Quotes from Never Smile at Strangers

“You don't need to talk to someone to know them. All you need to do is watch. See how they carry themselves. See how they treat others.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“...It's better to feel the world around you. People let themselves become too desensitized. How can you write if you don't feel anything?”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“My mother always said that love is an entanglement. If you get too tangled, you lose yourself. It’s just a distraction. A way of escaping into someone else because you think that’ll be what finally makes you happy. Like a drug.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“Moments later, the cowbells clattered, and Rachel Anderson, the creative-writing teacher from the community college, walked in. Rachel, wearing a floor-skimming lavender skirt, her long, blond hair pulled into a neat French braid, scanned the diner. Settling her sunglasses on the top of her head, she went to the counter and politely addressed the group.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“Rachel was nowhere in sight. She was the one who comforted him with her warm smile and silent laughter. He could tell that she loved her family. She was the mother bird of the nest, the nurturer.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“He was sure that people liked him because of the person he pretended to be.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“We’re having such a hard time, Daddy,” she told him. “Everyone’s so miserable without you. I just want so badly for things to go back to the way they were.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“You don’t need to talk to someone to know them. All you need to do is watch.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“be. It just didn’t make sense. She thought about Haley. The rumble of an eighteen-wheeler grew closer, and she opened her eyes. The rig pulled”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“OPENING THE DOOR to her mother’s bedroom, Haley was stunned to see that her mother was awake. Crisp, dog-eared black-and-white photos and hundreds of newer color photographs were scattered all over the bed and floor. An empty scrapbook lay on her mother’s bureau next to a box of tissues.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“Allie was so fragrant, just like an oleander, its beautiful pink blossoms disguising its fatal venom. Like the flower, she was poison. Most women were—except for Rachel Anderson, of course . . . and very few others.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“Months of built-up hurt and frustration needed unleashing.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“She’d shed tears until there were none left.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“ballerina lay toppled over on her vanity table. A can of hairspray lay on its side on top of her bed, and clothes were strewn all over the carpet. The room smelled moldy. Wondering if there was a wet towel in Kelsey’s closet, Rachel walked across the room and opened the door. “What are you doing in here?”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“Lying was what kept him safe, alive, and relatively sane when he was little and”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

“The asphalt was agonizing but also therapeutic in a way. A Southern antidepressant.”
― Jennifer Jaynes, quote from Never Smile at Strangers

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Popular quotes

“WELL, THEN SHAG IT, YOU SUITCASE! GET OVER HERE!”
― Walter Wangerin Jr., quote from The Book of the Dun Cow

“No Mirrors in My Nana’s House” Sweet Honey in the Rock LYRICS BY YSAYE MARIA BARNWELL Sweet Honey in the Rock is a Grammy Award–winning vocal group of black women vocalists founded in 1973 by Bernice Johnson Reagon. The group’s members have changed during its long tenure, but it retains a core of five vocalists and a sign-language interpreter. Their performances are deeply embodied celebrations of black women’s lived experiences. The group’s name is derived from Psalm 81:16: “But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” Sign-language interpreter Dr. Ysaye Barnwell joined Sweet Honey in the Rock in 1979 and appears in more than thirty recordings with the group. She is the author of one of the group’s most popular recordings, “No Mirrors in My Nana’s House.” It is a stirring piece that reveals how the loving protection of black women can shield black girls from a painful world that seeks to negate their beauty and worth. In 1998 the lyrics became a children’s book published by Harcourt Brace. There were no mirrors in my Nana’s house, no mirrors in my Nana’s house. There were no mirrors in my Nana’s house, no mirrors in my Nana’s house. And the beauty that I saw in everything was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun). I never knew that my skin was too black. I never knew that my nose was too flat. I never knew that my clothes didn’t fit. I never knew there were things that I’d missed, cause the beauty in everything was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun); . . . was in her eyes. There were no mirrors in my Nana’s house, no mirrors in my Nana’s house. And the beauty that I saw in everything was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun). I was intrigued by the cracks in the walls. I tasted, with joy, the dust that would fall. The noise in the hallway was music to me. The trash and the rubbish just cushioned my feet. And the beauty in everything was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun). . . . was in her eyes. There were no mirrors in my Nana’s house, no mirrors in my Nana’s house. And the beauty that I saw in everything was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun). The world outside was a magical place. I only knew love. I never knew hate, and the beauty in everything was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun). . . . was in her eyes. There were no mirrors in my Nana’s house, no mirrors in my Nana’s house. There were no mirrors in my Nana’s house, no mirrors in my Nana’s house. And the beauty that I saw in everything was in her eyes (like the rising of the sun).”
― Melissa V. Harris-Perry, quote from Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America

“But if a role model in her seventies isn't layered with contradictions - as we all come to be - then what good is she? Why bother to cut the silhouette of another's existence and place it against our own if it isn't as incongruous, ambiguous, inconsistent, and paradoxical as our own lives are?”
― Molly Peacock, quote from The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life's Work at 72

“A man does what must be done,' Karl said, trying to concentrate on his board-making.
"But you never complain."
'What good would complaining do? A job takes so many hours of work, complaining will not shorten those hours.”
― LaVyrle Spencer, quote from The Endearment

“He raised his hand to brush a stray hair from her face. Instead of dropping his hand, he slid it behind her neck and drew her closer. His earthy pine scent enveloped her. When his lips touched hers, she lost any hope of control.”
― Lia Davis, quote from Winter Eve

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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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