“After killing the red-haired man, I took myself off to Quinn’s for an oyster supper.”
― Michael Cox, quote from The Meaning of Night
“The summer passed quietly. I busied myself as best I could, reading a good deal.”
― Michael Cox, quote from The Meaning of Night
“It is trite to speak of a broken heart. Hearts are not broken; they continue to beat, the blood still courses, even in the bitter after-days of betrayal. but something is broken when pain beyond words is suffered; some connection that formerly existed with light and hope and bright mornings is severed, and can never be restored.”
― Michael Cox, quote from The Meaning of Night
“But greater than all these delights would be the possession of this wondrous library for my own use and pleasure. What more could my bibliophile's soul ask for? Here were marvels without end, treasures beyond knowing. You have seen the worst of me in these confessions. Here, then, let me throw into the opposite side of the balance, what I truly believe is the best of me: my devotion to the mental life, to those divine faculties of intellect and imagination which, when exercised to the utmost, can make gods of us all.”
― Michael Cox, quote from The Meaning of Night
“The boundaries of this world are forever shifting – from day to night, joy to sorrow, love to hate, and from life itself to death; and who can say at what moment we may suddenly cross over the border, from one state of existence to another, like heat applied to some flammable substance? I have been given my own ever-changing margins, across which I move, continually and hungrily, like a migrating animal. Now civilized, now untamed; now responsive to decency and human concern, now viciously attuned to the darkest of desires.”
― Michael Cox, quote from The Meaning of Night
“But who ever heeds the voice of reason when love whispers, softly persuasive, in the other ear?”
― Michael Cox, quote from The Meaning of Night
“I long for sleep, and for soft English rain. But they do not come.”
― Michael Cox, quote from The Meaning of Night
“Trust, but be careful in whom.”
― Michael Cox, quote from The Meaning of Night
“I think much of her - I mean my mother - and of how alike we were, and how we were both destroyed by believing it was in our own hands to punish those who had done wrong to us.”
― Michael Cox, quote from The Meaning of Night
“Truly divine faculties of intellect and imagination can make gods of us all”
― Michael Cox, quote from The Meaning of Night
“Where do they come from, thoughts?
Like wrens, out of the sky.
They arrive.
Noisy, hungry, perfectly themselves.”
― Peter Behrens, quote from The Law of Dreams
“I stared down the slim barrel of a gun, looked into eyes rabid with fear and hatred, and saw my reflection. Pulled the trigger to make it go away.
I heard the echoes of my gunshots, smelled the cordite, and in the smoke, I still saw my reflection and knew I always would.”
― Dennis Lehane, quote from Un dernier verre avant la guerre
“Sometimes kids just act impulsively, but it's because we have strong feelings, not because we're trying to make trouble. —Bobby Goodspeed”
― James Howe, quote from The Misfits
“Charles ... How much younger I was when I knew you," she whispered to his painted likeness. She looked down at it, trying to find the right words. "I was an impressionable girl and you, a god on a mighty charger, resplendent in officer's dress, all glitter and gold. I was so enamored of you — but I know now that we would never have been happy together. We were too much alike — both too serious, too practical, too … cautious, perhaps. You were right for me then, and I shall never, ever forget you — but it's your brother who's right for me now." She swallowed, hard. "I hope you don't mind what I have done," she added, as she gazed down into those blue, blue eyes. "But I know you wouldn't have wanted me to be unhappy." There”
― Danelle Harmon, quote from The Wild One
“I'm not going to feel guilty for wanting the things that everyone wants.”
― Carolyn Parkhurst, quote from The Dogs of Babel
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.