“People who keep stiff upper lips find that it's damn hard to smile.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“Feeling is not selective, I keep telling you that. You can’t feel pain, you aren’t gonna feel anything else, either.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“Riding the train gives him too much time to think, he has decided. Too much thinking can ruin you.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“. . . crazy world or maybe it's just the view we have of it, looking through a crack in the door, never being able to see the whole room, the whole picture.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“Depending on the reality one must face, one may prefer to opt for illusion.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“The small seed of despair cracks open and sends experimental tendrils upward to the fragile skin of calm holding him together.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“Life is not a series of pathetic, meaningles actions. Some of them are so far from pathetic, so far from meaningless as to be beyond reason, maybe beyond forgiveness.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“And do not be paralyzed. It is better to move than to be unable to move, because you fear loss so much: loss of order, loss of security, loss of predictability.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“People have a right to be the way they are.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“And what about tomorrow then? And all the tomorrows to come? Why can't we talk about it? Why can't we ever talk about it?”
― quote from Ordinary People
“She hands him his coffee; crosses to the doorway; motes of dust flutter nervously in her wake.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“with grief? There is no dealing; he knows that much. There is simply the stubborn, mindless hanging on until it is over. Until you are through it. But something has happened in the process. The old definitions, the neat, knowing pigeonholes have disappeared. Or else they no longer apply. His eyes move again to the calendar. Wednesday, November fifth. Of course. Obvious. All the painful self-examination ; the unanswered questions. At least he knows what is wrong today. Today is Jordan’s birthday. Today he would have been nineteen.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“He hangs on now, pressing his hand lightly against the wall, below the window, waiting for the familiar arrow of pain. Only there is none. An oddly pleasant swell of memory, a wave of warmth flooding over him, sliding back, slowly. It is a first”
― quote from Ordinary People
“Everything seems excessive, now, and too intense, too important.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“People use people according to their own needs. Or don't use them. When a primary need is one of safety.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“Because it has always been easier to believe himself capable of evil than to accept evil in others.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“It has always been easier to believe himself capable of evil than to accept evil in others.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“And once I wanted to be a fireman. Then”
― quote from Ordinary People
“Geez, if I could get through to you, kiddo, that depression is not sobbing and crying and giving vent, it is plain and simple reduction of feeling. Reduction, see? Of all feeling. People who keep stiff upper lips find that it's damn hard to smile.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“fast. Get those months, days, hours, minutes out of the way, it can’t be quick enough.”
― quote from Ordinary People
“There is not an oath, or at least a curse amongst them, which has not been copied over and over again out of Ernulphus a thousand times but, like all other copies, how infinitely short of the force and spirit of the original! It is thought to be no bad oath - and by itself passes very well - "God damn you" - Set it beside Ernulphus's - "God Almighty the Father damn you - God the Son damn you - God the Holy Ghost damn you" - you see 'tis nothing. - There is an orientality in his, we cannot rise up to.”
― Laurence Sterne, quote from The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman
“Only God sees the sparrow fall, but even God doesn't do anything about it.”
― John Steinbeck, quote from The Winter of Our Discontent
“Although a graduate of the University of California the bride is nonetheless an extremely attractive young woman.”
― Frank B. Gilbreth Jr., quote from Cheaper by the Dozen
“Guess what, Avery?"
"What?" I wondered if he could see how fast my heart was beating beneath my shirt.
"Remember how you just said you were having a good time?" Cam lowered his head so that our mouths were scant inches apart. "It's about to get better."
"Is it?"
He shifted his head and his nose grazed mine. "Oh, yeah."
"Are you not going to kiss me again?"
His lips tipped up. "That's exactly what I'm going to do.”
― J. Lynn, quote from Wait for You
“Concentrate. Level the sight. Breathe in.
Ease the trigger. And relax?
BLAP! The can somersaulted across the sand.
Pride swelled till I thought I'd burst.
But my pride slipped at Dad's reality check.
Not bad. Pretty good, in fact. For a girl.”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Burned
The Miniaturist
Air Awakens
S.
Reasons to Stay Aliv...
1000 Years of Annoyi...
Britt-Marie Was HereBookQuoters 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.
