Review: Quotable Wilde

Quotable Wilde by Max Morris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This guy...he gets it. Every time. What else can I say?

Well I WILL say that although I've not always enjoyed actually reading his plays/novels, having only done so for school and not for my own personal pleasure, I've always really enjoyed the movie adaptations and reading his personal essays/letters. I find his general views on life to be pretty hilarious and usually spot on- his super sassy, super intelligent way of spinning phrases around to make it seem like he's paying you a compliment when really he's making fun of you/society just kills me every time. That man would have been a riot to know in real life, and if I could go back in time, or meet someone from the past, he'd be right near the top of my list of people I'd pick! Heck, I like his quotes so dang much I've even used one as the banner on my blog - total fangirl right here.

A few witty examples of the genius that is Mr. Wilde:

"It is always a silly thing to give advice, but to give good advice is absolutely fatal"

"I have the simplest tastes. I am always satisfied with the best."

"I never travel without my diary. One should always have something sensational to read in the train."

"There is much to be said in favour of modern journalism. By giving us the opinions of the uneducated, it keeps us in touch with the ignorance of the community."

"The people who love only once in their lives are really the shallow people. What they call their love, and their fidelity, I call either the lethargy of custom or their lack of imagination."

"Be yourself; everyone else is already taken."

But then he can also be all soppy and serious:

"Keep love in your heart. A life without it is like a sunless garden when the flowers are dead. The consciousness of loving and being loved brings warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring."

"To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance."

"To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all."

Awwww Oscar!!

Anywho, you get the picture. I liked this 'lil collection of quotes and I've actually gone back a few times throughout the year to re-read some of my faves - a little chuckle here and there to brighten my day. The only thing I'd say about the book itself is that it would have been a nice touch to have added a small blurb about him somewhere, just so an audience who may not know much or anything at all about Wilde would at least have a few facts about his life to go on. Other than that, it's a cute little purple book of fun that I'm happy to own.


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