“Curious thing, rooms. Tell you quite a lot about the people who live in them.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“I think people more often kill those they love, than those they hate. Possibly because only the people you love can really make life unendurable to you.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“It is always a shock to meet again someone whom you have not seen for a long time but who has been very much present in your mind during that period.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“Murder, you see, is an amateur crime... One feels, very often, as though these nice ordinary chaps, had been overtaken, as it were, by murder, almost accidentally. They've been in a tight place, or they've wanted something very badly, money or a woman - and they've killed to get it. The brake that operates with most of us doesn't operate with them... They continue to be aware that murder is wrong, but they do not feel it. I don't think, in my experience, that
any murderer has really felt remorse... Murderers are set apart, they are 'different' - murder is wrong - but not for them - for them it is necessary - the victim has 'asked for it,' it was 'the only way.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“I've never met a murderer who wasn't vain... It's their vanity that leads to their undoing, nine times out of ten.They may be frightened of being caught, but they can't help strutting and boasting and usually they're sure they've been far too clever to be caught.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“But some people, I suspect, remain morally immature. They continue to be aware that murder is wrong, but they do not feel it. I don’t think, in my experience, that any murderer has really felt remorse … And that, perhaps, is the mark of Cain. Murderers are set apart, they are ‘different’—murder is wrong—but not for them—for them it is necessary—the victim has ‘asked for it,’ it was ‘the only way.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“What are murderers like? Some of them, have been thoroughly nice chaps.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“It was artificial conversation, but it tided us over the first awkwardness.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“إن لقاء شخص مرة أخرى بعد إنقطاع طويل مربكٌ إلى حد ما وإن يكن حاضر في ذهنك طوال تلك الفترة”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“More children suffer from interference than from noninterference.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“Is there a common denominator? I wonder. You know, if there is, I should be inclined to say it is vanity.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“Child's evidence is always the best evidence there is. I'd rely on it every time. No good in court, of course. Children can't stand being asked direct questions. They mumble or else look idiotic and say they don't know. They're at their best when they're showing off.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“... people are capable of surprising one frightfully. One gets an idea of them into one's head, and sometimes it's absolutely wrong. Not always - but sometimes.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“It is always a shock to meet again someone whom you have not seen for a long time but who has been very much present in your mind during that period. When at last Sophia came through the swing doors our meeting seemed completely unreal. She was wearing black, and that, in some curious way, startled me! Most other women were wearing black, but I got it into my head that it was definitely mourning—and it surprised me that Sophia should be the kind of person who did wear black—even for a near relative.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“Murder, you see, is an amateur crime. I'm speaking of course of the kind of murder you have in mind - not gangster stuff. One feels, very often, as though these nice ordinary chaps had been overtaken, as it were, by murder, almost accidentally. They've been in a tight place, or they've wanted something very badly, money or a woman - and they've killed to get it. The brake that operates with most of us doesn't operate with them.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“Because this is just what a nightmare is. Walking about among people you know, looking in their faces- and suddenly the faces change- and it's not someone you know any longer- it's a stranger- a cruel stranger.”
― Agatha Christie, quote from Crooked House
“My master Thomas More would give anything to anyone. Some say that’s good and some say that’s bad, but I say he can’t help it—and that’s bad…because some day someone’s going to ask him for something that he wants to keep; and he’ll be out of practice”
― Robert Bolt, quote from A Man for All Seasons
“Not for the first time in my life, and certainly not for the last, a self-righteous gloom had edged out all semblance of logic. ”
― Nick Hornby, quote from Fever Pitch
“History isn't what happened, history is just what historians tell us.”
― Julian Barnes, quote from A History of the World in 10½ Chapters
“I can't get enough adventure," Magnus said lightly. "And adventure cannot get enough of me.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from What Really Happened in Peru
“Whoever has experienced the power and the unrestrained ability to humiliate another human being automatically loses his own sensations. Tyranny is a habit, it has its own organic life, it develops finally into a disease. The habit can kill and coarsen the very best man or woman to the level of a beast. Blood and power intoxicate ... the return of the human dignity, repentance and regeneration becomes almost impossible.”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, quote from The House of the Dead
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.