“Isn’t it odd,” Maryam said. “Just like that, a completely unknown person is a part of their family forever. Well, of course that’s true of a birth child, too, but … I don’t know, this seems more astonishing.” “To me, both are astonishing,” Dave said. “I remember before Bitsy was born, I used to worry she might not be compatible with the two of us. I told Connie, ‘Look at how long we took deciding whom we’d marry, but this baby’s waltzing in out of nowhere, not so much as a background check or a personality quiz. What if it turns out we don’t have any shared interests?’ ”
― Anne Tyler, quote from Digging to America
“You belong,” he told her. “You belong just as much as I do, or, who, or Bitsy or … It’s just like Christmas. We all think the others belong more.”
― Anne Tyler, quote from Digging to America
“The excuses she’d been about to offer—New York, Farah’s visit—suddenly seemed transparent. Instead, she told the truth. “I’m afraid it might be awkward, though.” “Awkward! Nonsense. We’re all grownups.” This argument came as a disappointment; Maryam wasn’t sure why. What had she wanted Bitsy to say? A pinch of injury tightened her chest. She said, “I know your father feels I didn’t handle things very well.” “Now, is that in any way relevant to this discussion? We’re talking about a simple little, normal little family get-together,” Bitsy said. “Shoot, we should just shanghai you.” Shanghai. As a verb, it was unfamiliar. Maybe it meant something like “lynch.” Maryam said, “Yes, perhaps you should,” in a tone that must have sounded more bitter than she had intended, because Bitsy said, “Well, forgive me, Maryam. I’m a meddlesome person; I realize that.” Which she was, in fact. But Maryam said, “Oh, no, Bitsy, you’re very kind. You were very sweet to call.” And then, trying to match Bitsy’s energy, “But you haven’t told me what I can do for you! Please, give me a task.” “Not a thing, thanks,” Bitsy said. “I’m getting stronger every day.”
― Anne Tyler, quote from Digging to America
“They knew all about Jin-Ho because Jin-Ho’s mother had telephoned two weeks after the babies’ arrival. “I hope you don’t mind my tracking you down,” she’d said. “You’re the only Yazdans in the book and I just couldn’t resist calling you to find out how things were going.” Jin-Ho, it seemed, was doing marvelously.”
― Anne Tyler, quote from Digging to America
“When Bitsy looked back on Jin-Ho’s arrival, it didn’t seem like a first meeting. It seemed that Jin-Ho had been traveling toward them all along and Bitsy’s barrenness had been part of the plan, foreordained so that they could have their true daughter.”
― Anne Tyler, quote from Digging to America
Anne Tyler
Born place: in Minneapolis, Minnesota, The United States
Born date October 25, 1941
See more on GoodReads
“You look at me and tell me you think you're some goddamn obligation to me. You look at me and tell me that we're pretending when the connection between us is the most tangible, overpowering thing I've ever felt in my life. If this is pretending, then I damn sure don't want to know what reality is.”
― Maya Banks, quote from Whispers in the Dark
“I can never look at a bird without thinking of you," he said. "I wonder what you will do with your wings once you have found them. I wonder how far away they will take you. And I fear them, for my sake, at the same time that I hope for them, for yours.”
― Julianne Donaldson, quote from Blackmoore
“Let me give you a bit of advice," the girl said bitterly, "from one working girl to another: Life isn't easy, no matter where you are. You'll make choices you think are right, and then suffer for them." Those remarkable eyes flickered. " So if you're going to be miserable, you mights well go.”
― Sarah J. Maas, quote from The Assassin and the Healer
“Wiśnie były wyborne, a Gerda głodna, więc jadła, uśmiechając się z zadowoleniem, gdy staruszka złotym grzebieniem czesała jej złote włosy. Czesała je długo, w dziwnym blasku czerwonych i niebieskich szybek, a Gerda zapomniała o Kaju, babce i rodzicach, bo grzebień był zaczarowany, staruszka zaś była wróżką.”
― Hans Christian Andersen, quote from The Snow Queen
“With every choice you risk the life you could have had. With every decision you lose it.”
― Cassia Leo, quote from Relentless
The Love We Share Wi...
Perfect Fifths
Oblivion
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.
