“What is past, one cannot change,
so each backward glance is a bit of the present slipping away.”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“If there is no wind, you must learn to row. —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“Push not the river; it will flow on its own accord. —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“Life is like the moon— now dark, now full. —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“No man knows courage,” his father had told him, “who has not known fear.”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“Few Polish citizens left on the Praga side of the River Vistula were allowed to live. The burning of the bridge was fortuitous, however, for the Russians were held at bay, allowing the night to cool their red rage. In the morning, the English ambassador to Poland and the Papal Nuncio crossed the river and secured from Suvorov assurance that the capital would be taken peacefully.”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“There are three things that are difficult to keep hidden: a fire, a cold, and love. —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“There's no key to the woods and fields.”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“Wherever you go, you can never leave yourself behind. —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“Follow your heart. Indulge your whims. They are usually correct. And when they are not, do not allow the world to judge you overly much.”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“A child, she reasoned, does not pick its parents nor the circumstances of its birth. A”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“The roots of learning are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. —Polish Proverb”
― James Conroyd Martin, quote from Push Not the River
“If your master demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, then give him loyalty.”
― Jeff Wheeler, quote from The Thief's Daughter
“Seek to be an oasis of caring and concern as you live your life.”
― Dalai Lama XIV, quote from The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World
“Today we tell girls to grow up to be or do whatever they want. But the cultural pressure to become a mother remains very strong; rare is she who doesn’t at least occasionally succumb to the nagging fear that if she remains childless, she’ll live to regret it.”
― Kate Bolick, quote from Spinster: Making a Life of One's Own
“Native nations were often matrilineal: that is, clan identity passed through the mother, and a husband joined a wife’s household, not vice versa. Matrilineal does not mean matriarchal, which, like patriarchal, assumes that some group has to dominate—a failure of the imagination.”
― Gloria Steinem, quote from Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions
“Decker looked behind him. 'That's nice.'
'What?' said Mars, looking too.
'Where the NAACP office was they built a public library. You know people who read are a lot more tolerant and open-minded than those who don't.'
'Great, so let's get everybody in the world a library card.”
― David Baldacci, quote from The Last Mile
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.