Quotes from The Abstinence Teacher

Tom Perrotta ·  368 pages

Rating: (15.5K votes)


“Once you'd broken through that invisible barrier that separates one person from another, you were connected forever, whether you liked it or not.”
― Tom Perrotta, quote from The Abstinence Teacher


“Because, really, what was worse than lying wide-awake in the dark, watching your life drip away, one irreplaceable minute after another?”
― Tom Perrotta, quote from The Abstinence Teacher


“I'm halfway through my life, and as far as I can tell, the real lesson of the past isn't that I made some mistakes, it's that I didn't make nearly enough of them. I doubt I'll be lying on my deathbed in forty or fifty years, congratulating myself on the fact that I never had sex in an airplane with a handsome Italian businessman, or patting myself on the back for all those years of involuntary celibacy I endured after my divorce. If recent experience is any guide, I'll probably be lying in that hospital bed with my body full of tubes, sneaking glances at the handsome young doctor, wishing that I hadn't been such a coward. Wishing I'd taken more risks, made more mistakes, and accumulated more regrets. Just wishing I'd lived when I had the chance.”
― Tom Perrotta, quote from The Abstinence Teacher


“Abstinence is perfectly reasonable in theory," Gregory said, "It just doesn't work in practice. It's like dieting. You can go a day or two, maybe even a week. But eventually that pizza just smells too good.”
― Tom Perrotta, quote from The Abstinence Teacher


“On the first day of Human Sexuality, Ruth Ramsey wore a short lime green skirt, a clingy black top, and strappy high-heeled sandals, the kind of attention-getting outfit she normally wouldn't have worn on a date---not that she was going on a lot of dates these days---let alone to work. ”
― Tom Perrotta, quote from The Abstinence Teacher



“They were good listeners, worldly yet easily shocked, hungry for details, curious and nonjudgmental at the same time, always happy to give advice, but only if it was requested.”
― Tom Perrotta, quote from The Abstinence Teacher


“Randall kept his eyes glued to the computer screen as she approached. A stranger might have mistaken him for a dedicated Information Sciences professional getting an early start on some important research, but Ruth knew that he was actually scouring eBay for vintage Hasbro action figures…”
― Tom Perrotta, quote from The Abstinence Teacher


About the author

Tom Perrotta
Born place: in Newark, New Jersey, The United States
Born date August 13, 1961
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“If you don't know where you're starting from, you don't know where you're going.”
― quote from Letting Ana Go


“You knew I was a girl and you stil came out to talk to me in the middle of the night without a shirt on?" I shot right back.
"You did what?" Rylan cut in, his eyes wide.”
― Sara B. Larson, quote from Defy


“Esta danza recibe el nombre de «Alegría de los famas».”
― Julio Cortázar, quote from Cronopios and Famas


“Tell me, what are your intentions with my granddaughter. She’s never had a boyfriend, you know.
Yes, ma’am. I am aware.
And did you have anything to do with that?
The corner of his mouth lifted in a half grin. I might have.
Why?
Because she’s mine.”
― B.B. Reid, quote from Fear Me


“Life, it seems, delivers the best punch lines only after we've forgotten we were part of a joke.”
― David Arnold, quote from Mosquitoland


Interesting books

Partners in Crime
(10.5K)
Partners in Crime
by Agatha Christie
The Little Lady Agency
(24.9K)
The Little Lady Agen...
by Hester Browne
A Conspiracy of Paper
(9.4K)
A Conspiracy of Pape...
by David Liss
Clockers
(7.7K)
Clockers
by Richard Price
Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books and for Those Who Want to Write Them
(8.2K)
Reading Like a Write...
by Francine Prose
Strange Candy
(15.4K)
Strange Candy
by Laurell K. Hamilton

About BookQuoters

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.