story was wonderful.

      Also, by the last paragraph, I must wonder if you are writers as well?

  57. robspages
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:55 PM | Permalink

    From the Name of the Wind:

    “With slow care rather than stealth we must approach the subject of a certain women. Her wildness is of such degree, I fear approaching her too quickly even in a story. Should I move recklessly, I might startle even the idea of her into sudden flight.” ~ Kvothe

    There is so many quotable passages in both books that its hard to pick a favorite, buts the one I go back to.

  58. Posted May 9, 2011 at 12:57 PM | Permalink

    As a pianist, I can empathize with, “This is why there are so few musicians. A lot of folks can sing or saw out a tune on a fiddle. A music box can play a song flawlessly, again and again. But knowing the notes isn’t enough. You have to know how to play them.” (Kvothe narrating, WMF)

    Though I love to play, I rarely listen to live or recorded piano performances, because too many people are focused on being technically accurate rather than being emotive. One counter-example would be Rachmaninoff, but of course his recordings are old and low-quality. You can still hear the difference loud and clear, though.

    (Other favorites, all from WFM; I just went through my Kindle highlights to find the juiciest:)

    “My rooms were so pleasant it took me almost a full day to realize how much I hated them.”

    “I idly wondered how exactly one was supposed to lounge. I couldn’t remember ever doing it myself. After a moment’s consideration, I decided lounging was probably similar to relaxing, but with more money in your pocket.”

    “[T]he only act of creation I accomplished was to magically transform nearly a gallon of coffee into marvelous, aromatic piss.”

    “Striking with the head is clever. It is quick. Can startle if opponent is not ready. But I am not not ready.” (Tempi, emphasis mine)

    “I briefly entertained the notion that I was insane and didn’t know it. Then I considered the possibility that I had always been insane, acknowledged it as more likely than the former, then pushed both thoughts from my mind.”

    “Only a fool worries over what he can’t control.” (Like the musician quote, this one resonates closely with something I frequently think about.)

    And, finally,

    “‘But no. I won’t lock you up. You haven’t done anything less than proper.’
    “‘I broke that boy’s arm,’ I said.
    “‘Hmm,’ he rumbled darkly. ‘Forgot about that. He reached into his pocket and brought out ha’penny. He handed it to me. ‘Much obliged.'”

  59. Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:00 PM | Permalink

    Dammit its only been 2 weeks since I finished reading the books and now I have to go and read them all over again. It usually takes longer.

  60. Jack Lancaster
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:03 PM | Permalink

    The Name of The Wind, pg 249, line 33-37, Kvothe quoting Tarsus in Daemonica

    “‘Upon him I will visit famine and fire.
    Till all around him desolation rings
    And all the demons in the outer dark
    Look on amazed and recognise
    That vengeance is the business of a man.'”

    • rxninja
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:26 PM | Permalink

      I also loved this one. I had this on my facebook page for the longest time. I can so clearly hear this being spoken, with the tempo and the tone, and the fire in his eyes.

  61. phayes
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:03 PM | Permalink

    “I played hard as a hailstorm, like a hammer beating brass. I played soft as sun on autumn wheat, gentle as a single stirring leaf.” Kvothe (ch. 6 ‘Love’)

    I’m also partial to Bast’s: “We all become what we pretend to be.” quote you mentioned. As Vonnegut put in in ‘Mother Night’, “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”

  62. telemenar
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:04 PM | Permalink

    I’ve always really liked:
    “Some of my arcanum bunkmates taught me a card game called ‘Dog’s Breath’. I returned the favor and gave them an impromptu lesson in psychology, probability, and manual dexterity.” – Kvothe (NOTW)

  63. Alatarsand
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:06 PM | Permalink

    “I need you to breathe for me.”

  64. sixthsynse
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:06 PM | Permalink

    “That is how heavy a secret can become. It can make blood flow easier than ink.”

  65. Marcus Cox
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:11 PM | Permalink

    From The Name of the Wind:

    “You know what they say about finding the right analogy, it’s as hard as… as hard as…”

    From The Wise Man’s Fear:

    “Stop grabbing my tits.”

    And quite possibly my all time favorite quote of anything, and I really wish I would have gotten to this part of this book by the time I went to your book signing so you could have written it in my copy:
    “This is who I am. This is why I do not have blades for hands.”

    That may not be exactly rigth but I remember reading that line and thinking that it was brilliant.

  66. Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:12 PM | Permalink

    From TWMF, page 555, from the story of the boy with a gold screw in his belly button: “His ass fell off.”

  67. FantasticBastard
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:13 PM | Permalink

    So this is something that isn’t really a quote (and I was going to send an email to Pat on it, but I’ll just gush here in public instead…and now that I think about it, maybe I commented on this elsewhere), but Chapter 7 (“Admissions”) is quite possibly the best chapter in the book.

    Until the very last piece of the chapter, I’m laughing uproariously while feeling even more mean hatred for Ambrose even more than I already did. And then that last section happens…and I swear I go from laughing to crying, on a dime. And I mean that literally. I cried. It’s not quotable, it’s not witty, it’s not funny, but Auri’s “It’s okay, I’m here, you’re safe” at the end of that chapter can make me tear up now, just thinking about it. Brilliant and devastating.

    • FantasticBastard
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:16 PM | Permalink

      And to say “best” is probably not accurate…it’s my favorite, though, because it’s a such a high-impact roller coaster.

  68. Indigo
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:15 PM | Permalink

    WMF, chapter18
    Wil, Denna, Sim, and Kvothe discussing Deoch:

    “Basha. What us a word for that here? A man who is intimate with both men and women?”
    “Lucky?” Denna suggested. “Tired? Ambidextrous?”
    “Ambisextrous,” I corrected.
    “That won’t do,” Denna chided me. “If we don’t have impressive sounding names for things, no one will take us seriously.”

    and

    Wil, Sim, and Kvothe, thoroughly drunk, WMF chapter 36:
    All I want is someone who likes me.”
    “All I want is a clear sigh,” I said.
    “I want a magical horse that fits in my pocket,” Wil said. “And a ring of red amber that gives me power over demons. And an endless supply of cake.”

    • origami
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:18 PM | Permalink

      Ambisextrous! How did I manage to forget that word? That’s going in my dictionary.

    • James66
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:48 PM | Permalink

      I totally agree with you on Wil’s bit. That was hilarious.

  69. elmobob14
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:17 PM | Permalink

    I liked the “stop grabbing my tits” line noted above from WMF. I also like the Devi quote, from the same book, where she said she would own half the world if she looked like Fela all done up. (I know, I’m paraphrasing not quoting, but I don’t have the book nearby.)

  70. taralynn
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:19 PM | Permalink

    The Wise Man’s Fear, chap. 123, The Spinning Leaf, pg. 808:

    “Thus it was that in the center of a storm of knives, in the midst of my test that was also my trial, that I thought of urinating up against the side of the sacred sword tree while two dozen proud and deadly mercenaries watched me do it.”

    • pink_nessie
      Posted May 20, 2011 at 9:59 PM | Permalink

      Aren’t we just so self-destructive?

  71. AngryOgre
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:19 PM | Permalink

    As a chemistry graduate student, I loved this one:

    “There is something primal in chemistry, something that defies explication. Either you feel it or you don’t.”
    -from WMF, page 900-something

  72. Lerris
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:20 PM | Permalink

    Sadly, I don’t have the book in front of me, but a particular part of the book struck me as “Incredibly Badass”.
    Forgive the mangled words, this is out of memory.

    “Does anyone object to me leaving?”

    • Posted May 9, 2011 at 4:57 PM | Permalink

      Oh yes, absolutely, I loved that line.

      Kind of hard to share with others, though… so heavily context-sensitive.

    • Brian
      Posted May 12, 2011 at 3:20 PM | Permalink

      Yeah, that was the one. I was listening to the audiobook and that made me laugh out loud. That was kind of a trick considering the tone of the rest of that scene.

      There are tons of good quotes, but I think that was my favorite.

  73. Moteth
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:20 PM | Permalink

    In NOTW – Im a romantic

    ‘She and i have always danced in slow circles’. And all the seven word sentences Kvothe utters to denna

    In MWF – I loved the comedy

    ‘Maybe it WAS pear brandy’
    ‘Whats going on here, is someone having a handsome party?’

    (not quite word for word)

  74. Sje
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:20 PM | Permalink

    ‘No man is brave that has never walked a hundred miles. If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet introspection’ – TWMF

    As someone who spends alot of time travelling, this just about sums up the joy of experiencing other cultures and people

  75. Talaith
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:32 PM | Permalink

    “Then the high king carefully turned the golden screw. Once: Nothing. Twice: Nothing. Then he turned it the third time, and the boy’s ass fell off.” – TWMF

    Each sentence of both books feels like a labor of love. Each word carefully chosen. There are so many beautiful quotes, but this makes me laugh each time I think of it.

  76. SirEntreri
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:32 PM | Permalink

    “That is how heavy a secret can become. It can make blood flow easier than ink.” -WMF, Kvothe, page 497

  77. krwood
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:34 PM | Permalink

    ‎I absolutely love this quote,

    “So yes. It had flaws,but what does that matter when it comes to matters of the heart? We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That’s as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws &love them too. That is rare&pure&perfect.” ~Patrick Rothfuss:A Wise Man’s Fear~

  78. marcocanov
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:37 PM | Permalink

    Rather than a quote is more of a passage. The section in which Elodin asks them to calculate the exact location that an object is going to reach, they call calculate speed, force angles and then he trows something and someone catches it. To explain how the sleeping mind was able to perform all of those calculations in an instant. I believe there is a lot of truth in that.

  79. Geekgirl
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:43 PM | Permalink

    My absolute favorite quotation is by Denna (my least favorite character, I hate to say) in Chapter Seventy, page 471, paragraph 6:

    “It’s quite a thing,” she said. “There are so many men, all endlessly attempting to sweep me off my feet. And there is one of you, trying just the opposite. Making sure my feet are firm beneath me, lest I fall.”

    I love this simply because if I had known these words when I met my husband 21 years ago I would have given them to him because this is EXACTLY how he makes me feel and this is the reason I married him 4 years later.

  80. Skye
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:46 PM | Permalink

    “And if I mix it with piss it turns into delicious candy, right?” I laughed. “Did you make a bet with Wilem about how much of this I’d swallow? Nothing becomes flammable when you mix it with water.”
    […]
    Thick orange flame roared up, burning three feet high until it flickered and died. Sim set down the empty crucible with a slight click and looked at me gravely. “Say it.”
    I looked down at my feet. “I know nothing about alchemy.” WMF pg. 242

    How odd to watch a mortal kindle
    Then to dwindle day by day.
    Knowing their bright souls are tinder
    And the wind will have its way.
    Would I could my own fire lend.
    What does your flickering portend?”
    TNotW pg. 44 (paperback)

    • jasperflint
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 6:38 PM | Permalink

      A massive favourite of mine.

    • wazlib
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 6:39 PM | Permalink

      i liked the sort of running joke for about the candy.

  81. Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:46 PM | Permalink

    Bast talking about the smith’s apprentice:
    “That,” he said firmly to the room in general, “is what comes of working with iron every day.”

    I laughed aloud in the middle of O’Hare, making a scene at the gate with my hysterical giggles when I read it… because a little over a year ago in an RPG my sidhe-girl accused a blacksmith of hating fun because he worked with iron.

    And Kvothe, about maths,
    “Unfortunately the loftier peaks of mathematics did not delight me. I am no poet. I do not love words for the sake of words. I love words for what they can accomplish. Similarly, I am no arithmetician. Numbers that speak only of numbers are of little interest to me.”

    I entirely agree with him on numbers…

  82. QWOPtain Crunch
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:47 PM | Permalink

    I have a feeling Bast is going to be a very awesome character… There’s something to him and his words that says he will be doing something extravagant. And I want to know what that is.

    • James66
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:51 PM | Permalink

      I want to know as well. I want to know how and when kvothe met him. I’m looking forward to that bit in the book. Because, i thought he left the faery behind.

    • Little My
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 7:27 PM | Permalink

      At one point I had this idea that he actually was a human embodiment of the shadow-cape-thingy that Felurian made for him, but after reading a bunch of speculation about Bast on that thread elsewhere I’ve discarded that idea. Also, as time goes on he seems to have a bit more, um, agency than an anthropomorphized bit of protective armor.

      Extravagant, though. Yes. Good word.

  83. Angelbaka
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:48 PM | Permalink

    “Love is blind? That’s your answer?” … “Ok, You win. Love is blind, deaf and dumb!”

    Paraphrased from Sim and Fela’s conversation with Kvothe about Denna near the endish of WMF. I should really look it up…

  84. Liz
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:49 PM | Permalink

    I’m sorry, I don’t have page numbers as I just remember these off the top of my head (because I love them so, and try to remember at least one good line from every awesome book I read).

    The Name of the Wind, Kvothe begins his story with “If I seem to wander, if I seem to stray, remember that true stories seldom take the straightest way.”

    From the Wise Man’s fear, after receiving the Lute case, Kvothe gives a wonderful speech convincing Denna to spend the day with him. I loved it all, but the most quotable bit is: “You are the taste of sweet wine on my lips, a song in my throat, and laughter in my heart.”

  85. Roste
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:51 PM | Permalink

    While all of the above quotes I absolutely love, there is one very short one that sent me to laughing immediately. It is the part where Wil, Simmons, and Kvothe are a little drunk on their way back from the Eolin and are talking about the masters getting drunk.

    WMF- “Grasp by the spine. Grasp by the spine.” He growled and made a clutching motion with both hands. If I hear him say it again I will grasp his spine.”

    The second Wil said it I started laughing uncontrollably. I could just perfectly picture Master Lorren doing this is my mind. I could just as easily see Wil doing it mockingly right there as well with the overly dramatic clutching at air. It is a small scene and inconsequential to the greater scheme of things, but it is the small things as well as the profound that make these books special.

  86. bjezerey
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 1:55 PM | Permalink

    My favorite quote from your books so far is spoken by Bast in NotW. It’s where Bast is speaking to Chronicler about the stories people tell themselves about themselves (I’ve left out the narration here):
    “You meet a girl: shy, unassuming. If you tell her she’s beautiful, she’ll think you’re sweet, but she won’t believe you. She knows that beauty lies in your beholding. And sometimes that’s enough. But there’s a better way. You show her she is beautiful. You make mirrors of your eyes, prayers of your hands against her body. It is hard, very hard, but when she truly believes you . . .Suddenly the story she tells herself in her own head changes. She transforms. She isn’t seen as beautiful. She is beautiful, seen.”

    • luxregit
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 5:34 PM | Permalink

      Awesome quote.

    • nolarivers
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 12:52 PM | Permalink

      This is also one of my favorite sections. I have read this passage to all of my friends. I live in New Orleans where nearly everyone in my community has imagined and created a completely unique life for ourselves. This was achieved solely by the power of imagination and fundamentally believing that reality will follow the story you tell yourself. This is done by the smallest child in the city ever year during Carnival when they become Queen for a day. This passage is one of the truest things I have ever read.

    • Vash0013
      Posted February 24, 2015 at 11:12 AM | Permalink

      This is a great quote because it is true, so very true. I cannot tell you how many people I try to change their minds to make them see how beautiful they are but they don’t believe me. It is nearly impossible to make people believe you on your words alone.

  87. ErrickTheRed
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:11 PM | Permalink

    From WMF:

    “The point,” Bredon said grandly, “is to play a beautiful game.” He lifted his hands and shrugged, his face breaking into a beatific smile. “Why would I want to win anything other than a beautiful game?”

    I love the parts of the book Kvothe spends with Bredon learning Tak, and I love how he later used the analogy to describe his relationship with Denna.

  88. AncySauce
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:13 PM | Permalink

    “‘It’s the questions we can’t answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he’ll look for his own answers… That way, when he finds the answers, they’ll be precious to him. The harder the question, the harder we hunt. The harder we hunt, the more we learn. An impossible question…'” (WMF p. 556-7).

    This is the best philosophy for education, in my opinion. Of course, I’m a bit biased, as this is the educational philosophy under which I was educated!

    “A word of advice to you. Should you ever see that look on a woman’s face, leave off talking at once and sit on both your hands. It may not mend matters, but it will at least keep you from making them any worse” (WMF p. 543-4).

    This passage made me laugh, and I need all the laughs I can get! I’ve been told that I have a wicked crusty (as I’ve often heard angry looks called here in Colorado).

    “If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet introspection” (WMF p. 847).

    I’m not sure that I agree with the last part of that quote, but it’s all very poetic. (Isn’t Death the great leveler?)

  89. kacummings
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:17 PM | Permalink

    I love most of the conversations with Auri. But my favorite was a narrative thought from Kvothe when he’s escaping Ambrose’s room the first time. Something about… so the only logical option was to jump off the roof.

    A friend was reading ahead of me. He read me the line and asked why I thought he’d jump off the roof. None of my guesses were correct, so I laughed pretty hard when I got to that point.

  90. CrymsynEve
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:25 PM | Permalink

    NOTW

    ‎”Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. There are seven words that will make a person love you. There are ten words that will break a strong man’s will. But a word is nothing but a painting of a fire. A name is the the fire itself.”

    “And we sang! Her voice like burning silver, my voice an echoing answer. Savien sang solid, powerful lines, like branches of a rock-old oak, all the while Aloine was like a nightingale, moving in darting circles around the proud limbs of it.”

    ‎”I also felt guilty about the three pens I’d stolen. And since there was no convenient way to give them back, I stole a bottle of ink before I left.”

    ‎”I’m not threatening anyone,…I’m just quoting one of mey favorite pieces of literature. It’s from the fourth act of Daeonica where Tarsus says:
    Upon him i will visit famine and a fire.
    Till all around him desolation rings
    And all the demons in the outer dark
    Look on amazed and recognise
    That vengeance is the business of a man.”

    ‎”… for most practical purposes, Tarbean had two parts: Waterside and Hillside. Waterside is where people are poor. That makes them beggars, thieves and whores. Hillside is where people are rich. That makes them solicitors, polititians and courtesans.”

    ‎”A poet is a musician who can’t sing.Words have to find a man’s mind before they can touch his heart, and some men’s minds are woeful small targets. Music touches their hearts directly no matter how small or stubborn the mind of the man who listens.”

    ‎”To deem us simply enemies is to lose the true flavor of our relationship. It was more like the two of us entered into a business partnership in order to more efficiently pursue our mutual interest of hating each other.”

    “No hard feelings about that time in the Crucible when you mixed my salts and I was nearly blind for a day. No. No, really, drink up!”

    ‎”Beer dulls a memory, brand sets it burning, but wine is best for a sore heart’s yearning. A good wine allows clarity and focus, while still allowing a bit of comforting coloration of the memory.”

    WMF

    ‎”So if you were Kvothe and your head was worth 1000 gold royals what would you do? …. Well if I were Kvothe then I’d fake my death, change my name, and open an inn in the middle of nowhere and disappear.”

    “Stay out of the neighbor’s garden. Don’t tease the Benton’s sheep. Don’t play tag amongst the thousand spinning knives of your people’s sacred tree.”

    My friend and I decided that the reason it’s harder to find really good quotes in WMF is because the entire book is a quote.

    • CrymsynEve
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:32 PM | Permalink

      Oh, and the part where Vashet calls Kvothe a whore for being a musician.

      • James66
        Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:55 PM | Permalink

        LOL. I love that part. It really opened my eyes there, because I am always shocked when someone doesn’t understand something I take for granted, and then i see something strange, and I think its wonderful Pat picks up on these and incorporates them into his books. It makes it that more… realistic, believable.. no… not the words….. his books reach me better.

        • CrymsynEve
          Posted May 9, 2011 at 5:38 PM | Permalink

          Agreed. It made me wonder if any cultures have that same viewpoint. I just can’t understand not having music, though. It’s so essential to living.

          • James66
            Posted May 9, 2011 at 6:49 PM | Permalink

            Isn’t there a culture that believes fighting is not war, but a dance… Maybe music can be something different.

      • feory274
        Posted May 9, 2011 at 11:33 PM | Permalink

        That made me laugh soooo hard. I practically died laughing. Especially when she compared it to someone having sex in front of the hearth with two other people. Hilarious

  91. furrowedetc
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:29 PM | Permalink

    “They say that mercy is the mark of a great–”

    Wait, no, wrong Entertaining Thing. Although if you could somehow subtly work a Firefly quote into Book III it would make my decade, at least.

    Without being too spoilery, the line about ‘a single perfect step’ is incredible.

    Without having the book in front of me for accuracy, the line about “having no patience for thousand hands, so it was usually more like seventy five hands” cracks me up without fail.

    I’d have more (and be more specific) but both of my books are on loan to my brother right now.

  92. Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:37 PM | Permalink

    “Vashet gave me a long look, curiosity plain on her face. ‘I will admit, I’ve never had a student offer himself up for a vicious beating in order to prove he’s worth my time.’ ‘This was nothing,’ I said nonchalantly. ‘Once I jumped off a roof.'”

  93. Christer
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 2:56 PM | Permalink

    Since I don’t have NOTW I can’t quote – but Kvothe asking Auri if she was joking with him for asking to see her underthing, I laughed so hard the first time I read that.
    Elodin – “Quit grabbing at my tits”
    Auri- “It’s like having a flower in my heart … If your name is getting to heavy, you should have Kvothe give you a new one”
    Kivin – “Kraemet brevetan Aerin!”
    Kvothe – “You can’t offer to let him cut off my thumbs!”
    Narrative – It was the same scolding any child recieves. Stay out of the neighbor’s garden. Don’t tease the Bentons’ sheep. Don’t play tag among the thousand spinning knives of your people’s sacred tree.

    Many more, but those are the ones that stuck with me on the first read through… time for round two!

  94. Sarah
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:03 PM | Permalink

    My favourite bit from Name of the Wind is the short song Bast sings to Kvothe. “How odd to watch a mortal kindle
    Then to dwindle day by day.
    Knowing their bright souls are tinder
    And the wind will have its way.
    Would I could my own fire lend.
    What does your flickering portend? ”

    I’ve been chanting that one over and over again ever since I read book one for the first time.

    My favourite quote from the Wise Man’s Fear is this one:

    “He has such a wonderful laugh. It’s like fruit. Like music.”.

    Either that one or “You are an idiot, Reshi.”
    I like that as well ^^

    guess the kind of fangirl I am ;)

  95. athea
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:09 PM | Permalink

    From NOTW, my favorite scene is when he tries for his pipes at the Eolian. I went from crying at the end of his song to laughing at this line:

    “You’ll have to promise me,” a red-eyed Simmon said seriously, “That you
    will never play that song again without warning me first. Ever.”

    From TWMF:
    My husband and I “tell each other 3 times” when we really want each other to hear what we’re saying. It maybe isn’t the funniest or most beautifull quote, but it really stuck with us.

    • CrymsynEve
      Posted May 9, 2011 at 5:40 PM | Permalink

      Yes! That scene is lovely. I think it’s the most dog eared part of my book. I so wish that I could have been one of the people in that scene, just to hear/see it myself.

    • Lapak
      Posted May 10, 2011 at 10:13 AM | Permalink

      For my part, the ‘telling you three times’ came to a payoff in Wise Man’s Fear. It made Bast’s utter seriousness bang down like a hammer when he took the phrase I’d become used to, put it alongside another of the major recurring ideas, and amplified it:

      “I swear it on my tongue and teeth. I swear it on the doors of stone. I am telling you three thousand times: there is nothing in your world or mine more dangerous than the Cthaeh.”

      I’m not sure how generally quotable it is, but that line stuck in my head for days.

  96. Thebackpack
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:10 PM | Permalink

    Here is a selection of my favourites!

    “Ask Elodin. He’s the one who claims to understand these things. I just work here.” WMF p. 181 Master Dal

    “You’ve noticed that too?” Manet, about how Kvothe is so sharp he cut himself. WMF p.55

    “Merciful Thelu, isn’t there anything you don’t know?” Denna WMF p.962

    “Most people keep that inside. It’s easier.” Auri, on the subject of blood. WMF

    “Anyone can love a thing because(…) But to love a thing despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.” Kvothe WMF p.53

    “No man is brave that has never walked a hundred miles. If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name…” Teccam WMF p. 847

    “Nobody shits in the well.” Tempi’s defenition of civilization WMF p.548

    “Nothing in the world is harder than convincing someone of an unfamiliar truth” Teccam WMF p. 534

    • scpeters
      Posted May 11, 2011 at 5:29 PM | Permalink

      I’ll second Tempi’s quote from WMF p. 548 “What is word for good together living? Nobody shits in the well.”

      I’ll add this as well from WMF p. 555 “Then the king carefully turned the golden screw. Once. Nothing. Twice: Nothing. Then he turned it the third time, and the boy’s ass fell off.”

  97. Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:19 PM | Permalink

    My favourite quote from Wise man’s fear is what Kvothe says after playing his lute for Vashet.

    “This is why I do not have knives instead of hands, Vashet. This is what I am.”

    His music tells his 2″secret of the heart”, another favourite quote.

  98. Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:19 PM | Permalink

    TWMF – page 68
    “What’s wrong with you? Were you born in a barn?”
    I struck him hard across the face with the flat of my hand, sending him staggering up against the wall. “I was born in a bard actually,” I said grimly. “Is there something wrong with that?”

    TWMF – pages 434 and 435
    “The Comptess DeFerre lost her virginity while attending a performance of Daeonica.”
    “Oh,” Denna raised her hand to her mouth, stifling a laugh. “Did she really?”
    “She certainly didn’t have it with her after the intermission,” I said in a hushed voice. “But it turns out she had just left it behind in her rooms. So it was merely misplaces, not really lost. The servants found it two days later when they were cleaning up. Turns out, it had rolled underneath a chest of drawers.”

    TWMF – page 527
    “Quiet is not stupid”, he said, his voice flat. “You? Always talk. Chek chek chek chek chek.” He made a motion with one hand, like a mouth opening and closing. “Always. Like dog all night barking at tree. Try to be big. No. Just noise. Just dog”.

    Okay, this comment is getting way too long. I also like some of Felurian’s quotations such as ‘She simply sat. “I am Felurian.” And, “you kiss me like a candle flame.”

    I love every single word to be honest.

  99. Joan
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:23 PM | Permalink

    From WMF:
    “…sometimes a situation grows so tangled that words are useless. What other option did I have, now that words had failed me? What do any of us have when words fail us?”

    I just love these lines.

  100. Jay
    Posted May 9, 2011 at 3:31 PM | Permalink

    “It’s a good sign when a student goes chasing the wind and catches it.” Elodin WMF pg.942

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