Home > Work > The Lost Plot (The Invisible Library, #4)
1 " Here, you carry these. I may need my hands free.Why the hell are we taking ‘The Dream of the Red Chamber?’ Light reading, if we get stuck on the subway?No, in case we get stopped by some of Qing Song’s minions who can’t read Chinese.Oh. Right. Hey, that’s not a bad thought. Though if we’re going to be throwing them away anyhow, why not take ‘The Investiture of the Gods’...Because I like ‘The Investiture of the Gods’ and I don’t like ‘The Dream of the Red Chamber’. "
― Genevieve Cogman , The Lost Plot (The Invisible Library, #4)
2 " Irene made a private mental resolution that if she ever became a queen, her throne would incorporate a cushion. Also a convenient bookcase. "
3 " We don’t want to be stuck on the train with nothing to read. "
4 " And there was another elephant in the room. There were so many elephants in the room that it was getting positively crowded. "
5 " Management positions always come with ulcers attached. "
6 " Shit,' he said succinctly. "
7 " There was a silence that ranged from faith and trust (Kai) through horrified disbelief (Evariste) to a sort of harmony between high-grade suspicion (both Hu and Captain Venner) and consideration (George and Lily). "
8 " She decided her persona needed one more little push, just to confirm herself in Qing Song’s eyes as a powerful, arrogant, but conveniently ignorant idiot. “I trust that your investigation won’t get in the way of mine. Which I shall start to commence now. Good day.” A powerful, arrogant idiot with bad grammar, she amended her own thought. "
9 " Many were reacting to the crisis by getting drunk, and Irene couldn’t blame them. It was a perfectly reasonable response to the situation, and it was supporting local businesses. A win–win situation. "
10 " (Physics had never been Irene's strong point. In fact, it was on her list of weak points, along with visual art, human anatomy, and the ability to maintain a convincing American accent.) "
11 " But ultimately there was an even better reason why Irene headed for the door.It was simple curiosity. "
12 " Irene had always thought that some awakenings were better than others. For instance, waking up in bed on a morning with nothing urgent to do, a pile of books next to you, and a mug of coffee within arm's reach could be described as good. Waking up in the deserted tunnels of the London Underground to the sound of distant werewolf howls was bad. Waking up to find yourself hanging in chains in a private Inquisition Chamber was really bad. (And hell on the shoulders.) "
13 " But that was one of the perks of being higher-ranking; you could tell your juniors to cut back on the courtesy, while simultaneously being offended if you felt they were being too rude. A win-win situation, for the people on top. "
14 " She’d always known that a strong capacity for self-deception and ignoring unpleasant realities had to be useful somewhere. "
15 " waking up in bed on a morning with nothing urgent to do, a pile of books next to you, and a mug of coffee within arm’s reach could be described as good. "
16 " I’m about to look up Evariste’s record, and this time you don’t get to lean over my shoulder. "
17 " The weight of earth was a terrible pressure bearing down on her, making her conscious of how tiny and short-lived a thing she was, and the light seemed very far away. "
18 " The faint odour of rotting cheese suggested that sandwiches had been lost in the trackless wastes of paper and never found again. "
19 " He imagined the fervid hum of the city above them, the constant buzz and surge of business and activity, and Irene drifting through it like a single butterfly with a pack of wolves on her tail. The image lacked poetic balance, and he frowned. 'What chases butterflies?' he asked.Evariste glanced at him sidelong. 'What the hell does that have to do with anything?' he asked.Kai looked back in disdain. 'Poetic metaphor,' he said. "
20 " She occasionally daydreamed about being the sort of character in a story who could faint and leave everyone else to sort things out. "