Quotes from As She Climbed Across the Table

“My inner chemistry had been hijacked by a mad scientist, who poured the fizzy, volatile contents of my heart from a test tube marked SOBER REALITY into another labeled SUNNY DELUSION, and back again, faster and faster, until the floor of my life was slick with spillage.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table

“My heart, to put it more simply, got nostalgic for the present. Always a bad sign.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table

“My heart and the elevator, a plummet inside a plummet.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table

“I'm learning to hate the sound of my own voice.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table

“The speaker was stringy and angular, his blond hair pulled back in a ponytail, his plaid workman's shirtsleeves rolled up around his pale biceps. Journalism major, I guessed.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table

“I am relaxed. It's just buried under layers of incredulity and panic. But underneath those I'm very relaxed.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table

“This kiss would be with me, invisible badge or scar, when I went back to the apartment.”
― Jonathan Lethem, quote from As She Climbed Across the Table

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“I grab one of the lanterns we’ve left in the mudroom and head toward my parents’ room, expecting Ryder to follow.
But he pauses at the bottom of the stairs. “I guess I should…you know. The guestroom. Should be safe upstairs now.”
I just stare at him, trying to decide if he’s serious. But then he reaches for the banister, and I realize he is. “You don’t have to,” I say, my cheeks flushing hotly. “I mean…I’m fine with you down here. With me.”
I can’t believe I just said that. But, jeez, everything’s so awkward now.
“You sure?” he asks, taking a step toward me.
I shift my weight from one foot to the other. “Yeah, I’m…you know, getting used to having you around. Anyway,” I say breezily, “we might get some more severe stuff tonight. Probably shouldn’t take any chances.”
Oh my God, I’m practically begging him to stay with me. What is wrong with me?
“You’re probably right,” Ryder says, relenting.
I try to think of something clever to say, but come up blank. So I turn and stalk off to my parents’ room instead.
Ryder finds me in the bathroom, brushing my teeth with bottled water. He stands in the doorway, leaning against the wooden frame, watching me. Our gazes meet in the mirror--which, of course, makes gooseflesh rise on my skin. I spit in the sink and take a swig of water to rinse.
“Jem?”
I turn, the marble countertop digging into my back. He moves toward me, closing the distance between us. I sway slightly on my feet as he reaches for me, his dark eyes filled with heat. His gaze sweeps across my face, warming my skin, making my breath catch in my throat.
Oh man.”
― Kristi Cook, quote from Magnolia

“You don’t think – not possibly – not as a mere hundredth chance – there might be things that are real though we can’t see them? … If there are souls, could there not be soul-houses?”
― C.S. Lewis, quote from Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold

“If it had lips, we'd feel closer to it. All we need are eyes and lips, apparently, and we think we can say hello. I don't think I realized that before, how much we need the world to look like us.”
― David Vann, quote from Aquarium

“I’m slowly learning that my happiest, most special moments happen when the circus is at its peak.”
― quote from Grace, Not Perfection: Embracing Simplicity, Celebrating Joy

“This was love, this was sacrifice, the opposite of sin, and maybe it was fucked up to feel like God was here with us in the back room of a strip club, but I did, like He was bearing witness to this moment where Poppy opened herself to the worst of me and erased it with her love, just like God did for us sinners every moment of every day.”
― Sierra Simone, quote from Priest

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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.