“When the quarrel had finally worn itself out they had found themselves at opposite ends of the earth, though lying side by side in the same bed.”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“Many and incredible are the tales the grandfathers tell from those days when the wilderness was yet untamed, and when they, unwittingly, founded the Kingdom.”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“A feeling of unfathomable loneliness settled upon her.”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“Here was the endless prairie, so rich in its blessings of fertility, but also full of great loneliness--a form of freedom which curiously affected the minds of strangers, especially those to whom the Lord had given a sad heart.”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“But more to be dreaded than this tribulation was the strange spell of sadness which the unbroken solitude cast upon the minds of stone.”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“People had never dwelt here, people would never come; never could they find home in this vast, wind-swept void.”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“The explanation was plain; this desolation out here called forth all that was evil in human nature.”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“The caravan headed for the sky; it steered straight onward. Now, at last, Per Hansa had time to look about him and rejoice in what he saw... All he saw was beautiful”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“Tish-ah!" said the grass. "Tish-ah, tish-ah!" Never had it said anything else--never would it say anything else. It bent resiliently under the trampling feet; it did not break, but it complained aloud every time--for nothing like this had ever happened to it before.”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“An endless plain. From Kansas--Illinois, it stretched, far into the Canadian North, God alone knows how far; from the Mississippi River to the wester Rockies, miles without number... Endless...beginningless.”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“Everything he had planted that spring was blooming like a garden. Why, he could just hear the potatoes grow!”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“But it had been as if a resistless flood had torn them loose from their foundations and was carrying them helplessly along on it's current---flinging them here and there, hurling them madly onward, with no known destination ahead.”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“It seemed plain to her now that human life could not endure in this country.”
― O.E. Rølvaag, quote from Giants in the Earth
“He used to say we all had a compass inside of us and what we needed to do was to find it and to follow it.”
― Ann Patchett, quote from State of Wonder
“Your hair smells like wind, did you know that?"
Yep, me and Tucker, smelling each other.”
― Cynthia Hand, quote from Hallowed
“When you’re a child the world forbears you, allows you your flights of imagination, your feelings of specialness. But sooner or later the privileges are withdrawn, and all you’re left with is a stunned bitterness at the realisation that you’re just the same as everybody else.”
― Michael Marshall Smith, quote from Only Forward
“Rochelle," she calls out, still looking at me. "Is there anyone down at the desk? I need something."
I'm too startled to move. Is she going to tell on me, get me in trouble?
Rochelle's gotten up; she's banging the toilet stall doors open one by one, checking to make sure no one's in there. When the last stall turns up empty, she gives Amanda an annoyed look. "What do you need this time of night?"
Amanda smiles at me, then turns to face Rochelle. "A tampon”
― Patricia McCormick, quote from Cut
“You get use to someone—start to like them, even—and they leave. In the end, everyone leaves.”
― quote from Numbers
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.