Literary Ink

Somehow found myself looking at (and envying) this web site of literary tattoos this afternoon, which got me thinking: If I weren’t (a.) thoroughly indecisive and unable to commit to a decision as permanent as a tattoo, and (b.) terrified of pain, what sort of literary tattoos would I consider getting?

Here, in no particular order, are my choices:

1. a muted post-horn (The Crying of Lot 49);
2. “To the library, and step on it!” (Infinite Jest);
3. “She had always suffered from a vague restlessness, a longing for adventure that she told herself severely was the result of reading too many novels when she was a small child.” (The Blue Sword)
4. This thoroughly lovely Narnia quote

Or, if I were getting a lower-back tattoo, perhaps one of these:

1. “The enemy’s gate is down” (Ender’s Game)
2. “Oh, I am so embarrassed…” (The Monster at the End of This Book)
3. “Let the Wild Rumpus start!” (Where the Wild Things Are)

In all seriousness, if I were to ever get a literary tattoo, it would probably be the line, “And then, something went BUMP!” from The Cat in the Hat – this line in the book happens when the Cat first arrives, just at the intersection between boring mundanity and fantastic absurdity – rather a lot like my life, I think.

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