“And all those boys of Europe born in those times, and thereabouts those times, Russian, French, Belgian, Serbian, Irish, English, Scottish, Welsh, Italian, Prussian, German, Austrian, Turkish – and Canadian, Australian, American, Zulu, Gurkha, Cossack, and all the rest – their fate was written in a ferocious chapter in the book of life, certainly. Those millions of mothers and their million gallons of mother’s milk, millions of instances of small talk and baby talk, beatings and kisses, ganseys and shoes, piled up in history in great ruined heaps, with a loud and broken music, human stories told for nothing, for ashes, for death’s amusement, flung on the mighty scrapheap of souls, all those million boys in all their humours to be milled by the millstones of a coming war.”
                                    
                                    
                                    ― Sebastian Barry, quote from A Long Long Way
                                
                                
                                    “I thought it would be a good thing to follow John Redmond’s words. I thought for my mother’s sake, her gentle soul, for the sake of my own children, I might go out and fight for to save Europe so that we might have the Home Rule in Ireland in the upshot. I came out to fight for a country that doesn’t exist, and now, Willie, mark my words, it never will.”
                                    
                                    
                                    ― Sebastian Barry, quote from A Long Long Way
                                
                                
                                    “I am cold, even though the heat of early summer is adequate. I am cold because I cannot find my heart.”
                                    
                                    
                                    ― Sebastian Barry, quote from A Long Long Way
                                
                                
                                    “He was shivering like a Wicklow sheepdog in a snowy yard, though the weather was officially 'clement'.
The first layer of clothing was his jacket, the second his shirt, the third his long-johns, the fourth his share of lice, the fifth his share of fear.”
                                    
                                    
                                    ― Sebastian Barry, quote from A Long Long Way
                                
                                
                                “Valten’s hand tightened around Gisela arm, and he grunted in frustration. He brushed his finger over her cheek and whispered, “We will continue this conversation later.” “Yes, my lord.” The mischievous twinkle in her eye almost made him kiss her anyway, even though Rainhilda was staring at them from the Great Hall door.”
                                
                                
                                    ― Melanie Dickerson, quote from The Captive Maiden
                                
                            
                                “Tiffany found her mind filling up with an invisible gray mist, and in that thought there was nothing but grief. She could feel herself trying to push back time, but even the best witchcraft could not do that.”
                                
                                
                                    ― Terry Pratchett, quote from The Shepherd's Crown
                                
                            
                                “It might be a cultural thing, but I was always scolded for showing emotion. Sadness was always met with anger.”
                                
                                
                                    ― Brandon Stanton, quote from Humans of New York: Stories
                                
                            
                                “All around her, children and families played and laughed and reveled in the glory of this seemingly ordinary day. They did so without fear or care because they didn’t get it. They all played and they all laughed and they felt so damn safe. They didn’t see how fragile it all was.”
                                
                                
                                    ― Harlan Coben, quote from Fool Me Once
                                
                            
                                “Maybe instead of slamming the door on pain, I need to throw open the door wide and say, Come in. Sitd down with me. And don't leave until you have taught me what I need to know.”
                                
                                
                                    ― Glennon Doyle Melton, quote from Love Warrior
                                
                            
BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.
We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.
Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.