Quotes from The Living

“She read books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from The Living

“She read books as one would breathe air, to fill up and live. She read books as one would breathe ether, to sink in and die.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from The Living

“Naturally society cherished itself alone; it prized what everyone agreed was precious, despised what everyone agreed was despicable, and ignored what no one mentioned-all to it's own enhancement, and with the loud view that these bubbles and vapors were eternal and universal. If June had stressed to Mabel that she was going to die, would she have learned to eat with a fork? Society's loyal members, having sacrificed their only lives to it's caprices, hastened to entrap the next generation into agreement, so their follies would not have been in vain and they could all go down together, blind and well turned out. The company, the club, and the party had offered him a position like bait, and he bit. He had embedded himself in the company like a man bricked into a wall, and whirled with the building's maps, files, and desks,senselessly, as the planet spun and death pooled on the cold basement floors. Who could blame him?- when people have always lived so. Now , however, he saw the city lifted away, and the bricks and files vaporized; he saw the preenings of men laid low, and the comforts of family scattered. He was free and loosed on the black beach.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from The Living

“How loose he seemed to himself, under the stars! The spaces between the stars were pores, out of which human meaning evaporated.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from The Living

“No child on earth was ever meant to be ordinary, and you can see it in them, and they know it, too, but then the times get to them, and they wear out their brains learning what folks expect, and spend their strength trying to rise over those same folks.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from The Living

“When, over the following months, Minta Randall found that Eustace apparently reciprocated her profoundest and most secret feelings, she thought she had never lived before, or knew what life could hold, or what absolute power one heart could exert upon another. She perceived no trace, fossil, or echo of this wild sensation anywhere around her, and concluded that she and Eustace had invented it together, which would be, she thought, just like them.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from The Living

“How we spend our days is,how we spend our lives.”
― Annie Dillard, quote from The Living

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Popular quotes

“We need to talk," Dean said.
"Whatever you have to say," Michael drawled, "You can say in front of me."
I gave Michael a look.
"Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of me, unless Cassie wishes to speak to you privately, in which case I completely respect her right to do so," Michael corrected himself.”
― Jennifer Lynn Barnes, quote from The Naturals

“I have seen the coming of the dawn.
Unconcernedly watching the passing of the day,
Whiled away my hours in joyful play-
I live to simply sing the song of love
And play the music of my heart-
Dancing and playing in the light,
I am filled with passion and delight.
My voice is free.
It rises and floats away from me-
I am unable to escape these walls.
My body will not float like my song’s plaintive calls.
Only in my mind I float free as my song
And I fly to a home where I belong.
There, those who know my heart well
Sing, sing, sing with my song’s spell-
They snatched my voice,
Held me against my choice.
I forget all that was mine
Yet I reach to dream it one last time.
I struggle to the last
But my light is fading fast,
A lone warrior waging a brutal fight
Against an endless night.
I fight for escape even if the notes of this song
Are only the part of me to leave.
I rise up out of here,
Reaching for the things I hold dear.
I will not stay silent,
I shall not remain still.
I sing. I sing to the end.”
― Victoria Forester, quote from The Girl Who Could Fly

“Hi," I return, gesturing to the fish. "Nice catch."
"Yeah. I'm kind of impressed with myself. I always thought redheads were sexy."
"Ha-ha. I meant the fish."
"Ah. Yes.”
― Sophie Jordan, quote from Hidden

“Run, she told herself. Run, you idiot, run.

But she didn't. She couldn't. She just... couldn't.”
― Ilsa J. Bick, quote from Ashes

“We have to deal with human reality as a being which is what it is not and which is not what it is.”
― Jean-Paul Sartre, quote from Being and Nothingness

Interesting books

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.