“Being against evil doesn't make you good. Tonight I was against it and then I was evil myself. I could feel it coming just like a tide... I just want to destroy them. But when you start taking pleasure in it you are awfully close to the thing you're fighting.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“And you treat me wonderfully and keep all your promises.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“But perhaps he had enough animal strength and detached intelligence that he could make another start.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“You never understand anybody that loves you.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“And chase hard and good and with no mistakes and do not overrun them.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“Practice any faith you wish. Got a ball field up the island where you can practice. I'll give the Deity a fast one high and inside if he crowds the plate.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“He knew too what it was to live through a hurricane with the other people of the island and the bond that the hurricane made between all people who had been through it. He also knew that hurricanes could be so bad that nothing could live through them.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“They are not sorrows, so much as terrible things.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“I don’t have to be proud of it. I only have to do it well." – Thomas Hudson”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“Happiness is often presented as being very dull but, he thought, lying awake, that is because dull people are sometimes very happy and intelligent people can go around making themselves and everyone else miserable. He had never found happiness dull. It always seemed more exciting than any other thing and capable of as great intensity as sorrow to those people who were capable of having it. This may not be true but he had believed it to be true for a long time and this summer they had experienced happiness for a month now and, already, in the nights, he was lonely for it before it had ever gone away.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“Out of all the things you could not have there were some that you could have and one of those was to know when you were happy and to enjoy all of it while it was there and it was good.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“If the wind rises it can push us against the flood when it comes.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“After he and this girl split up in Paris, Roger was on the town; really on the town. He joked about it and made fun of himself; but he was very angry inside for having made such a profound fool of himself and he took his talent for being faithful to people, which was the best one he had, next to the ones for painting and writing and his various good human and animal traits, and beat and belaboured that talent miserably. He was no good to anyone when he was on the town, especially to himself, and he knew it and hated it and he took pleasure in pulling down the pillars of the temple. It was a very good and strongly built temple and when it is constructed inside yourself it is not so easy to pull down. But he did as good a job as he could.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“— Тъжен ли сте? — полюбопитствува тя.
— Не.
— Замислен?
— Може би малко. Не зная.
— В ден като днешния не заслужава изобщо да се мисли.
— Съгласен съм. Няма да мисля. Мога ли да наблюдавам вълните?
— Вълните са волни.
— Искате ли да влезем още веднъж?
— По-късно.
— Кой ви е учил да плувате?
— Вие.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“— Скажи мне, Том. Что тебя так огорчает?
— El mundo enterо (Весь мир).”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“Нужно находить главное в себе самом, где бы ты ни был.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“Ma di cosa sei fatta, tu?"
"Di quello che ami" disse lei. "Più l'acciaio.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from Islands in the Stream
“I've always tried to make a home for myself, but I have not felt at home in myself. I've worked hard at being the hero of my own life. But every time I checked the register of displaced persons, I was still on it. I didn't know how to belong. Longing? Yes. Belonging? No.”
― Jeanette Winterson, quote from Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
“Our deeds determine us, as much as we determine our deeds.”
― George Eliot, quote from Adam Bede
“But when you flee someone, no matter how far you roam, that person will follow you as doggedly as the stars.”
― Marisha Pessl, quote from Night Film
“'O great and mighty Master Li, pray impart to me the Secret of Wisdom!' he bawled.
'Take a large bowl,' I said. 'Fill it with equal measures of fact, fantasy, history, mythology, science, superstition, logic, and lunacy. Darken the mixture with bitter tears, brighten it with howls of laughter, toss in three thousand years of civilization, bellow kan pei — which means "dry cup" — and drink to the dregs.'
Procopius stared at me. 'And I will be wise?' he asked.
'Better,' I said. 'You will be Chinese.'”
― Barry Hughart, quote from Bridge of Birds
“Work is love made plain, whether man’s work or woman’s work.”
― Susan Vreeland, quote from Girl in Hyacinth Blue
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.