“I'm beginning to believe that anything I do to extend my life is just going to be outweighed by the agony of living it.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“A lot of people get the wrong impression, think there's something romantic or tragic about hitting bottom.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“When you first heard him talking about it, you'd figure he was batshit crazy, but really, he was just trying to fill up his days so he didn't have to think about what a fucking mess he had made of everything. It's the same for most of us; forgetting our lives might be the best we'll ever do.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“I don't know,' Del said. 'I read this book. I guess you could say we were looking for a better life.'
'Did you find it?' the Fish Stick Girl asked.
'No, it was just a goddamn book. I ain't read one since.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“The glass door swung open and two big, homely women walked in looking guilty. They were the kind of women who, out of sheer loneliness, end up doing kinky stuff with candy bars and wake up with apple fritters in their hair.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“Look, girls don't care how many push-ups you can do. They just want to get high and wear flowers in their hair. Maybe steal a car.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“Six months ago, her old doctor at the Henry J. Hamilton Rehabilitation Centee had put her back on all her medications after somebody disguised in a paper bag had tried to strangle her in front of the Tobacco Friendly. Though she described the sack perfectly, even drew a picture of it down at the station, the cops never found a single suspect.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“The Oxys filled holes in me I hadn't realized were empty. It was, at least for those first few months, a wonderful way to be disabled. I felt blessed.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“Jimmy's eyes would turn as red and sticky as candy, and his head would fall back against the seat in a dream. If he were lucky tonight, maybe he would see something that he hadn't seen before. And then it would be my turn.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“A damp, gray sky covered southern Ohio like the skin of a corpse.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“You can't be a pussy all your life Todd. Someday you're just gonna have to say fuck it.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“Because of who we were, I already knew what we would do.”
― Donald Ray Pollock, quote from Knockemstiff
“Миналото е ракла на тавана, наблъскана с какви ли не неща, някои ценни, други напълно безполезни. Предпочитам да я държа затворена, но тя се отваря и от най-лекия повей на вятъра, сякаш по своя воля, и още преди да съм се усетила, съдържанието й се разпилява наоколо. Връщам нещата обратно. Едно по едно. Спомените, хубавите и лошите, колкото раклата да се отключи отново точно когато го очаквам най-малко.”
― Elif Shafak, quote from Honor
“They don't realise that they've changed; they think it's the world that changed.”
― Ryū Murakami, quote from Coin Locker Babies
“In fact, life itself is a contradiction if only because birth is the direct cause, in every single case, of death”
― Gore Vidal, quote from Creation
“Ah, if he had ever been a slave he would have known how difficult it was to trust white men.”
― Harriet Ann Jacobs, quote from Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
“Now that I knew fear, I also knew it was not permanent. As powerful as it was, its grip on me would loosen. It would pass.”
― Louise Erdrich, quote from The Round House
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.