Yesterday my four-year-old daughter was walking around the house carrying my copy of Moby Dick. Now I have to admit that I've never read all of Moby Dick. I have most of the classics on my bookshelf but I haven't read them all cover to cover. But the real reason I'm bringing this up is because my daughter had scribbled and written her name on some post it notes and pressed them all throughout my copy of Moby Dick. Why? Because she sees me litter my books with post it notes.

When I was in college, my Lit. professors told me you can't read a book without a pen in your hand. All my novels from my many Lit. courses are marked up with red pen, dog eared, and paper clipped. Now when I read, I use post it notes and write on those instead. You can tell which books I love best because they have little yellow papers sticking out of them all over.

I mark passages I love and refer to when I'm writing a particular kind of scene, and I also mark my favorite lines--in many cases first lines. Usually it's just a place where the voice demands your attention. I thought I'd share some lines I really love with all of you. So here we go:

"The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and took me to a new boarding school." --The Titan's Curse

"There are things in life you can predict, and then there's my mother." --Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen

"I, Vanessa Rothrock, am sweating like a pig--do pigs sweat?--and wishing I could smell my pits, but the whole audience is looking at me."--As if Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President

"The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car. Up until then, I was having a great afternoon."--The Last Olympian

"Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker."--Marked

These are just a few of my favorites, and I return to them often just to hear what great voices sound like.

Do you mark your favorite passages in books? Have any favorites you'd like to share?