“But chance runs like a river through all our lives, and being prepared for surprise is the best we can do.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“If my heart were a compass, you'd be North.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“IMBECILE!" the chef shouted. "Next time why don't you just put your whole HAND in the food, hey? Yes, your whole hand, or maybe your FACE! I arrange the food on plates with care, are you understanding what I am telling you? It is part of the art form of cooking, yes? A lovely plate of food is a thing of beauty! And then you, NUMBSKULL, come along and put your fat greasy FINGERS all over my plate, and SHAKE the plate, and move my food all around the plate until it looks like pigs' vomit!"
"Chef Vlad!" I cried out in delight.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“I prefer the word aviatrix. It has more zing to it."
"It's very zingy," I agreed.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“You've no fear of heights," puffed the girl.
"None," I said.
"I've heard that about you.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“You flatter me shamelessly. I like it. Good.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“This way," she said, veering toward the roof's edge. "Can you jump?"
"Oh, I can jump!"
"Then jump!”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“I raised my hands, trying to shush her.
"Don't shush me," she said, eyes blazing. "I hate being shushed.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“Everyone watched, wondering if this could be the same lunatic who'd nearly berthed his ornithopter in the restaurant.
I swallowed, for it seemed he was headed straight for my table.
He pulled off his helmet and a mass of dark auburn hair spilled out. Off came the goggles, and I was looking at the beaming face of Kate de Vries.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“I had no idea there'd be so many Sherpas aboard!" exclaimed Miss Simpkins.
"I'm not a Sherpa," Nadira said. "I'm a gypsy."
"Oh, my goodness!" said the chaperone.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“None of us gets to choose how we're born, it's what we make of ourselves afterwards.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“I stared at Kate in disbelief.
"I know, I know," she said, walking toward me, hands raised as if to calm a dangerous beast.
"She's not coming," I said.
"She's coming."
"She can't."
"She's coming.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“I could not help staring back, for they made quite a contrast: Kate's pale skin and elegant purple suit, Nadira's dusky skin and exotic fiery sari.
"Do we clash?" Nadira said dryly.
"We certainly do," said Kate. "Would you like me to move?"
"Don't trouble yourself.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“I took [Kate's] hand in mine, and felt her fingers squeeze back. And I thought: home. It took me completely by surprise. But I suppose that once you bid farewell to your first home, you're always looking for another—that place where you can feel happy and strong and at your best. For three years I'd called the Aurora home. But now that I lived in Paris, it was not the city itself that was home. It was Kate.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
“It indicates very poor breeding,” Miss Simpkins informed me primly. “We are not dogs or horses,” I insisted hotly. “None of us gets to choose how we’re born, it’s what we make of ourselves afterward.”
― Kenneth Oppel, quote from Skybreaker
Kenneth Oppel
Born place: Port Alberni, British Columbia, Canada
See more on GoodReads
“He was as tall as Jack; as broad shouldered with a wide, hard chest. Looking at his back, she realized it could almost be Jack, and for a split second she wondered if she had married him because he resembled her brother in so many ways. That sandy-brown hair, square jaw, long legs, powerful physique. Mike wasn’t anything like the Sheridan men—he was six feet, quite tall to her five foot three, but not towering like her brother and father, like Brad. His shoulders and arms were strong, but he was lean. There was that soft, coal-black hair, high cheekbones, black eyes, tan skin, his teeth so white they were almost startling. His hands were soft and his fingers long and graceful. She hadn’t seen him without a shirt, but she knew his chest and belly were muscled and hard, almost hairless. She found herself imagining that below his waist was more of that black hair, swirling downward. His legs were the strong, sculpted legs of a runner—she remembered the feel of his thighs as she lay across his lap to be kissed. She”
― Robyn Carr, quote from Whispering Rock
“No", she wanted to say. " I don't want you to care for me, I want to be with my husband." But nothing came out. She turned beseeching her eyes to Darcy and she saw him as if from a great distance, through a distorting glass, but his words were firm and clear. “She has no taste for your company,” he said.
“No?” said the gentleman. “But I have a taste for her.”
Hers, thought Elizabeth. He should have said hers.
“Let her go,” said Darcy warningly.
“Why should I?” asked the gentleman.
“Because she is mine,” said Darcy.
The gentleman turned his full attention toward Darcy and Elizabeth followed his eyes.
And then she saw something that made her heart thump against her rib cage and her mind collapse as she witnessed something so shocking and so terrifying that the ground came up to meet her as everything went black.”
― Amanda Grange, quote from Mr. Darcy, Vampyre
“it's better than a stick in the eye”
― Spider Robinson, quote from Callahan's Crosstime Saloon
“There is nothing to fear except the power you give to your own demons.”
― Sally Gardner, quote from The Red Necklace
“She especially disliked the lowering of the standard by which to judge a work of fiction, if it proceeded from a feminine pen; and praise mingled with pseudo–gallant allusions to her sex, mortified her far more than actual blame.”
― Elizabeth Gaskell, quote from The Life of Charlotte Brontë
Witness in Death
Alcools
The Russia House
Simple Genius
The Pilgrim's Regres...
Selected PoemsBookQuoters 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.
