“I am a believer in free will. If my dog chooses to hate the whole human race except myself, it must be free to do so.”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“Take it from me, Fate doesn't care most of the time.”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“I can't abide people who go soft over animals and then cheat every human they come across!”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“Nobody gets praised for the right reasons.”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“Tell me about this Wizard Howl of yours."
"He's the best wizard in Ingary or anywhere else. If he'd only had time, he would have defeated that djinn. And he's sly and selfish and vain as a peacock and cowardly, and you can't pin him down to anything."
"Indeed? Strange that you should speak so proudly such a list of vices, most loving of ladies."
"What do you mean, vices? I was just describing Howl. He comes from another world entirely, you know, called Wales, and I refuse to believe he's dead!”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“You cannot rob robbers with a kitten in your hat!”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“If you must know, I-I had never in my life kissed a young lady, and you are far too beautiful to me to want to get it wrong!”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“The soldier was like that. He was an expert in getting other people to do what he wanted. The only creature that could make the soldier do something he did not want was Midnight, and Midnight did things she did not want only when Whippersnapper wanted something. That put the kitten right at the top of the pecking order. A kitten!”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“Pray use both cats as sponges if it pleases you, infatuated infantryman.”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“A garden should be natural-seeming, with wild sections, including a large area of bluebells.”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“Tell me of this Wizard Howl of yours". Sophie's teeth chattered but she said proudly, "He's the best wizard in Ingary or anywhere else. If he'd only had time, he would have defeated that djinn. And he's sly and selfish and vain as a peacock and cowardly, and you can't pin him down to anything.”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“It's just as I thought," she said. "I prefer you to every single one of these. Some of these look far too proud of themselves, and some look selfish and cruel. You are unassuming and kind. I intend to ask my father to marry me to you, instead of to the Prince in Ochinstan. Would you mind?”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“Tell me of this wizard Howl of yours."
Sophie's teeth chattered, but she said proudly, "He's the best wizard in Ingary or anywhere else. If he'd only had time, he would have defeated that djinn. And he's sly and selfish and vain as a peacock and cowardly, and you can't pin him down to do anything."
"Indded?" asked Abdullah. "Strange that you should speak so proudly such a list of vices, most loving of ladies."
"What do you mean, vices?" Sophie asked angrily. "I was just describing Howl!”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“Jamal stared at the dog in his arms. "Why I am I holding a dog full of angels?”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“It was time for a strong-minded woman to take charge. Abdullah was quite glad that Sophie was one.”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“A very short burst of thought was enough to convince Abdullah that his situation, despite the chains, would be very much worse if he became a toad.”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“I am a believer in free will. If my dog chooses to hate the whole human race except myself, it must be free to do so.” After”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“Sophie and Howl were living - somewhat quarrelsomely it must be confessed, although they were said to be happiest that way - in the moving castle again”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“The tiny princess glanced up with a shy smile. “Boyth, all,” she said, in a small, lisping voice. Morgan’s”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“—Quizá —dijo— deberías estar más pendiente de a quién muerde tu perro.
—¡Yo no! —dijo Jamal—. Soy un creyente del libre albedrío. Si mi perro elige odiar
a toda la raza humana menos a mí, es libre de hacerlo.”
― Diana Wynne Jones, quote from Castle in the Air
“No individual element in your story, including the hero, will work unless you first create it and define it in relation to all the other elements.”
― quote from The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller
“Somewhere int he flesh of the earth the dreadful earthquake shuddered, the tide walked to and fro on the leash of the moon, rainbows formed, winds swept the sky like giant brooms piling up clouds before them, clouds which writhed into different shapes, melted into rain or darkened, bruised themselves against an unseen antagonist and went on their way, laced with forking rivers of lightning, complete with white electric tributaries. Out of this infinite vision an infinity of details could be drawn, but Sonny had settled on one, and from the endless series a particular beach was chosen and began to form around Laura - a beach of iron-dark sand and shells like frail stars, and a wonderful wide sea that stretched, neither green nor blue, but inked by the approach of night into violet and black, wrinkling with its own salty puzzles, right out to a distant, pure horizon.”
― Margaret Mahy, quote from The Changeover
“Jesus said, ‘What God has joined together let no man separate.”
― quote from Arousing Love
“What a man dares to do, he should dare to confess- unless he is a coward.”
― Rafael Sabatini, quote from Scaramouche
“The more I study the works of men in their institutions, the more clearly I see that, in their efforts after independence, they become slaves, and that their very freedom is wasted in vain attempts to assure its continuance. That they may not be carried away by the flood of things, they form all sorts of attachments; then as soon as they wish to move forward they are surprised to find that everything drags them back. It seems to me that to set oneself free we need do nothing, we need only continue to desire freedom.”
― Jean-Jacques Rousseau, quote from Emile or On Education
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.