Archive for the 'Books' Category

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland comes out in theatres today!

This is Slithy Toves’ Jabberwocky tattoo:

I’ve been an Alice fan since my grandmother bought me the complete works of Carroll when I was 11. Something from Alice seemed like a natural choice for my tat, and being a voracious reader, I loved the idea of using a line of text rather than an image.

‘Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

- Excerpt from the nonsense poem ‘Jabberwocky‘ from Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.

Have a great weekend!

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Twitter
Tags: , ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (24 votes, average: 3.63 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

This is Kerry’s tattoo:

This quote specifically holds a place in my heart because I think it represents the constant struggle to find yourself, and to hold on to it when you do. I’ve been asking myself this question my whole life and I don’t know if I’ll ever have a full answer.

“Dear, dear! How queer everything is to-day! And yesterday things went on just as usual. I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night? Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning? I almost think I can remember feeling a little different. But if I’m not the same, the next question is, Who in the world am I? Ah, THAT’S the great puzzle!”

And she began thinking over all the children she knew that were of the same age as herself, to see if she could have been changed for any of them.

- Chapter 2 of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Twitter
Tags: , ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (24 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

Twinkle, twinkle, little bat!
How I wonder what you’re at!
Up above the world you fly,
Like a teatray in the sky.
Twinkle, twinkle little bat!
How I wonder what you’re at!

- “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat” as recited by the Mad Hatter in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

This is Katie’s tattoo:

Why did I pick that line?  I knew I wanted some sort of bat tattoo that wasn’t too goth and I knew I wanted to get an Alice in Wonderland quote on my two feet so voila.  Since Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one of my absolute all time favorites I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t think of this for months and months!

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Twitter
Tags: , ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (33 votes, average: 4.12 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

This is Eva’s Alice in Wonderland tattoo.

If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense.  Nothing would be what it is because everything would be what it isn’t.  And contrariwise; what it is it wouldn’t be, and what it wouldn’t be, it would. You see?

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Twitter
Tags: , ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (38 votes, average: 4.42 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

This is Tim’s tattoo:

My tattoo is of the Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carol’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (original art by John Tenniel 1865). The Cheshire Cat is the only creature in Wonderland who uses logic. Though his words often seem mocking and bizarre, his process is always logical. To me the Cheshire Cat symbolizes the fragility of the border between genius and insanity.

Alice: Would you please tell me which way I ought to walk from here?
Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to.
Alice: I don’t much care where –
Cat: Then it doesn’t matter which way you walk.
Alice: — so long as I get
somewhere.
Cat: Oh, you’re sure to do that, if you only walk long enough.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Twitter
Tags: , ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (28 votes, average: 3.75 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

“The chief difficulty Alice found at first was in managing her flamingo.”

- From “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, illustrated by John Tenniel.

This is Jennifer C.’s tattoo:

When I was young, I would lose myself in “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”. It was the most imaginative story I had ever heard. This illustration comes from the amazing John Tenniel – his images were always my favorite.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Twitter
Tags: , ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (31 votes, average: 4.61 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll are 2 of my favourite books of all time.  Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland film comes out on March 5th, so it’s a perfect time for an Alice theme week!

“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“Oh, you can’t help that,” said the cat: “We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“You must be,” said the cat, “Or you wouldn’t have come here.”

This is Jessica’s tattoo.  She says:

In a moment of dazed insanity, I impulsively decided that I needed these words somewhere I could easily see them. When I’m losing my mind, I look at my arm and remember that I’m not the only crazy person… everyone is nuts.
Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Twitter
Tags: , ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (39 votes, average: 4.51 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

This is Morgan’s tattoo:

The idea for this tattoo came from a quote out of Chuck Palahniuk’s book, Fight Club. The quote says, “It’s only after we’ve lost everything that we are free to do anything.

I was faced with the decision of whether or not to use you’ve/you or we’ve/we. I came to the conclusion that I wanted this tattoo to represent not only myself but also my view on society. It didn’t feel right to use the word “you” because I felt as though it would then become about the person reading it and not about what I have overcome. I also felt that by saying “we” it would stay faithful to my cynicism towards society and how I believe that people do not truly understand what it means to be free inside their own minds, which is what the book is about in the first place.

This tattoo represents having strength and independence and losing all fear no matter what situations we are dealt in life. Most importantly it’s about learning to face your pain full on with your head held high instead of denying that it affects you in the first place.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Twitter
Tags: ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (28 votes, average: 4.32 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

I posted Hannah’s Peter, Paul & Mary tattoo a long time ago.  This is her new(er) tattoo.

“‘I’ll drop my final anchor with the wind howling in my ears above and the swish of bilge below me,’  he declared, and that way I’ll go content.’ And when the time came, I’m sure he went content.”

- From Cradle of the Deep, the fabricated autobiography by Joan Lowell.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Twitter
Tags: ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (17 votes, average: 4.18 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

This is Anna’s tattoo:

It’s basically a reminder to live life and to experience it and spend time with those I love, and to spend time doing what I love.

“Hershel did not possess a family of his own. He was not such a special person. He loved to read very much, and also to write. He was a poet, and he exhibited me many of his poems. I remember many of them. They were silly, you could say, and about love. He was always in his room writing those things, and never with people. I used to tell him, What good is all that love doing on paper? I said, Let love write on you for a little. But he was so stubborn. Or perhaps he was only timid.”

- Excerpt from Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • del.icio.us
  • Twitter
Tags: ,
1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars (46 votes, average: 4.50 out of 5)
Loading ... Loading ...

  • Welcome to Contrariwise

    This is a website about literary tattoos. That is, tattoos based on books, poems, lyrics, and many other literary sources.

    My email address is jen@contrariwise.org, so send your comments / suggestions / praise / hate that way. If you want to submit your own tattoo (please do!), see this page.