Petra

“Like so many brilliant people, Calvin just couldn’t understand how no one else got it. He was also an introvert, which isn’t really a flaw but often manifests itself as standoffishness. Worst of all, he was a rower. As any non-rower can tell you, rowers are not fun. This is because rowers only ever want to talk about rowing. Get two or more rowers in a room and the conversation goes from normal topics like work or weather to long, pointless stories about boats, blisters, oars, grips, ergs, feathers, workouts, catches, releases, recoveries, splits, seats, strokes, slides, starts, settles, sprints, and whether the water was really “flat” or not. From there, it usually progresses to what went wrong on the last row, what might go wrong on the next row, and whose fault it was and/or will be. At some point the rowers will hold out their hands and compare calluses. If you’re really unlucky, this could be followed by several minutes of head-bowing reverence as one of them recounts the perfect row where it all felt easy.”
― Bonnie Garmus, Lessons in Chemistry

“It is amazing what a woman can do if only she ignores what men tell her she can’t.”
― Carol K. Carr, India Black

“A lady should never marry a man without knowing he is a spy.”
― Deanna Raybourn, The Dark Enquiry

“A gentleman does not openly work for pay, does he?”
― Ashley Gardner, Murder in Grosvenor Square