“The criminal is a creative artist; detectives are just critics.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“Suokaa anteeksi, mutta minun on nyt mentävä, jotta ehdin irstailla kyllikseni ennen kuin kuolen.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“A strange thing happens when you are very rich, even when one’s wealth is as artificial as in our society. You develop a solipsism of sorts. The world yields itself to your will. Everything becomes your reflection, and after a while looking into your own eyes is dull.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“Deep learning still comes from approximately ten thousand hours of work on any given subject.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“I don't care what your Oort woman wants you to steal for her," she says. "You already did your worst. You stole what could have been. From me and from yourself. And you can never have it back.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“I always loved the way you are so quick to see everybody else as monsters.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“What is it about it, anyway? Stealing.’ ‘It’s …’ It’s an instinct, I want to say. ... It’s art. But she would not understand, so I merely repeat the old joke. ‘It’s about respecting other people’s property. I make it my property so that I can properly respect it.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“You’re bigger than the toys. We are always bigger than the things we make. Put them away. Make something new with your life, with your own mind and hands.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“Whisky has always tasted like introspection to me, a quiet moment after taking a sip, the lingering aftertaste, inviting you to ponder upon the flavours on your tongue.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“Hell,’ I tell her, ‘is where all the interesting people are.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“Tell me one thing,’ Isidore says. ‘What was this place before?’ The Eldest pauses. An expression of sadness flickers across her serene face.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“How do you find out if there are shadowy forces manipulating people’s minds? You find a clean template, and make a before-and-after comparison.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“I don’t understand people. I need to deduce things. I don’t know why anyone says or does anything if I don’t think about it.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“The carriage lurches back and forth as the vehicle – the bastard child of a spider, a H. G. Wells war machine and a taxi – leaps over rooftops and clings to walls.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“She smiles, displaying an uneven row of sugar cube teeth.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“I merely repeat the old joke. ‘It’s about respecting other people’s property. I make it my property so that I can properly respect it.”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“You are a policeman, yes? A sysadmin?”
― Hannu Rajaniemi, quote from The Quantum Thief
“Closing your eyes isn't going to change anything. Nothing's going to disappear just because you can't see what's going on. In fact, things will even be worse the next time you open your eyes. That's the kind of world we live in. Keep your eyes wide open. Only a coward closes his eyes. Closing your eyes and plugging up your ears won't make time stand still.”
― Haruki Murakami, quote from Kafka on the Shore
“Lately, it had been an endless procession of long, black nights and gray mornings, when her sense of failure swept over her like a five-hundred-pound wave; and she was scared. But it wasn't death that she feared. She had looked down into that black pit of death and had wanted to jump in, once too often. As a matter of fact, the thought began to appeal to her more and more.
She even knew how she would kill herself. It would be with a silver bullet. As round and as smooth as an ice-cold blue martini. She would place the gun in the freezer for a few hours before she did it, so it would feel frosty and cold against her head. She could almost feel the ice-cold bullet shooting through her hot, troubled brain, freezing the pain for good. The sound of the gun blast would be the last sound she would ever hear. And then... nothing. Maybe just the silent sound that a bird might hear, flying in the clean, cool air, high above the earth. The sweet, pure air of freedom.
No, it wasn't death she was afraid of. It was this life of hers that was beginning to remind her of that gray intensive care waiting room.”
― Fannie Flagg, quote from Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
“As women glide from their twenties to thirties, Shazzer argues, the balance of power subtly shifts. Even the most outrageous minxes lose their nerve, wrestling with the first twinges of existential angst: fears of dying alone and being found three weeks later half-eaten by an Alsatian.”
― Helen Fielding, quote from Bridget Jones's Diary
“Against my better judgment I feel certain that somewhere very near here—the first house down the road, maybe—there's a good poet dying, but also somewhere very near here somebody's having a hilarious pint of pus taken from her lovely young body, and I can't be running back and forth forever between grief and high delight.”
― J.D. Salinger, quote from Franny and Zooey
“I have found in life that everything, no matter how bad, comes to an end.”
― Bryce Courtenay, quote from The Power of One
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.