“When you're twenty-one, life is a roadmap. It's only when you get to be twenty-five or so that you begin to suspect that you've been looking at the map upside down, and not until you're forty are you entirely sure. By the time you're sixty, take it from me, you're fucking lost.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“When it comes to the past, everyone writes fiction.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“It’s hard to let go. Even when what you’re holding onto is full of thorns, it’s hard to let go. Maybe especially then.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“You think Okay, I get it, I'm prepared for the worst, but you hold out that small hope, see, and that's what fucks you up. That's what kills you.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“All I can say is what you already know: some days are treasure. Not many, but I think in almost every life there are a few. That was one of mine, and when I'm blue -- when life comes down on me and everything looks tawdry and cheap, the way Joyland Avenue did on a rainy day -- I go back to it, if only to remind myself that life isn't always a butcher's game. Sometimes the prizes are real. Sometimes they are precious.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“People think first love is sweet, and never sweeter than when that first bond snaps. You've heard a thousand pop and country songs that prove the point; some fool got his heart broke. Yet that first broken heart is always the most painful, the slowest to mend, and leaves the most visible scar. What's so sweet about that?”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“Passing time adds false memories and modifies real ones.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“The last good time always comes, and when you see the darkness creeping toward you, you hold on to what was bright and good. You hold on for dear life.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“My father had taught me - mostly by example - that if a man wanted to be in charge of his life, he had to be in charge of his problems.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“I'm not sure anybody ever gets completely over their first love, and that still rankles. Part of me still wants to know what was wrong with me. What I was lacking.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“What I know now is that gallant young men rarely get pussy. Put it on a sampler and hang it in your kitchen.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“In the years since, I've discovered there's a lot to be said for boredom.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“...I'd been raised by my parents to believe barfing your feelings on other people was the height of impoliteness...”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“Nothing screws with memory like repetition.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“Young women and young men grow up, but old women and old men just grow older and surer they've got right on their side.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“We rarely get what we imagine in this world.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“This is a badly broken world, full of wars and cruelty and senseless tragedy. Every human being who inhabits it is served his or her portion of unhappiness and wake up nights.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“Some days are treasure. Not many but I think in almost every life there are a few.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“Pops gave him a cool stare that settled Tom down - a thing not always easy to do. "Son, do you know what history is?"
"Uh...stuff that happened in the past?"
"Nope," he said, trying on his canvas change-belt. "History is the collective and ancestral shit of the human race, a great big and ever growing pile of crap. Right now, we're standin at the top of it, but pretty soon we'll be buried under the doodoo of generations yet to come. That's why your folks' clothes look so funny in old photographs, to name but a single example. And, as someone who's destined to buried beneath the shit of your children and grandchildren, I think you should be just a leetle more forgiving.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“I kissed her, just a gentle brush of my lips across hers. It was like swallowing a tiny drop of something incredibly sweet.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“Age looked at youth, and youth's applause first weakened, then died.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“We all write fiction when we write about the past.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“God and heaven lasted about four years longer than the Tooth Fairy”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“He says there's a reason wife and life sound almost the same.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
“The gate is the key to the kingdom.”
― Stephen King, quote from Joyland
Stephen King
Born place: in Portland, Maine, The United States
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“Can’t help the way I was raised—anything supernatural is supposed to be either a miracle or satanic."
I rolled my eyes. “And you’re still trying to figure out which I am?”
"Non. I’m trying to figure out if I’m still Catholic.” He grinned that heart-stopping grin.”
― Kresley Cole, quote from Endless Knight
“Hey, Tenleigh," he whispered after a while. "Yes?" "That book, The Road?" "Hmm hmm?" I murmured, remembering his bad joke, using the word "devour" in reference to a book about cannibals. I smiled sleepily. "There's this line in it that talks about keeping a little fire burning inside, 'however small, however hidden.'" "Yes," I said softly. "I think about that line sometimes. I think about how that little fire is hope. I think about how you have to keep it burning to get you through the hard times, the times that seem so painful you don't want to continue on.”
― Mia Sheridan, quote from Kyland
“Kim could swear that the doctor’s voice lowered slightly, gently. Or she could just be completely paranoid. The words childhood and trauma were spoken more like a whisper. ‘No, it was in college, I think.’ The doctor said nothing. Kim spoke with a half-smile. ‘My childhood was pretty normal; loved sweets, hated cabbage, normal arguments with parents about staying out too late.’ Alex smiled at her and nodded. ‘I think it might have been the stress of exams.’ Just in time, Kim realised the doctor had used her own technique of remaining silent against her. Luckily she’d realised before she’d revealed any truth of her childhood at all. ‘You know, Kim, it’s surprising how many times you used the word “normal”. Most people say that about their childhood and yet there is no such thing unless you live in a television commercial. What did your parents do?’ Kim thought quickly and chose the sixth set of foster parents. ‘My mum worked part-time at Sainsbury’s and my dad was a bus driver.’ ‘Any siblings?’ Kim’s mouth dried and she only trusted herself to shake her head. ‘No major losses or traumatic events before the age of ten?’ Again, Kim shook her head. Alex laughed.”
― Angela Marsons, quote from Evil Games
“He said, "Family is a prayer. Wife is a prayer. Marriage is a prayer."
"Baptism is a prayer."
"No," he said. "Baptism is a what I'd call a fact.”
― Marilynne Robinson, quote from Lila
“Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. My work with the poor and the incarcerated has persuaded me that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of poverty is justice. Finally, I’ve come to believe that the true measure of our commitment to justice, the character of our society, our commitment to the rule of law, fairness, and equality cannot be measured by how we treat the rich, the powerful, the privileged, and the respected among us. The true measure of our character is how we treat the poor, the disfavored, the accused, the incarcerated, and the condemned.”
― Bryan Stevenson, quote from Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption
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Inside the Shadow Ci...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.
