“It was like discovering that your innermost fires and terrors, the things you believed no one else could fathom, were in fact the basis of a recognized philosophy. Some part of you felt intimately invaded, threatened; some other part fell to its knees and sobbed in gratitude that it was no longer alone.”
― Poppy Z. Brite, quote from Exquisite Corpse
“I'm your nightmare. Did you think you were done with nightmares, now you've become one?”
― Poppy Z. Brite, quote from Exquisite Corpse
“Never relinquish your terrors. That's when they catch you.”
― Poppy Z. Brite, quote from Exquisite Corpse
“I press my hands against my chest, wishing I could somehow be even closer to him. I hate skin; I hate bones and bodies. I want to curl up inside of him and be carried there forever.”
― Poppy Z. Brite, quote from Exquisite Corpse
“Horror is the badge of humanity, worn proudly, self-righteously, and often falsely.”
― Poppy Z. Brite, quote from Exquisite Corpse
“And what was I if not death's ghostwriter?”
― Poppy Z. Brite, quote from Exquisite Corpse
“Ah, relationships. If he was lucky, Luke thought, he would never have another one.”
― Poppy Z. Brite, quote from Exquisite Corpse
“But if I die without trying again, I'm a coward. I don't mind having regrets about stuff I've done. It's the regrets about stuff I haven't done that bother me.”
― Poppy Z. Brite, quote from Exquisite Corpse
“Go is to Western chess what philosophy is to double-entry accounting.”
― Trevanian, quote from Shibumi
“Please do not—” Before he could argue with her any more to stay or persuade her he’d fix the situation, she’d picked up her bag and stalked out the door. He mumbled, “Leave me.”
Lex was gone.”
― Avery Aster, quote from Undressed
“Yes,’ said Oyarsa, ‘but one thing we left behind us on the harandra: fear. And with fear, murder and rebellion. The weakest of my people does not fear death. It is the Bent One, the lord of your world, who wastes your lives and befouls them with flying from what you know will overtake you in the end. If you were subjects of Maleldil you would have peace.’ Weston”
― C.S. Lewis, quote from Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet / Perelandra / That Hideous Strength
“Many references have been made in this book to 'the reader,' who has been much in the news. It is now necessary to warn you that your concern for the reader must be pure: you must sympathize with the reader's plight (most readers are in trouble about half the time) but never seek to know the reader's wants. Your whole duty as a writer is to please and satisfy yourself, and the true writer always plays to an audience of one. Start sniffing the air, or glancing at the Trend Machine, and you are as good as dead, although you may make a nice living.”
― William Strunk Jr., quote from The Elements of Style
“Yes, my consuming desire is to mingle with road crews, sailors and soldiers, barroom regulars—to be a part of a scene, anonymous, listening, recording—all this is spoiled by the fact that I am a girl, a female always supposedly in danger of assault and battery. My consuming interest in men and their lives is often misconstrued as a desire to seduce them, or as an invitation to intimacy. Yes, God, I want to talk to everybody as deeply as I can. I want to be able to sleep in an open field, to travel west, to walk freely at night...”
― Sylvia Plath, quote from The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath
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.