I read "The 13 Clocks" by James Thurber during my formative years and still find myself quoting this part a lot:

“The brambles and the thorns grew thick and thicker in a ticking thicket of bickering crickets. Farther along and stronger, bonged the gongs of a throng of frogs, green and vivid on their lily pads. From the sky came the crying of flies, and the pilgrims leaped over a bleating sheep creeping knee-deep in a sleepy stream, in which swift and slippery snakes slid and slithered silkily, whispering sinful secrets.”

Yes!! Have you heard of pink fairy armadillos? They are preposterous and ALSO ADORABLE.

I am a bad-ass accordion player, I CAN DO IT

Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson. It's like a peaceful sunbeam for my weary soul.