“Sometimes the course of our lives depends on what we do or don't do in a few seconds, a heartbeat, when we either seize the opportunity, or just miss it. Miss the moment and you never get a chance again.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“However much you love somebody, you should always keep a part of yourself to yourself. Never give it all. You can never be yourself otherwise.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“She was--I keep using the past tense; I ought to say she is--one of those people who, at first sight, look plain, are quiet, unassertive, unmemorable even. But who, when they start to talk and you get to know them, become more and more attractive and impressive, and you see that in fact they are beautiful. Not conventionally beautiful, not celebrity beautiful, but beautiful all through.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“I don’t actually think “true love” is such a good term because love can only be true. If it isn’t true it can’t be love.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“And trust dies from ifs and buts”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“Life is not like a novel, but a novel can be like life. The best ones always are.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“The plain unwelcome fact is that sometimes life stymies you.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“Rooms are a fixed size, which can't be altered without pulling down walls and building new ones. They should be unchanging in shape and proportions. But sometimes they do change depending on who's in them.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“I sometimes wonder whether most people choose their hobbies because they lust after the gear more than for the benefits of the activities themselves.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“But the bit I liked best was where it said it's impossible to define love because it takes so many forms and is so complicated.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“In all our times together so far, this was the first time I felt we were enjoying ourselves, without strain or any sense of difference of age or deference, concession or inequality. It was, I thought afterwards, the first time we had met as ourselves, untrammelled, unguarded and in tune.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“Unfortunately, ..., all too often a joke tells the truth.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“when I am talking to myself, whom am I talking to and who is doing the talking? Are we all in fact two people, not one? Are we all One and Another? What I know is that I have an 'everyday self,' the one who does things, says things, deals with the ups and downs of daily life, and another, an 'inner self,' the one I think of as my real self, the self who observes everything my everyday self does and comments and judges, praises and dispraises, considers what would be best to do and not to do, and assesses the results.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“No, but still, the fact is, at least this is how it seems to me, everybody has to learn about it [love] from scratch for themselves. And we all make the same mistakes time and again while we're learning.”
― Aidan Chambers, quote from Dying to Know You
“Went home briefly to get my halter dress for Hero's party, and Mom was waiting for me at the kitchen table. Either she's psychic, or she totally reads my journal, because I haven't said a word about Ben, but somehow she knows something is up.
She was siting with a tray of peanut butter crackers, milk, and about twenty pamphlets on STDs she got from her friend Connie, a nurse at Kaiser. When she started showing me pictures of genital warts, I put my cracker down and said, 'Mom, is this really necessary?' She said, 'Honey, I just want you to understand the risks.'
'Yeah, thanks. Now I'm so traumatized I won't have sex until I'm a senior citizen.'
She smiled. 'Great. I guess I've done my job then. Do you want a sandwich.”
― Jody Gehrman, quote from Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty
“to Vaneigem and the Situationists who by shrewd use of collage and juxtaposition exposed both the poverty and richness of slogans, and the thinly veiled hypocrisy of a "spectacular" society which by not respecting words abuses people, and by insulting the intelligence creates a state of political cretinisation in which the many and various forms of authoritarian control dominate.”
― Comte de Lautréamont, quote from Maldoror and the Complete Works
“But those of us left behind viewed life more dearly, felt it more keenly. I'd learned a bit more about God, and I'd seen His powerful hands at work. As I was growing, my heart was changing, and the way I figured it, there were lessons learned in those dark days that would help me for years to come. In fact, they were lessons that would help us all in years to come.”
― Jennifer Erin Valent, quote from Fireflies in December
“Never believe a man who says God no longer does miracles, Ben. But never believe a man who says God must do a miracle the way a man wants him to. God is God.”
― Randy Alcorn, quote from Safely Home
“Agatha surprised them both when she groused, "As for you, Grace, you'll return as well."
Grace blinked. "But..."
"No buts!" Agatha glanced from Noah to Grace. "I'll give you plenty of time off to continue this courtship with my grandson. But for the time being, I need you, so you will be there for me."
With the shoe on the other foot, Grace scowled. Knowing how she felt, Noah squeezed her hand, and Grace finally muttered, "All right."
Ben was chuckling at their predicaments when Agatha turned to him. He gulped.
"And you," she said, and she now sounded as demonic as she looked. "You're my damn grandson."
Wearing a facade of disregard, Ben cocked a brow. "Which makes you my damn grandmother?"
"Exactly." Looking satisfied, Agatha suddenly smiled. "I like all this cursing. It's sort of fun."
Ben sputtered, and Agatha added, "Oh, hell, you're too old to get tongue-tied, Ben, so knock it off."
Ben stared up at the heavens and pretended to pray.”
― Lori Foster, quote from Too Much Temptation
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.