20+ Book Quote Tattoos Immortalizing the Powerful Words in Literature

Great literature has a way of staying with us. A compelling story can encourage us to find the beauty in pain, the humor in life, and exercise compassion for ourselves and others. Many of us find literary writing so powerful that we want to remember a phrase for the rest of our lives. Those who love body art choose to immortalize it as a book quote tattoo.

Book quote body art comes in many forms. Some folks choose to display just the phrase on their skin sans color or additional imagery. In this case, they let the words speak for themselves. Other designs incorporate illustrations that add some flair to the text. In one tattoo, the endearing quote “If you’re a bird, I’m a bird,” from The Notebook is accompanied by two lovebirds and a colorful floral arrangement. Although it’s an elaborate display, a phrase from Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear in Loathing in Las Vegas proves that even just a little color and interesting letterforms can take text from ordinary to extraordinary while conveying the essence of the entire book.

Check out a beautiful and thought-provoking collection of book quote tattoos below.

People are having their favorite phrases from literature immortalized as beautiful book quote tattoos.

Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Suzanne Collins, Mockingjay

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Shakespeare, Hamlet

F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

Alfre Noyes, The Highwayman

Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale

Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five

Next: More book quote tattoos.