Joseph Delaney · 489 pages
Rating: (22.9K votes)
“You can't just be reading books all the time and leave the writting of them to others.”
― Joseph Delaney, quote from Night of the Soul Stealer
“Why does it have to be like this?' I asked bitterly. 'Why does life have to be so short, with all the good things passing quickly. Is it worth living at all?”
― Joseph Delaney, quote from Night of the Soul Stealer
“Why does it have to be like this? Why does life have to be so short, with all the good things passing quickly. Is it worth living at all?”
― Joseph Delaney, quote from Night of the Soul Stealer
“Whatever it cost, I had to do what was right. Better oblivion. Better to be nothing than live to experience that.”
― Joseph Delaney, quote from Night of the Soul Stealer
“You’re shivering with cold. I’ll make you a cup of hot soup to warm your bones. That’ll have to do for now – I’ll cook you a nice big meal later.’ I was trembling more than shivering, upset by what had happened in Morgan’s room, but gradually I began to calm down. I did as I was told and warmed my hands at the fire, watching my boots begin to steam. ‘It’s good to see you’ve still got all your fingers!’ Meg said. I smiled. ‘Where’s Mr Gregory?’ I asked, wondering if he’d been called away on spook’s business. I hoped he had because that would mean he was fit and well again. ‘He’s still in bed. He needs all the rest he can get.’ ‘So he’s not that much better yet?’ ‘He’s improving slowly,’ Meg answered. ‘But it’ll take time. These things can’t be rushed. Try not to disturb or burden him too much. He needs to rest and sleep as much as he can.’ She brought across a steaming cup of hot chicken”
― Joseph Delaney, quote from Night of the Soul Stealer
“I want a Zero Tolerance policy on All The Patriarchal Bullshit.”
― Caitlin Moran, quote from How to Be a Woman
“Они не знали, что будущее за них, что будущее без них невозможно. Они не знали, что в этом мире страшных призраков прошлого они являются единственной реальностью будущего, что они – фермент, витамин в организме общества. Уничтожьте этот витамин, и общество загниет, начнется социальная цинга, ослабеют мышцы, глаза потеряют зоркость, вывалятся зубы. Никакое государство не может развиваться без науки – его уничтожат соседи. Без искусств и общей культуры государство теряет способность к самокритике, принимается поощрять ошибочные тенденции, начинает ежесекундно порождать лицемеров и подонков, развивает в гражданах потребительство и самонадеянность и в конце концов опять-таки становится жертвой более благоразумных соседей. Можно сколько угодно преследовать книгочеев, запрещать науки, уничтожать искусства, но рано или поздно приходится спохватываться и со скрежетом зубовным, но открывать дорогу всему, что так ненавистно властолюбивым тупицам и невеждам. И как бы ни презирали знание эти серые люди, стоящие у власти, они ничего не могут сделать против исторической объективности, они могут только притормозить, но не остановить. Презирая и боясь знания, они все-таки неизбежно приходят к поощрению его для того, чтобы удержаться. Рано или поздно им приходится разрешать университеты, научные общества, создавать исследовательские центры, обсерватории, лаборатории, создавать кадры людей мысли и знания, людей, им уже неподконтрольных, людей с совершенно иной психологией, с совершенно иными потребностями, а эти люди не могут существовать и тем более функционировать в прежней атмосфере низкого корыстолюбия, кухонных интересов, тупого самодовольства и сугубо плотских потребностей. Им нужна новая атмосфера – атмосфера всеобщего и всеобъемлющего познания, пронизанная творческим напряжением, им нужны писатели, художники, композиторы, и серые люди, стоящие у власти, вынуждены идти и на эту уступку. Тот, кто упрямится, будет сметен более хитрыми соперниками в борьбе за власть, но тот, кто делает эту уступку, неизбежно и парадоксально, против своей воли роет тем самым себе могилу. Ибо смертелен для невежественных эгоистов и фанатиков рост культуры народа во всем диапазоне – от естественнонаучных исследований до способности восхищаться большой музыкой... А затем приходит эпоха гигантских социальных потрясений, сопровождающихся невиданным ранее развитием науки и связанным с этим широчайшим процессом интеллектуализации общества, эпоха, когда серость дает последние бои, по жестокости возвращающие человечество к средневековью, в этих боях терпит поражение и исчезает как реальная сила навсегда.”
― Arkady Strugatsky, quote from Hard to Be a God
“Shoot. I feel guilty for peeing. That first bottle of wine alone was almost two hundred dollars.”
― Tina Reber, quote from Love Unrehearsed
“Is that a no?" I said.
"No. I mean.." He struggled for the smile again. "I'm just waiting for the punch line. Something about making it date so I need to pay. Or you expecting flowers. Or.." He trailed off.
"There isn't a punch line," I said.
I rose onto my knees and inched over, in front of him. Then I stopped about a foot away.
"No punch line, Daniel," I said. "I'm asking if you'll go out with me."
He didn't answer. Just reched out, his hand sliding between my hair and face, pulling me toward him and..
And he kissed me.
His lips touched mine, tentatively, still unsure, and I eased closer, my arms going around his neck. He kissed me for real then, a long kiss that I felt in the bottom of my soul, a click, some deep part of me saying, "Yes, this is it."
Even when the kiss broke off, it didn't end. It was like coming to the surface for a quick gasp of air, then plunging back down again, finding that sweet spot again, and holding onto it for as long as we could. Finally it tapered off, and we were lying on the picnic blanket, side by side, his hand on my hip, kissing slower now, with more breaks for air. until I said, "We should have done that sooner."
He smiled, a lazy half smile, and he just looked at me for a moment, our gazes locked, lying there in drowsy happiness, before he said, "I think now's just fine." And he kissed me again, slower and softer now, as we rested there, eyes half closed.
"So, about Saturday, did you ask me?" he said after a minute, "Because I'm pretty sure that means yo're paying."
"Nope. You were imaging it. Considering how you eat, the meal bill is all yours. But I will spring for the movie. And bring you flowers."
He chuckled. "Will you?"
"Yep, a dozen pink roses, which you'll have to carry all night or risk offending me."
"And what happens if I offend you?"
"You don't get any more of this."
I leaned in and kissed him again. And we stayed out there, on the blanket, as the sun fell, talking and kissing mostly, just being together. We had a long road ahead of us, and I knew it wasn't going to be easy. But I had everything I wanted-everything I needed-and I'd get through it just fine. We all would.”
― Kelley Armstrong, quote from The Rising
“(...) every story one chooses to tell is a kind of censorship, it prevents the telling of other tales (...)”
― Salman Rushdie, quote from Shame
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.