“I guessed it was a migratory bird, too innocent to be wary of the spiders in the jungle grass. It worried be to think that we were a little like that bird”
― Paul Theroux, quote from The Mosquito Coast
“And father said "I never wanted this. I'm sick of everyone pretending to be old Dan Beavers in his L. L. Bean moccasins, and his Dubbelwares, and his Japanese bucksaw -- all these fake frontiersmen with their chuck wagons full of Twinkies and Wonderbread and aerosol cheese spread. Get out the Duraflame log and the plastic cracker barrel, Dan, and let's talk self-sufficiency!”
― Paul Theroux, quote from The Mosquito Coast
“Nature is crooked. I wanted right angles and straight lines. Ice! Oh, why do they all drip? You cut yourself opening a can of tuna fish and you die. One puncture in your foot and your life leaks out through your toe. What are they for, moose antlers? Get down on all fours and live. You're protected on your hands and knees. It's either that or wings.”
― Paul Theroux, quote from The Mosquito Coast
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
― Paul Theroux, quote from The Mosquito Coast
“He used the word savages with affection, as if he liked them a little for it. In his nature was a respect for wildness. He saw it as a personal challenge, something that could be put right with an idea or a machine. He felt he had the answer to most problems, if anyone cared to listen.”
― Paul Theroux, quote from The Mosquito Coast
Paul Theroux
Born place: in Medford, Massachusetts, The United States
Born date April 10, 1941
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“The sense of the missing member of the party was a fog low over the patio, changing the look and feel of everything.”
― Nichole Bernier, quote from The Unfinished Journals of Elizabeth D
“Quit your bitching and go buy me a Stetson”
― Abigail Roux, quote from Stars & Stripes
“Are you sure you're not looking for an excuse to stay in the smokestack with me?"
"If we attempt to check on the weapons now, in daylight, we may be spotted."
"Don't worry. You don't have to say it. I know." Amarante patted him on the chest. "It was good for me too.”
― Lindsay Buroker, quote from Beneath the Surface
“If he is not a Tick, does that make him a Tock?”
― Emily McKay, quote from The Farm
“As you say, DeWar, our shame comes from the comparison. We know we might be generous and compassionate and good, and could behave so, yet something else in our nature makes us otherwise." She smiled a small, empty smile. "Yes, I feel something I recognise as love. Something I remember, something I may discuss and mill and theorise over." She shook her head. "But it is not something I know. I am like a blind woman taking about how a tree must look, or a cloud. Love is something I have a dim memory of, the way someone who went blind in their early childhood might recall the sun, or the face of their mother. I know affection from my fellow whore-wives, DeWar, and I sense regard from you and feel some in return. I have a duty to the Protector, just as he feels he has a duty to me. As far as that goes, I am content. But love? That is for the living, and I am dead.”
― Iain M. Banks, quote from Inversions
Hadji Murad
Angels & Demons - Ma...
M. Butterfly
Franco
Evžen Oněgin
Discourses and Selec...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.
