“I’d rather be happy and odd than miserable and ordinary,' she said, sticking her chin in the air.”
― Michelle Magorian, quote from Good Night, Mr. Tom
“It occurred to him that strength was quite different from toughness and that being vulnerable wasn't quite the same as being weak.”
― Michelle Magorian, quote from Good Night, Mr. Tom
“Miss Thorne said no more. Poor boy, she thought, away from his loving home and now dumped with an irritable old man. Tom”
― Michelle Magorian, quote from Good Night, Mr. Tom
“I expect you think I’m a bit forward,’ remarked Zach. ‘Wot?”
― Michelle Magorian, quote from Good Night, Mr. Tom
“I just can't see the upside in this," I heard myself say by way of explanation.
Later he said that if John had been sitting in the office he would have found this funny, as he himself had found it. "Of course I knew what you meant to say, and John would have known too, you meant to say you couldn't see the light at the end of the tunnel."
I agreed, but this was not in fact the case.
I had meant pretty much exactly what I said: I couldn't see the upside in this.
As I thought about the difference between the two sentences I realized that my impression of myself had been of someone who could look for, and find, the upside in any situation. I had believed in the logic of popular songs. I had looked for the silver lining. I had walked on through the storm. It occurs to me now that these were not even the songs of my generation. They were the songs, and the logic, of the generation or two that preceded my own. The score for my generation was Les Paul and Mary Ford, "How High the Moon," a different logic altogether. It also occurs to me, not an original thought but novel to me, that the logic of those earlier songs was based on self-pity. The singer of the song about looking for the silver lining believes that clouds have come her way. The singer of the song about walking on through the storm assumes that the storm could otherwise take her down.”
― Joan Didion, quote from The Year of Magical Thinking
“In reality there is perhaps no one of our natural Passions so hard to subdue as Pride. Disguise it, struggle with it, beat it down, stifle it, mortify it as much as one pleases, it is still alive, and will every now and then peep out and show itself. You see it perhaps often in this History. For even if I could conceive that I had completely overcome it, I should probably be proud of my Humility.”
― Benjamin Franklin, quote from The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
“I could step aside, Nina. I could step aside and let you be with who you're supposed to be with. If I was any less selfish... I would. But even after all of my stupid mistakes, I still think I can make you happy.''
''If it's what you want, I'll step aside'', he shook his head, ''but if it's not... I'll fight fate. I'll fight Heaven, and Hell, and everything in between to keep you.”
― Jamie McGuire, quote from Providence
“What stays with me most is a general sense of loss, unease, and longing for the past that cannot be relieved.”
― Lisa See, quote from Shanghai Girls
“The six to eight black men were characterized as personal slaves until the mid-1950s, when the political climate changed and it was decided that instead of being slaves they were just good friends.”
― David Sedaris, quote from Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
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.