Quotes from My Friend Leonard

“Pain is the feeling. Suffering is the effect the pain inflicts. If one can endure pain, one can live without suffering. If one can withstand pain, one can withstand anything. If one can learn to control pain, one can learn to control oneself. ”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“Be bold. But not bold, be fucking bold.”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“Gauguin was a stockbroker in Paris, married, had five kids. One day he came home from work and told his wife he was leaving, that he was through supporting the family, that he had had enough. Just like that he fucking took off. He said he had always felt that he was a painter, so he moved to a rat-infested shithole and started painting. His wife begged him to come back, his bosses told him he was insane, he didn't care, he was following his heart. He left Paris, moved to Rouen, went from Rouen to Arles, from Arles to Tahiti. He was searching for peace, contentment, trying to fill that fucking hole he felt inside, and he believed he could fill it. He died in Tahiti, blind and crazy from syphilis, but he did it. He filled his fucking hole, made beautiful work, made beautiful, beautiful work... It takes a brave man to walk away, to care so much that he doesn't care about anything else, to be willing to obey what he feels inside, to be willing to suffer the consequences of living for himself. Every time I stand before his work it makes me cry, and I cry because I'm proud of him, and happy for him, and because I admire him.”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“My life is routine. I wake up early in the morning. I brush my teeth. I sit on the floor of the cell I do not go to breakfast. I stare at a gray cement wall. I keep my legs crossed my back straight my eyes forward. I take deep breaths in and out, in and out, and I try not to move. I sit for as long as I can I sit until everything hurts I sit until everything stops hurting I sit until I lose myself in the gray wall I sit until my mind becomes as blank as the gray wall. I sit and I stare and I breathe. I sit and I stare. I breathe.”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“The secret to kicking ass in dumbshit Hollywood... Every time you meet someone, make a fucking impression. Make them think you're the hottest shit in the world. Make them think they're gonna lose their job if they don't give you one. Look 'em in the eye, and never look away. Be confident and calm, be fucking bold.
That sounds more like the secret to kicking ass in life.
It is, but I was gonna wait and tell you that some other time. ”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“You only live once, buy Picassos whenever possible. ”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“I miss everything. I miss talking to her, hearing about her day. I miss her voice all gravelly and smoky, I miss hearing her laugh, I miss getting her letters, writing her letters. I miss her eyes, and the smell of her hair, and the way her breath tasted. I fucking miss everything. I miss knowing she was around, because it helped me to know that she was around, someone like her existed. I guess most of all, I miss knowing I would see her again. I always thought I'd see her again.”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“Sleep is still difficult I sleep for three or four hours a day. Usually sometime in the afternoon. I walk in the cold, keep myself numb. I cry less, and less." (James Frey, pg.88)”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“I meet a third man he's an old man he trips in the street he falls and I help him up, walk him to the curb. He shakes my hand says keep the faith, young man. I ask him what he means, he says keep running and don't let them catch you. ”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“I sleep during the day. I still dream about drinking and drugs. Sometimes I wake to a hang-over, sometimes I wake to a trickle of blood from my nose, sometimes I wake scared and shaking. I read, go to museums and visit Lilly in the afternoon. Sometimes I read to her, sometimes I talk to her, sometimes I just sit and remember the times, remember the times, remember the times." (James Frey, pg.119)”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“Were it up to me, I would be with Lilly. Were it up to me I would be asleep in her arms. She's dead, in a cooler in some fucking morgue, and i'll never sleep in her arms again. The thought of it makes me sick, and it makes me want to join her. The rose will help me. It is time to start the killing. Time to fucking start." (James Frey, pg.39)”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“On my first day in jail, a three hundred pound man named Porterhouse hit me in the back of the head with a metal tray. I was standing in line for lunch and I didn't see it coming. I went down. When I got up, I turned around and started throwing punches." (James Frey, pg.1)”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“I look at pastries and cakes, tarts and pies. My body craves sugar, always craves sugar. Years of alcohalism and the high level of sugar in alcohal created the craving, which I feed with candy and soda.”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“If you’re gonna cry, cry because of all the good times we had, and all the laughs, and all the fun shit we did, and cry because those memories make you happy.”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“I miss everything. I miss talking to her, hearing about her day. I miss her voice all gravelly and smoky, I miss hearing her laugh, I miss getting her letters, writing her letters. I miss her eyes, and the smell of her hair, and the way her breath tasted. I fucking miss everything.”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“They say confront the difficult while it is easy, accomplish the great one step at a time. They say let things come and let things go and live without possession and live without expectation.”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“They say live and let live, do not judge, take life as it comes”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“Los Angeles is a lonely city. Everyone is focused on advancement success fame and money, it is hard to adjust to a culture based on always wanting more, on never being satisfied.”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

“No matter how bad or difficult life becomes, if you hold on, hold on to whatever it is you need to hold on to. If you hold on, just hold on, life will get better.”
― James Frey, quote from My Friend Leonard

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Popular quotes

“As soon as the land of any country has all become private property, the landlords, like all other men, love to reap where they never sowed, and demand a rent even for its natural produce. The wood of the forest, the grass of the field, and all the natural fruits of the earth, which, when land was in common, cost the labourer only the trouble of gathering them, come, even to him, to have an additional price fixed upon them. He must then pay for the licence to gather them, and must give up to the landlord a portion of what his labour either collects or produces. This portion, or, what comes to the same thing, the price of this portion, constitutes the rent of land, and in the price of the greater part of commodities, makes a third”
― Adam Smith, quote from The Wealth of Nations

“Through my curtains I can see a big yellow moon. I’m thinking of all the people in the world who will be looking at that same moon.

I wonder how many of them haven’t got any eyebrows?”
― Louise Rennison, quote from Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging

“You need to modulate that unwarranted ire, buddy. I'm not your 'ho and you ain't my pimp”
― Sherrilyn Kenyon, quote from Styxx

“For words have the power to change us.”
― Cassandra Clare, quote from Clockwork Angel; Clockwork Prince; Clockwork Princess

“В дъното на огледалото, в заден план, една след друга се нижеха отразени картини от нощния пейзаж, подобно на двоен кадър в някакъв филм, но с тази разлика, че тук между действащите лица и фона нямаше никаква връзка. Призрачната илюзорност на човешките образи и неясният сумрачен поток на нощния пейзаж се сливаха в едно и с това създаваха мистичния свят на символиката. Това чувство беше толкова силно, че Шимамура потрепна, когато върху лицето на девойката изведнъж светна пламъче, запалено някъде в долината.
Небето над далечните планини все още бе огряно от вечерното зарево, а бягащият в прозореца вечерен пейзаж продължаваше да пази своите неуспели да се разтопят в здрача очертания. Цветовете бяха изчезнали. Всичко наоколо — и планините, и полетата изглеждаха някак си пусти, обикновени и лишени от всякакви характерни особености, което пораждаше усещането за напрежение и вълнение. И все пак истинската причина за преживяването беше появилото се върху прозореца лице на момичето. Тъй като вечерният пейзаж непрестанно заобикаляше образа на отразеното в прозореца момиче, неговото лице изглеждаше прозрачно. Картините зад прозореца преминаваха през неговия образ, а не някъде отзад и с това засилваха тази илюзия.”
― Yasunari Kawabata, quote from Snow Country

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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.

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.