“Out of all this struggle a good thing is going to grow. That makes it worthwhile.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle
“I want to see the whole picture - as nearly as I can. I don’t want to put on the blinders of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, and limit my vision. If I used the term ‘good’ on a thing I’d lose my license to inspect it, because there might be bad in it. Don’t you see? I want to be able to look at the whole thing.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle
“Sometimes I think you realists are the most sentimental people in the world.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle
“Mostly I’m too damn busy to know how I feel.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle
“I don’t mind getting smacked on the chin. I just don’t want to get nibbled to death. There’s a difference.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle
“Why, they're the dirtiest guys in any town. They're the same ones that burned the houses of old German people during the war. They're the same ones that lynch Negroes. They like to be cruel. They like to hurt people, and they always give it a nice name, patriotism or protecting the constitution.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle
“It’s funny how you want to do a thing and never do it.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle
“It seems to me that man has engaged in a blind and fearful struggle out of a past he can't remember, into a future he can't foresee nor understand. And man has met and defeated every obstacle, every enemy except one. He cannot win over himself. How mankind hates himself.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle
“The doctor said softly, “Sometimes I think you realists are the most sentimental people in the world.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from In Dubious Battle
John Steinbeck
Born place: in Salinas Valley, California, The United States
Born date February 27, 1902
See more on GoodReads
“I rolled my eyes. "He's talking to himself. My vote is he's crazy."
He thought about this. "Maybe he's normal and we're the crazy ones. Maybe everyone should talk to themselves. Maybe we're all just afraid of what we'd say.”
― Katie Kacvinsky, quote from Awaken
“When lenity and cruelty play for a kingdom, the gentler gamester is the soonest winner”
― William Shakespeare, quote from Henry V
“And so it was that the Poet, through an excess of theological refinement, was unable to satisfy his coarse carnal passion.”
― Umberto Eco, quote from Baudolino
“I am poor, but I am rich. I have my children, I have a garden with roses, and I have my faith and the memories of those who have gone before me. What more is there?”
― Pam Muñoz Ryan, quote from Esperanza Rising
“probation. Jesus Christ was and is Jehovah, the God of Adam and of Noah, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, the God at whose instance the prophets of the ages have spoken, the God of all nations, and He who shall yet reign on earth as King of kings and Lord of lords.”
― James E. Talmage, quote from Jesus the Christ
Neither Here nor The...
A Spot of Bother
The Romanov Prophecy
The Complete Peanuts...
Life on the Mississi...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.
