Quotes from Bright Young Things

“Love is all right, as things go, but lovers can be a terrible waste of a girl's time.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“It is easy to forget now, how effervescent and free we all felt that summer.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“All really interesting girls invent themselves.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“Among her other talents were forgetting what she did not like and ignoring what she preferred not to see.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“It is often advantageous to forget. Forget your wincing humiliations, forget life's blows, and get on. For blocks in every direction, down every street in the city, people not yet old enough to have lines on their foreheads were laughing away memory, warmly ensconced in shrines of forgetfulness. Those who followed the word of God and those who preferred what the priests called "hoodoo" alike. People everywhere forgetting with drink or forgetting with religion or forgetting with the numbing quality of their many heaps of things. They looked forward and imagined rosy tomorrows, and gave up whatever horrors heckled their dreams, and listened to the pretty stories of whomever ruled their pulpit.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“It is easy to forget now, how effervescent and free we all felt that summer. Everything fades: the shimmer of gold over White Cove; the laughter in the night air; the lavender early morning light on the faces of skyscrapers, which had suddenly become so heroically tall. Every dawn seemed to promise fresh miracles, among other joys that are in short supply these days. And so I will try to tell you, while I still remember, how it was then, before everything changed-that final season of the era that roared.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“That is what I want to tell you about: the girls with their short skirts and bright eyes and big-city dreams.

The girls of 1929.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“Well, if you weren't flirting with him"-his voice had now grown a little plaintive-"who was he, and what did you want with him anyway?"
"If you are so determined to bore me, I may just have to go home." Astrid sighed carelessly, "What a shame, when I am wearing such a pretty dress.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“He was just like summer, and she loved summer. If she had any wish, it would be to live a lifetime of summers.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“In New York there is always something to look at, but it is all infinitely more interesting through a window in the backseat of a limousine.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“But in that moment she realized how false most smiles were and what a tremendous waste of time.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“Girls took to dressing like boys, and though women had obtained the vote, we had swiftly moved on to pursuing flashier freedoms: necking in cars and smoking cigarettes and walking down city streets in flesh colored stockings.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“... and in that part of the world the darkness could go on and on forever, as though there would never be light again. She hadn't ever been able to tolerate that very well.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“...when girls use the brightness of their eyes or the softness of their skin, they have an uncommon advantage in getting what they want.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

“It was like the color of his eyes, she supposed - not quite one shade or another, and utterly unlike anyone else's.”
― Anna Godbersen, quote from Bright Young Things

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Popular quotes

“Coward, says the nagging voice inside my head. You should talk to him. Find out what he has to say.
What if he says we belong together?
Well, then you'll have to deal with that. But at least you won't be running away.
I think it's more of a brisk walk.
Whatever.
I'm having an argument with myself. And I'm losing. So not a good sign.”
― Cynthia Hand, quote from Hallowed

“You know when you've got nothing in particular to do, nothing to stay awake for? When your life is just routine and it doesn't feel like it belongs to you, how you feel tired and listless and everything seems like too much effort?

Well, it's like that, but it's much worse, because everything is much worse these days. Everything that's bad is worse, believe me. There are whole Neighborhoods out there where no one has anything to do all their lives. They're born, and from the moment they hit the table, there's nothing to do. They clamber to their feet occasionally, realize there's nothing to do and sit down again. They grow up, and there's nothing to do; they grow up, and there's still nothing. They spend their whole lives indoors, in armchairs, in bed, wondering who they are.”
― Michael Marshall Smith, quote from Only Forward

“Rochelle," she calls out, still looking at me. "Is there anyone down at the desk? I need something."

I'm too startled to move. Is she going to tell on me, get me in trouble?

Rochelle's gotten up; she's banging the toilet stall doors open one by one, checking to make sure no one's in there. When the last stall turns up empty, she gives Amanda an annoyed look. "What do you need this time of night?"

Amanda smiles at me, then turns to face Rochelle. "A tampon”
― Patricia McCormick, quote from Cut

“ "Are you awake?" I whispered, my voice nearly disappearing in the darkness of the huge barn.
"Yeah."
"I'm freezing."
"I know. Me, too" A pause. A long, long pause. "Come here, then." ”
― quote from Numbers

“And two years ago this morning I woke wondering what delightful gift the new day would give me. These are the two years I thought would be filled with fun."
"Would you exchange them - now - for two years filled with fun "
"No " said Rilla slowly. "I wouldn't. It's strange - isn't it - They have been two terrible years - and yet I have a queer feeling of thankfulness for them - as if they had brought me something very precious in all their pain. I wouldn't want to go back and be the girl I was two years ago not even if I could. Not that I think I've made any wonderful progress - but I'm not quite the selfish frivolous little doll I was then. I suppose I had a soul then Miss Oliver - but I didn't know it. I know it now - and that is worth a great deal - worth all the suffering of the past few years.”
― L.M. Montgomery, quote from Rilla of Ingleside

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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.