“A theatre is the most important sort of house in the world, because that's where people are shown what they could be if they wanted, and what they'd like to be if they dared to and what they really are”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominsummer Madness
“I'll have to calm down a bit. Or else I'll burst with happiness”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominsummer Madness
“There's no need to imagine that you're a wondrous beauty, because that's what you are.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominsummer Madness
“The spirit of adventure sped through his soul on mighty wings.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominsummer Madness
“Isn't it fun when one's friends get exactly what suits them?”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominsummer Madness
“We'll always keep our bangles in brown pond water in the future. They're so much more beautiful that way”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominsummer Madness
“Robes, dresses, frocks. They hung in endless rows, in hundreds, one beside the other all around the room - gleaming brocade, fluffy clouds of tulle and swansdown, flowery silk, night-black velvet with glittering spangles everywhere like small, many-coloured blinker beacons.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominsummer Madness
“The Snork Maiden looked around her. Then she leaned forward and whispered in the Fillyjonk’s outstretched ear: “First you must turn seven times around yourself, mumbling a little and stamping your feet. Then you go backward to a well, and turn around, and look down in it. And then, down in the water, you’ll see the person you’re going to marry!” “And how do you get him up from there?” asked the Fillyjonk excitedly.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominsummer Madness
“Because we’re going to stay here a little while and calm down until I’ve learned your names. Light my pipe, someone!”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominsummer Madness
“How nice it feels to be good," she thought quietly.”
― Tove Jansson, quote from Moominsummer Madness
“There is a smell that lung sickness gives people. It’s the smell of blood and congestion and fever. It’s the smell of blood mixed with air that hangs over a bed and fills a sickroom. It’s the smell of old blood, and blood that is fresh and already old. It’s the smell of a festering wound.”
― Robert Morgan, quote from Gap Creek
“At the deepest level, there is no giver, no gift, and no recipient... only the universe rearranging itself.”
― Jon Kabat-Zinn, quote from Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
“One strain could call up the quivering expectancy of Christmas Eve, childhood, joy and sadness, the lonely wonder of a star”
― Maud Hart Lovelace, quote from Betsy Was a Junior
“You have only to lift your hand,' Thorkel Fostri said. And after a moment, 'What else were you born for?'
'Why not happiness, like other men?" Thorfinn said.
'You have that,' said his foster-father. 'But if you try to trap it, it will change. Why do you resist? It is your right.'
'I resist because it is no use resisting,' Thorfinn said. 'Do you not think that is unfair? I shall be King because I was King; and I shall die because I did die; and did I remember them, I could even tell what are the three ways it might befall me.”
― Dorothy Dunnett, quote from King Hereafter
“Have we not already seen enough of the fallacy and extravagance of those idle theories which have amused us with promises of an exemption from the imperfections, weaknesses and evils incident to society in every shape? Is it not time to awake from the deceitful dream of a golden age, and to adopt as a practical maxim for the direction of our political conduct that we, as well as the other inhabitants of the globe, are yet remote from the happy empire of perfect wisdom and perfect virtue?”
― Alexander Hamilton, quote from The Federalist Papers
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.