“She still remembered sitting for hours as a little girl and pretending to be a hassock. A foot stool. Because if she could just stay very small, and very quiet, her mother would forget she was there, and then she wouldn't scream about people and places and things that had gone wrong.”
― Eloisa James, quote from An Affair Before Christmas
“Then he just blurted it out, with no preparation. 'The truth of it is that whether your mother arranged our marriage, or whether it was all an illusion, I must be horribly obtuse, because I can't talk myself out of being in love with you.”
― Eloisa James, quote from An Affair Before Christmas
“I miss talking to you.'
'I can't imagine why. We haven't talked about anything particularly interesting in years.'
'I thought it was interesting. Perhaps I like talking about boring things with you.”
― Eloisa James, quote from An Affair Before Christmas
“A number of visitors called this morning,' Finchley announced with some pride. He took a tray from a waiting footman and displayed it as if it were a baby. Sure enough there was a little heap of cardboard bits, embossed with the names of nobility, acquaintances, friends and the purely curious.”
― Eloisa James, quote from An Affair Before Christmas
“She found a small picture made entirely of feathers and was trying to decide whether it depicted a monkey climbing up the back of a man—or possibly a person climbing a flight of stairs or perhaps a cow next to a tree, when she saw a chess piece, sitting by itself on a small pedestal.
It was the white queen, carved from ivory. She stood with a regal frown, her body shadowed by the enormous crown that bloomed on her head. The crown was a hollow sphere, exquisitely carved with open work, and when Jemma peered inside she saw inside another sphere, also open, and inside that, yet another.”
― Eloisa James, quote from An Affair Before Christmas
“He walked until his heart was as dreary as the sky, until some sort of truth came to him.”
― Eloisa James, quote from An Affair Before Christmas
“Fletch took his wife’s arm. 'We aren’t going to turn anyone out into the cold and dark, are we, Poppy?'
She looked up at him and said, 'Absolutely, we are. If you pay them double, Fletch, they’ll probably be quite grateful.'
He always knew that women were the crueler sex. But there was something slightly unnerved in her voice that he found interesting. “Unkind wench. I don’t turn people out into the dark. It’s coming on to snow.”
― Eloisa James, quote from An Affair Before Christmas
“To those who have neither public nor private affections, the excitements of life are much curtailed, and in any case dwindle in value as the time approaches when all selfish interests must be terminated by death: while those who leave after them objects of personal affection, and especially those who have also cultivated a fellow-feeling with the collective interests of mankind, retain as lively an interest in life on the eve of death as in the vigour of youth and health.”
― John Stuart Mill, quote from Utilitarianism
“I already know the words. I just need to learn the beat. This tone-deaf white girl will try to make music out of recovery.”
― Rachel Cohn, quote from You Know Where to Find Me
“Be thankful for the smallest blessing,” Thomas à Kempis had written, “and you will deserve to receive greater. Value the least gifts no less than the greatest, and simple graces as especial favors. If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the most high God.” Father”
― Jan Karon, quote from A New Song
“I ran as fast as I could for about five minutes over the deserted streets. If you wonder Diary why I did it, the answer is I have no bloody idea. I just needed to be with him, to get his comfort and his kisses. I was overwhelmed and exhausted beyond measure. I needed him like I never needed someone before. When I heard of my father's suicide I swallowed the pain and wallowed into it. Now, I didn't want to do it. I needed his calm voice and his strong arms and perhaps, his shoulder to cry on over Federico's betrayal.”
― Tionne Rogers, quote from The Substitute
“Hypocrites,’ replied Cale, ‘I’ve come across a lot of them recently. I mean by that I understand now how many of them there are.”
― Paul Hoffman, quote from The Last Four Things
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.
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