Quotes from Room

“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“In the world I notice persons are nearly always stressed and have no time...I don't know how persons with jobs do the jobs and all the living as well...I guess the time gets spread very thin like butter all over the world, the roads and houses and playgrounds and stores, so there's only a little smear of time on each place, then everyone has to hurry on to the next bit.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“People don't always want to be with people. It gets tiring.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“If I was made of cake I'd eat myself before somebody else could.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“Stories are a different kind of true.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“When I was a little kid I thought like a little kid, but now I'm five I know everything”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“Goodbye, Room." I wave up at Skylight. "Say goodbye," I tell Ma. "Goodbye, Room."
Ma says it but on mute.
I look back one more time. It's like a crater, a hole where something happened. Then we go out the door.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“I've seen the world and I'm tired now.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“I think buddy is man talk for sweetie.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“Sometimes when persons say definitely it sounds actually less true.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“People move around so much in the world, things get lost.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“I think about Old Nick carrying me into the truck, I'm dizzy like I'm going to
fall down.

"Scared is what you're feeling," says Ma, "but brave is what you're doing."

"Huh?"

"Scaredybrave."

"Scave."

Word sandwiches always make her laugh but I wasn't being funny.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“The world is always changing brightness and hotness and soundness, I never know how it's going to be the next minute.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“[E]verywhere I'm looking at kids, adults mostly don't seem to like them, not even the parents do. They call the kids gorgeous and so cute, they make the kids do the thing all over again so they can take a photo, but they don't want to actually play with them, they'd rather drink coffee talking to other adults. Sometimes there's a small kid crying and the Ma of it doesn't even hear.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“This is a bad story.”
“Sorry. I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have told you.”
“No, you should,” I say.
“But—”
“I don’t want there to be bad stories and me not know them.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“I remember manners, that's when people are scared to make other persons mad.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“When I tell her what I’m thinking and she tells me what she’s thinking, our each ideas jumping into the other’s head, like coulouring blue crayon on top of yellow that makes green.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“It’s called mind over matter. If we don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.” When a bit of me hurts, I always mind.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“A lot of the world seems to repeat itself”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“In the world I notice persons are nearly always stressed and have no time. Even Grandma often says that, but she and Steppa don't have jobs, so I don't know how persons with jobs do the jobs and all the living as well. In Room me and Ma had time for everything. I guess the time gets spread very thin like butter over all the world, the roads and houses and playgrounds and stores, so there's only a little smear of time on each place, then everyone has to hurry on to the next bit.

Also everywhere I'm looking at kids, adults mostly don't seem to like them, not even the parents do. They call the kids gorgeous and so cute, they make the kids do the thing all over again so they can take a photo, but they don't want to actually play with them, they'd rather drink coffee talking to other adults. Sometimes there's a small kid crying and the Ma of it doesn't even hear.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“I look back one more time. It's like a crater, a hole where something happened.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“Me and Ma have a deal, we're going to try everything one time so we know what we like.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“There's not a thing wrong with you, you're right the whole way through.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“Maybe I’m a human, but I’m a me-and-Ma as well.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“When I was four I thought everything in TV was just TV, then I was five and Ma unlied about lots of it being pictures of real and Outside being totally real. Now I’m in Outside but it turns out lots of it isn’t real at all.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“You know who you belong to, Jack?”
“Yeah.”
“Yourself.”
He’s wrong, actually, I belong to Ma.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“Outside has everything. Whenever I think of a thing now like skis or fireworks or islands or elevators or yo-yos, I have to remember they're real, they're actually happening in Outside all together. It makes my head tired. And people too, firefighters teachers burglars babies saints soccer players and all sorts, they're all really in Outside. I'm not there, though, me and Ma, we're the only ones not there. Are we still real?”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

“Ma's still nodding. "You're the one who matters, though. Just you."

I shake my head till it's wobbling because there's no just me.”
― Emma Donoghue, quote from Room

Video

About the author

Popular quotes

“Here in this ocean, in the midst of all this water, with the red flags on those distant buoys flapping in the sea breeze, I find myself unable to treat our house in Tokyo as anything but a dream. ”
― Banana Yoshimoto, quote from Tsugumi

“Times have changed, Miss Donovan. Mankind has evolved. We are more enlightened thinkers than our ancestors.” “I’ve heard that before.” He raised his brows. “You don’t believe we are evolving as a species?” She thought of her earlier epiphany, that she wasn’t superior to her nineteenth-century compatriots. And she thought of the countless murder boards she’d stood before, centuries from now, detailing man’s depravity toward man, and shook her head. “We might be becoming more civilized as a whole—and I’m not even sure about that—but I don’t think mankind ever really changes. We’re not smarter, better, kinder people, Doctor.” She paused, grim. “We’re just inventing better technology.” Aldridge”
― Julie McElwain, quote from A Murder in Time

“Oh for goodness' sake," my twin snapped. "I have better things to do with my time than concoct elaborate schemes to insult Penny. I'll just insult her to her face, thank you very much.”
― Sophie Cleverly, quote from The Dance in the Dark

“Ex ‘Fleet man?”
“He was a full Commander, last I heard, sir.”
“Interesting.” Falconer commented. “Get me his specs. If I have to take him aboard my ship, I want to know all about him.”
She swallowed. “Yes sir.”
Falconer returned his attention to Nordyke.
“What’s their location?”
“They’re about a week outside the Hermes system, Captain.”
“Helm, set a course – best possible speed!”
“Um – sir, we’re on conversion drive at the moment.” The helmsman reported.
“I know, Linson – d’you think I’m senile?”
“No, sir – I…” The young helmsman stammered.
“I did say ‘best possible speed’, didn’t I?”
“Yes, sir.”
― Christina Engela, quote from Blachart

“The prince's robes and beggar's rags,
Are toadstools on the miser's bags.
A truth that's told with bad intent,
Beats all the lies you can invent”
― William Blake, quote from Auguries of Innocence

Interesting books

About BookQuoters

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 2018, 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.