Quotes from Something Like Winter

Jay Bell ·  332 pages

Rating: (3.1K votes)


“Some ghosts haunt you for life. The best you can do is make room on the couch and get used to living with them.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“What’s it say about a person when they know they have a problem but never do anything to fix it?” Eric smiled. “That they’re human.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“You love a woman, you love a man, you love a tomato. God is happy, because he created love.»”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“Coming out is something you never stop doing. You start by telling your friends and family. Then you tell new acquaintances or coworkers who invite you out for a drink. Even the telemarketers who call and ask if my wife is home. You don’t have to tell everyone you meet, of course, but coming out is something that accompanies your entire life.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“Yeah, and I honestly don’t hold it against you anymore. Ben’s an amazing guy, and I bet losing someone like that hurt pretty damn bad. You both paid for what happened, which is a shame, because love shouldn't have a price.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter



“To the untrained eye, Ben had nothing, at least by the bizarre rules that governed high school. But really, Ben was one of the few who wasn't pretending, one of the few who was free.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“Popular kids are just a powerful union of needy, insecure losers.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“So,” Eric said between bites, “do you carry a photo of Ben in your wallet?” Tim snorted. “Are you kidding? I was way too careful to have something like that. I don’t have a single photo of him anywhere.” He frowned at his plate. “I kind of regret that. His face gets a little fuzzier in my mind every year that goes by. Sometimes I worry I’ll forget it completely.” “You won’t,” Eric said. “You may not remember every detail, but most of it stays with you.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“Ben wore the same goofy smile as in the photo. Take that, new guy! I can make him happy too!”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter



“The more we love, the more we fear. Rejection, or what others might think, these are just the beginning. In a perfectly happy relationship, we fear losing the other person to disease or chance.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“Tim considered the school. “Maybe I want to walk down the hallway with you, hand in hand, like I should have done a long time ago.” Ben’s eyes softened. “You don’t have to do this.” “I want to.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“I've always been in love with the idea of being in love, if that counts.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“What did couples talk about after so many years together?”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“Coming out is something you never stop doing. You start by telling your friends and family. Then you tell new acquaintances or coworkers who invite you out for a drink. Even the telemarketers who call and ask if my wife is home. You don't have to tell everyone you meet, of course, but coming out is something that accompanies your entire life.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter



“It's hotter than Satan's butt crack out here.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“anonymity makes people honest about what they want, but not what they are.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“Tim was on his feet and out the door, leg muscles pushing hard against the concrete when he saw Ben was already halfway down the block. Not this time! Tim was running to him, not away. The world seemed to move in slow motion, as if no possible speed was fast enough to close the distance.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“Never. You'll simply ask out the person you're interested in, and they'll say yes or no. Preferring guys won't be any more controversial than favoring blonde hair or dark skin. We already use the right term when we say sexual preference, but for now people treat it like an identity.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“Waiting should always be avoided. Good or bad, confronting the future is better than torturous anticipation or crippling dread.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter



“Love, or even just infatuation, has a diminishing effect on intelligence.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


“The best thing about any grandmother’s house is the smell—like baby powder and fresh flowers, or maybe freshly washed sheets hanging in the sun, or sugar cookies cooling on a wire rack. If scientists could reproduce that scent and pump it into the open air, wars would cease, and whole armies would trade their guns for toys.”
― Jay Bell, quote from Something Like Winter


About the author

Jay Bell
Born place: in The United States
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“Thing is, as ye git aulder, this character-deficiency gig becomes mair sapping. Thir wis a time ah used tae say tae aw the teachers, bosses, dole punters, poll-tax guys, magistrates, when they telt me ah was deficient:'Hi, cool it, gadge, ah'm jist me, jist intae a different sort ay gig fae youse but, ken?' Now though, ah've goat tae concede thit mibee they cats had it sussed. Ye take a healthier slapping the aulder ye git. The blows hit hame mair. It's like yon Mike Tyson boy at the boxing, ken?

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