“The English language lacks the words to mourn an absence. For the loss of a parent, grandparent, spouse, child or friend, we have all manner of words and phrases, some helpful some not. Still we are conditioned to say something, even if it is only “I’m sorry for your loss.” But for an absence, for someone who was never there at all, we are wordless to capture that particular emptiness. For those who deeply want children and are denied them, those missing babies hover like silent ephemeral shadows over their lives. Who can describe the feel of a tiny hand that is never held?”
― Laura Bush, quote from Spoken from the Heart
“I turned to books for comfort.
(Former First Lady, Laura Bush)”
― Laura Bush, quote from Spoken from the Heart
“I was born upon the prairie, where the wind blew free, and there was nothing to break the light of the sun. I was born where there were no enclosures, and where everything drew a free breath."
the Great Comanche war chief, Ten Bears”
― Laura Bush, quote from Spoken from the Heart
“Both here and in Russia, he repeatedly chided Putin for cracking down on the press, telling the Russian president that his country had to have a free press, that a free press is essential for a democracy. “You need to have an independent press,” George would tell him. And Putin would invariably reply, “Well, you control your press.” George would shake his head and say, “No, Vladimir, I don’t. I wish sometimes that I could control them, but I can’t. They are free to say whatever they want. In our country, the press is free to write terrible things about me, and I can’t do anything about it.” But Russia is a country without those traditions, and with no memory of them, and many in Russia believed that the U.S. government did control our press. In fact, following a summit meeting, one of the first questions George got from a Russian newsman essentially was, How can you complain to President Putin about the Russian press when you fired Dan Rather?”
― Laura Bush, quote from Spoken from the Heart
“We must choose between a world of fear and a world of progress. We cannot stand by and do nothing while dangers gather.”
― Laura Bush, quote from Spoken from the Heart
“I want to believe that happiness might at least be possible later on in life for people prone to sadness.”
― Matthew Quick, quote from Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock
“You couldn't be afraid of anything if you were sure you could bear the pain it might cause you.”
― Dean Koontz, quote from Strangers
“I reached out and petted the length of it with two fingers as if timidly greeting a live, rabid animal.
Sweat beaded on Mason's brow. He looked tortured, but he appeared to love every second of his suffering. "You are such a comedian. You know that's not what I meant by touch it. It's not a freaking dog."
"Um, no. I'd say this thing is more the size of a bull.”
― Linda Kage, quote from Price of a Kiss
“Is this all we are? A necklace of chemicals? Where, in the double helix, does the soul lie?”
― Tess Gerritsen, quote from The Apprentice
“She wandered over to the enclosed range, a rather modern-looking contraption that Cook had purchased earlier in the year. “Do you know how to work this?” she asked.
“No idea. You?”
Daphne shook her head. “None.” She reached forward and gingerly touched the surface of the stove top. “It's not hot.”
“Not even a little bit?”
She shook her head. “It's rather cold, actually.”
Brother and sister were silent for a few seconds.
“You know,” Anthony finally said, “cold milk might be quite refreshing.”
“I was just thinking that very thing!”
― Julia Quinn, quote from The Duke and I
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.