“It struck me then how much the past - not just the past but history and family - was like the ocean tide. It was always the same ocean, but the waves made it fresh and new each time.”
― Aimee Friedman, quote from Sea Change
“When people went on vacation, they shed their home skins, thought they could be a new person.”
― Aimee Friedman, quote from Sea Change
“Come find me," Leo put in, his gaze full of understanding. "Whenever you want. I'll be here.”
― Aimee Friedman, quote from Sea Change
“I watched the land for as long as I could, until it disappeared behind its shawl of mist, and until I had it fixed in my mind - unchanged, mysterious and beautiful”
― Aimee Friedman, quote from Sea Change
“I couldn't think. The basics of my life seemed altered and thrown into question. After all, our families--our ancestors--are our identities. Biology is destiny.
I'm not who you think I am, I had said to T.J. the last time I'd seen him. Maybe I wasn't who I'd thought I was either.”
― Aimee Friedman, quote from Sea Change
“My skin prickled and I looked back at the ocean. None of us ask for the things we inherit; they are thrust upon us, willy-nilly. Like The Marine, I suddenly understood. Mom and I weren't trespassing. This house was ours. This view was ours. And that seemed as absurd and unreal as the stories Sailor Hat had spun for me on the ferry.”
― Aimee Friedman, quote from Sea Change
“The poet Robert Browning caused considerable consternation by including the word twat in one of his poems, thinking it an innocent term. The work was Pippa Passes, written in 1841 and now remembered for the line "God's in His heaven, all's right with the world." But it also contains this disconcerting passage:
Then owls and bats
Cowls and twats
Monks and nuns in a cloister's moods,
Adjourn to the oak-stump pantry!
Browning had apparently somewhere come across the word twat--which meant precisely the same then as it does now--but pronounced it with a flat a and somehow took it to mean a piece of headgear for nuns. The verse became a source of twittering amusement for generations of schoolboys and a perennial embarrassment to their elders, but the word was never altered and Browning was allowed to live out his life in wholesome ignorance because no one could think of a suitably delicate way of explaining his mistake to him.”
― Bill Bryson, quote from The Mother Tongue: English and How It Got That Way
“Every woman should marry for her own advantage since her husband will represent her, as visible as her front door, for the rest of his life. If she chooses a wastrel she will be avoided by all her neighbors as a poor woman; catch a duke and she will be Your Grace, and everyone will be her friend. She can be pious, she can be learned,she cane be witty and wise and beautiful, but if she is married to a fool she will be "that poor Mrs. Fool" until the day he dies.”
― Philippa Gregory, quote from The Other Queen
“Look, Livvy, I don’t know what you found out from your sister that made you so upset but please, try not to let it ruin the rest of your claiming period. There’s so much to see and do and experience here and you’ll never find a man who loves you like your Kindred warrior. I mean, sure they can be stupid sometimes but show me the man who isn’t, right?” “I guess,” Liv said grudgingly. “I don’t know, Jillian. I’m just feeling kind of…betrayed right now. And I think it’s going to take me a little while to get over that.” If I ever do at all. “Whatever it was Baird did, you can be sure he didn’t do it on purpose,” Jillian said earnestly. Liv frowned. “You don’t even know him. How can you say that?” “Because I know the Kindred—I know how they are. They love their women to distraction and would never hurt us on purpose.” Jillian sighed. “Just…give him a chance. Will you at least promise me that?” “I’ll try.”
― Evangeline Anderson, quote from Claimed
“Our eyes locked. And in that moment everything shifted. I saw what I had really done. I saw that I could be somebody’s center, his reason for staying. I saw that I could be enough.”
― Jojo Moyes, quote from After You
“I thought about how one tiny decision can change a life. A decision that takes only a split second to make.”
― Anita Shreve, quote from Light on Snow
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.