Quotes from The Beautiful American

“Love isn’t really about what we think of the other person, but how we feel about ourselves when we are with that person.”
― Jeanne Mackin, quote from The Beautiful American

“That’s the problem with the finite. You can open only one door at a time, and you’ll never know what was behind the door you didn’t open.”
― Jeanne Mackin, quote from The Beautiful American

“I was happy, and nothing in the world can make you oblivious to your surroundings like happiness.”
― Jeanne Mackin, quote from The Beautiful American

“Love was love, but art was art and though he mixed the two a little, he never confused them.”
― Jeanne Mackin, quote from The Beautiful American

“sillage, what remains when all else has left. “Come on,”
― Jeanne Mackin, quote from The Beautiful American

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Popular quotes

“My earliest memories of my father are of seeing him work at his desk and realizing that he was happy. I did not know it then, but that was one of the most precious gifts a father can give his child.”
― Malcolm Gladwell, quote from Outliers: The Story of Success

“Standing Here


My entire world far beneath
my feet, I should be filled
with pride. Instead, I feel
overwhelmed by a sense of defeat.

Suddenly it comes to me,
toes tempted to test the ledge,
that there is a way out of this.
Clam surety flows through

my veins, and as I turn to wave
good-bye, I wonder if it will
hurt or if a single person
will cry at my funeral.

I take a deep breath, a final
taste of sweet mountain air.
I conjure Leona, Emily.
Move my feet closer. Closer

There's Grandma One, Grandma
Two, and their spouses, waiting
for me. I see Dad. Cara. Mommy.
I screw up my courage, step over”
― Ellen Hopkins, quote from Impulse

“Life is so constructed, that the event does not, cannot, will not, match the expectation.”
― Charlotte Brontë, quote from Villette

“It's humiliating to be dependent, anyway, but it's still a poorer pass to have no one to depend on.”
― John Wyndham, quote from The Day of the Triffids

“I remember like yesterday how he strayed in out of nowhere to our log cabin on Birdsong Creek. He made me so mad at first that I wanted to kill him. Then, later, when I had to kill him, it was like having to shoot some of my own folks.”
― Fred Gipson, quote from Old Yeller

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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.