B. Tress of the Emerald Sea

Tress of the Emerald Sea

Metadata

Highlights

The longer she spent with him, the more right their time together felt. — location: 307

She felt less like a mere human being, and more like a human who was merely being. — location: 518

“Everything is extraordinary about you, Tress,” her mother said. “That’s why nothing in particular stands out.” — location: 554

Lem was the human equivalent of a deep, pure well, always full of water when you needed it. He’d offer what you needed and ask nothing in return. In fact, he’d never bring it up again. — location: 626

Unless it was urgent. Unless it was important. — location: 628

The gnarled vines grabbed hold of the ship, latching onto its gunwale. The vines that strayed near silver greyed and died, like spores did, but they held on tight nonetheless. It seemed this method of bombardment could rip a ship apart, silver or no silver. Either that or the vines would get a good hold and strand the ship in place, leaving it easy pickings. — location: 854

Nice way to explain the world by slowly revealing it

“Not strong,” Tress said, hoarse. “Just stubborn.” “That’s even better,” the sailor said. — location: 981

It might seem that the person who can feel for others is doomed in life. Isn’t one person’s pain enough? Why must a person like Tress feel for two, or more? Yet I’ve found that the people who are the happiest are the ones who learn best how to feel. It takes practice, you know. Effort. And those who (late in life) have been feeling for two, three, or a thousand different people…well, turns out they’ve had a leg up on everyone else all along. — location: 1014

Tragically, this work—like washing windows—was great thinking work. And her mind was, as I believe we’ve established, often full of thoughts. — location: 1246

That is one of the great mistakes people make: assuming that someone who does menial work does not like thinking. Physical labor is great for the mind, as it leaves all kinds of time to consider the world. Other work, like accounting or scribing, demands little of the body—but siphons energy from the mind. — location: 1247

If the underworld had legal counsel, it would have been this man. — location: 1397

One of the great tragedies of life is knowing how many people in the world are made to soar, paint, sing, or steer—except they never get the chance to find out. — location: 1607

A piece of her hated being bullied. Hated it enough to overcome her reluctance to impose. — location: 1731

eldritch — location: 1771

Revealing your emotions makes it easier for people to get a good deal out of you. — location: 1957

danger is like icy water; you can get used to it if you take it slowly. — location: 2109

vexillology. — location: 2215

She drank the water from her cup, then dangled it from her index finger, staring toward the sun. As if she were a celestial executioner, sent to make certain the day rightly expired. — location: 2787

Worry has weight, and is an infinitely renewable resource. One might say worries are the only things you can make heavier simply by thinking about them. — location: 2942

Charlie wasn’t really a “do things” kind of person. He was a “be things” kind of person. Making decisions was easier around him—as if he were an emotional lubricant easing the machinery of the heart as it labored through difficult tasks. — location: 2946

“Most people never live, Tress, because they’re afraid of losing the years they have left…years that also will be spent not living. The irony of a cautious existence.” — location: 2972

dour — location: 3077

memories have a way of changing on us. Souring or sweetening over time—like a brew we drink, then recreate later by taste, only getting the ingredients mostly right. You can’t taste a memory without tainting it with who you have become. — location: 3090

Tress couldn’t help but smile as well. That kind of laughter quickly overbooks a person and looks for additional accommodations nearby. — location: 3326

Tress settled down, thinking about people and how the holes in them could be filled by such simple things, like time, or a few words at the right moment. — location: 3370

If bravery is the wind that makes us soar like kites, fear is the string that keeps us from going too far. We need it, but the thing is, our heritage taught us to fear some of the wrong things. — location: 3571

Memory is often our only connection to who we used to be. Memories are fossils, the bones left by dead versions of ourselves. — location: 3580

we must take care not to let the bliss of the present fade when compared to supposedly better days. We’re happy, sure, but were we more happy then? If we let it, memory can make shadows of the now, as nothing can match the buttressed legends of our past. — location: 3586

aplomb — location: 4044

If you want to create heroes, don’t give them something to fight for. Give them someone to fight for. — location: 4052

diaphane — location: 4463

She was tired in a way that a good night’s sleep—or ten of them—couldn’t cure. Her mind didn’t have any more to give. She needed to allow herself a chance to catch up to the person she’d become. — location: 4506

She…didn’t need to do this all on her own. That shouldn’t have been such a revelation for her. But after spending ages walking around with everyone piling bricks in your arms, it can throw you off balance when someone removes a brick to carry for you. — location: 4542

stymied. — location: 4577

Ornery. — location: 4618

It doesn’t matter how powerful a person is, if they believe they are slightly more powerful than they truly are, there’s room between those margins for big errors. — location: 4818

deific. — location: 5055

ensorcelled — location: 5103

The very journey she’d taken to find what she wanted had transformed her into a person who could no longer enjoy that victory. — location: 5124