Quotes from Library of Souls

“No one can hurt you as badly as the people you love.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“It had become one of the defining truths of my life that, no matter how I tried to keep them flattened, two-dimensional, jailed in paper and ink, there would always be stories that refused to stay bound inside books. It was never just a story. I would know: a story had swallowed my whole life.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“To some it might’ve seemed callous, the way she boxed up her pain and set it aside, but I knew her well enough now to understand. She had a heart the size of France, and the lucky few whom she loved with it were loved with every square inch—but its size made it dangerous, too. If she let it feel everything, she’d be wrecked. So she had to tame it, shush it, shut it up. Float the worst pains off to an island that was quickly filling with them, where she would go to live one day.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“An opportunist disguised as a friend can be every bit as dangerous as an outright enemy.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“And it occured to me, standing there, just breathing with her, quiet settling around us, that those might be the three most beautiful words in the English language. We have time.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Maybe," she said. "Maybe. But now you're making promises you might not be able to keep, and that's how people in love get very badly hurt.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Early in life we recognize certain talents in ourselves, and we focus on those to the exclusion of others. It’s not that nothing else is possible, but that nothing else was nurtured.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“She had this amazing capacity to turn sadness into anger and anger into action, which meant nothing ever kept her down for long.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Doubt is the pinprick in the life raft.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“What a beautiful day to go to hell”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Emma laughed darkly. "It's a completely mad idea, I know. But my brain is a hope-making engine."
"I'm so glad," I said. "Mine is a worst-case-scenario generator."
"We need each other, then."
"Yes. But we already knew that, I think.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“These strange-looking people weren’t peculiars. They were nerds. We were very much in the present.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“I felt like one of those mythical heroes who fights his way back from the underworld only to realize that the world above is every bit as damned as the one below.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“There was, in fact, a street sign to that effect—the first I’d seen in all of Devil’s Acre. Louche Lane, it read in fancy handwritten script. Piracy discouraged.
“Discouraged?” I said. “Then what’s murder? Frowned upon?”
“I believe murder is ‘tolerated with reservations.’ ”
“Is anything illegal here?” Addison asked.
“Library late fines are stiff. Ten lashes a day, and that’s just for paperbacks.”
“There’s a library?”
“Two. Though one won’t lend because all the books are bound in human skin and quite valuable.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Maybe lots of people go through life never knowing they’re peculiar.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“There was something sweet about holding a tangible thing that had been touched and marked upon by someone I loved.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Ahh,” Sharon said airily from the corner, “the sweet lies lovers tell …”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“my brain is a hope-making engine.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Early in life we recognize certain talents in ourselves, and we focus on those to the exclusion of others. It's not that nothing else is possible, but that nothing else was nurtured.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“I was the perfect automaton: blessed with ability but cursed with ignorance.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“The trouble with the merely unwise/deeply stupid line is that you often don’t know which side you’re on until it’s too late.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“I hate fleeing as much as anyone,” I said, “but Emma and I look like nineteenth-century axe murderers, and you’re a dog who wears glasses. We’re bound to be noticed.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Just a story. It had become one of the defining truths of my life that, no matter how I tried to keep them flattened, two-dimensional, jailed in paper and ink, there would always be stories that refused to stay bound inside books. It was never just a story. I would know: a story had swallowed my whole life.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Just because I’m a capitalist doesn’t mean I’m a black-hearted bastard.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Never mind compassion! Fie on loyalty! If you’re as intelligent and ambitious a fellow as I think you are, then you’ll recognize an extraordinary opportunity for advancement when you see one.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“She had a heart the size of France, and the lucky few whom she loved with it were loved with every square inch—but its size made it dangerous, too. If she let it feel everything, she’d be wrecked. So she had to tame it, shush it, shut it up. Float the worst pains off to an island that was quickly filling with them, where she would go to live one day.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“I didn’t want to kill the hollow any more than I wanted to kill a strange animal. In the course of leading this creature around by the nose, I had gotten close enough to understand that there was more than just void inside it. There was a tiny spark, a little marble of soul at the bottom of a deep pool. It wasn’t hollow—not really.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Just a story. It had become one of the defining truths of my life that, no matter how I tried to keep them flattened, two-dimensional, jailed in paper and ink, there would always be stories that refused to stay bound inside books. It was never just a story.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“Why did we have more than we knew what to do with, while they had less than they needed to stay alive?”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

“I believe murder is ‘tolerated with reservations.’ ” “Is anything illegal here?” Addison asked. “Library late fines are stiff. Ten lashes a day, and that’s just for paperbacks.” “There’s a library?” “Two. Though one won’t lend because all the books are bound in human skin and quite valuable.”
― Ransom Riggs, quote from Library of Souls

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Popular quotes

“He looked at her rather as a man looks at a problem that he would very much prefer to do without. She supposed it was a distinction of a sort to be a harassment to a king.”
― Robin McKinley, quote from The Blue Sword

“Man is a rope stretched between the animal and the Superman--a rope over an abyss.

A dangerous crossing, a dangerous wayfaring, a dangerous looking-back, a dangerous trembling and halting.

What is great in man is that he is a bridge and not a goal: what is lovable in man is that he is an OVER-GOING and a DOWN-GOING.

I love those that know not how to live except as down-goers, for they are the over-goers.

I love the great despisers, because they are the great adorers, and arrows of longing for the other shore.

I love those who do not first seek a reason beyond the stars for going down and being sacrifices, but sacrifice themselves to the earth, that the earth of the Superman may hereafter arrive.

I love him who lives in order to know, and seeks to know in order that the Superman may hereafter live. Thus seeks he his own down-going.

I love him who labors and invents, that he may build the house for the Superman, and prepare for him earth, animal, and plant: for thus seeks he his own down-going.

I love him who loves his virtue: for virtue is the will to down-going, and an arrow of longing.

I love him who reserves no share of spirit for himself, but wants to be wholly the spirit of his virtue: thus walks he as spirit over the bridge.

I love him who makes his virtue his inclination and destiny: thus, for the sake of his virtue, he is willing to live on, or live no more.

I love him who desires not too many virtues. One virtue is more of a virtue than two, because it is more of a knot for one's destiny to cling to.

I love him whose soul is lavish, who wants no thanks and does not give back: for he always bestows, and desires not to keep for himself.

I love him who is ashamed when the dice fall in his favor, and who then asks: "Am I a dishonest player?"--for he is willing to succumb.

I love him who scatters golden words in advance of his deeds, and always does more than he promises: for he seeks his own down-going.

I love him who justifies the future ones, and redeems the past ones: for he is willing to succumb through the present ones.

I love him who chastens his God, because he loves his God: for he must succumb through the wrath of his God.

I love him whose soul is deep even in the wounding, and may succumb through a small matter: thus goes he willingly over the bridge.

I love him whose soul is so overfull that he forgets himself, and all things that are in him: thus all things become his down-going.

I love him who is of a free spirit and a free heart: thus is his head only the bowels of his heart; his heart, however, causes his down-going.

I love all who are like heavy drops falling one by one out of the dark cloud that lowers over man: they herald the coming of the lightning, and succumb as heralds.

Lo, I am a herald of the lightning, and a heavy drop out of the cloud: the lightning, however, is the SUPERMAN.--”
― Friedrich Nietzsche, quote from Thus Spoke Zarathustra

“A general cry of "What book? What book? Let us see this famous book!”
― Diana Gabaldon, quote from An Echo in the Bone

“Don't give it to them all at once, make them work for it. Confuse them with detail, leave things out, go back on your tracks. Be testy, be cussed, be difficult. Drink like a fish; don't give way on the ideology, they won't trust that. They want to deal with a man they've bought; they want the clash of opposites, Alec, not some half-cock convert.”
― John le Carré, quote from The Spy Who Came In from the Cold

“I love you, Ivy. I'll never stop loving you."

She leaned against the winsow, looking out on a pale and glittering night. She looked through tears.

I prayed for one more chance to reach you," he said, "to tell you how much I love you and to tell you to keep on loving. Someone else was meant for you, Ivy, and you were meant for someone else."

She stood up straight. "No."

Yes, love," he said, softly but firmly.

No!"

Promise me, Ivy-"

I'll promise you nothing but that I love you," she cried.

Listen to me," Tristan pleaded. "You know I can't stay any longer."

The pale, glittering night was raining now, and fresh tears gleamed on her cheeks, but he had to leave.

I love you," he said. "I love you. Love him.

- Tristan Carruthers -”
― Elizabeth Chandler, quote from Kissed by an Angel/The Power of Love/Soulmates

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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.

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