Quotes from Speaking from Among the Bones

“No point in wasting time with false vanity when you possess the real thing.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“I wanted to cry.

I also wanted to go to my laboratory and prepare an enormous batch of nitrogen triiodide with which to blow up, in a spectacular mushroom cloud of purple vapor, the world and everyone in it.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“Was sorrow, in the end, a private thing? A closed container? Something that, like a bucket of water, could be borne only on a single pair of shoulders?”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“I was the eighth dwarf. Sneaky.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“There's an unwritten law of the universe which assures that the thing you seek will always be found in the last place you look. It applies to everything in life from lost socks to misplaced poisons. . .”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“IT WAS ONE OF those glorious days in March when the air was so fresh that you worshipped every whiff of it; that each breath of the intoxicating stuff created such new universes in your lungs and brain you were certain you were about to explode with sheer joy; one of those blustery days of scudding clouds and piddling showers and gum boots and wind-blown brollies that made you know you were truly alive.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“I was learning that the best conversations consisted of keeping quiet and listening, and speaking, when one spoke at all, in words of a single syllable.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“I had found by experience that putting things down on paper helped to clear the mind in precisely the same way, as Mrs. Mullet had taught me, that an eggshell clarifies the consommé or the coffee, which, of course, is a simple matter of chemistry. The albumin contained in the eggshell has the property of collecting and binding the rubbish that floats in the dark liquid, which can then be removed and discarded in a single reeking clot: a perfect description of the writing process.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“As was your mother, you have been given the fatal gift of genius. Because of it, your life will not be an easy one - nor must you expect it to be. You must remember always that great gifts come at great cost.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“The word “actually,” like its cousin “frankly,” should, by itself, be a tip-off to most people that what is to follow is a blatant lie— but it isn’t.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“Ordinarily, anyone who made such a remark to my face would go to the top of my short list for strychnine.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“Why do people always quote hamlet when they want to seem clever?”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“Could it be that goodness waxes and wanes like the moon, and that only evil is constant?”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“We Three Kings of Leicester Square,
Selling ladies’ underwear,
So fantastic, no elastic,
Only tuppence a pair.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“Revenge is a dish best eaten cold. The reason for this, of course, is that while you're gleefully anticipating the event, the victim has plenty of time to worry about when, where, and how you're going to strike.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“The best thing for soothing a disappointed mind is oxygen. A couple of deep inhalations of the old “O” rejuvenates every cell in the body.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“The press was ruthless, but then so was the church.

Flavia de Luce”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“History is like the kitchen sink,” Adam answered. “Everything goes round and round until eventually, sooner or later, most of it goes down the waste pipe. Things are forgotten. Things are mislaid. Things are covered up. Sometimes, it’s simply a matter of neglect.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“There had fallen between us what Dogger once referred to as "a companionable silence," a little parcel of time during which neither of us felt any particular need to talk.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“Whenever I’m a little blue I think about cyanide, whose color so perfectly reflects my mood. It is pleasant to think that the manioc plant, which grows in Brazil, contains enormous quantities of the stuff in its thirty-pound roots, all of which, unfortunately, is washed away before the residue is used to make our daily tapioca.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“I dwelt there by choice in privacy and peace.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“I flipped on the switch marked "Shuddering Sobs," but nothing came.

Damnation! I used to be a dab hand at water on demand. What on earth was happening to me? Was I becoming hardened? Was this what being twelve was going to be like?”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“Lobsters, snails, crabs, clams, squids, slugs, and members of the European royal families, by contrast, have blue blood, due to the fact that it’s based on copper rather than iron.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“You can pray in the churchyard," the sergeant said. "The Lord has large ears.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“There are things that are worse than glass and crocodiles.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“I had once remarked to Feely that, because of the oxygen, breathing fresh air was like breathing God, but she had slapped my face and told me I was being blasphemous.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“I did not elaborate, nor did I need to. The human imagination is capable of anything when left on its own to fill in the blanks.”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

“Even after five hundred years?” “A seed is a remarkable vessel,” he told me. “Our one true time machine. Each of them is capable of bringing the past, alive, into the present. Think of that!”
― Alan Bradley, quote from Speaking from Among the Bones

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Popular quotes

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“Shall I stop in to check on Bella before I go?”
“Not dressed like that. You would give her palpitations if she knew you were going into danger for her benefit.”
“Luckily, I am mostly immune to Bella’s powers and could cure such palpitations with a thought,” Gideon mused.
Jacob raised a brow, taking the medic’s measure. He could not recall the last time he had heard the Ancient crack wise about anything. It was not a wholly unpleasant experience, and it amused the Enforcer.
“I . . . am aware of what is occurring between you and Legna, as you know,” Jacob mentioned with casual quiet. “I am only recently Imprinted myself, but should you require—” He broke off, suddenly uncomfortable. “Of course, you probably know far more about Imprinting than I ever will.”
He is reaching out to you.
Legna’s soft encouragement made Gideon suddenly aware of that fact. It was one of those nuances he would have missed completely, rusty as he was with matters of friendship and how to relate better to others.
“I am glad for the offer of any help you can provide,” Gideon said quickly. “In fact, I had wanted to ask you . . . something . . .”
What did I want to ask him? he asked Legna urgently.
I do not know! I did not tell you to engage him, just to graciously accept his offer.
Oh. My apologies. Still, you are clever enough to think of something, are you not?
Legna knew he was baiting her, so she laughed.
Ask him why it is you seem to constantly irritate me.
I will ask him no such thing, Magdelegna.
Well then, you had better come up with an alternative, because that is the only suggestion I have.
“Yes?” Jacob was encouraging neutrally, trying to be patient as the medic seemed to gather his thoughts.
“Do you find that your mate tends to lecture you incessantly?” he asked finally.
Jacob laughed out loud.
“You know something, I can actually advise you about that, Gideon.”
“Can you?” The medic actually sounded hopeful.
“Give up. Now. While you still have your sanity. Arguing with her will get you nowhere. And, also, never ever ask questions that refer to the whys and wherefores of women, females, or any other feminine-based criticism. Otherwise you will only earn an argument at a higher decibel level. Oh, and one other thing.”
Gideon cocked a brow in question.
“All the rules I just gave you, as well as all the ones she lays down during the course of your relationship, can and will change at whim. So, as I see it, you can consider yourself just as lost as every other man on the planet. Good luck with it.”
“That is not a very heartening thought,” Gideon said wryly, ignoring Legna’s giggle in his background thoughts.”
― Jacquelyn Frank, quote from Gideon

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