Quotes from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn't been good vs. evil. It's hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is doing good vs. doing nothing. -Deirdre Sullivan”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“Beliefs are choices. No one has authority over your personal beliefs. Your beliefs are in jeopardy only when you don't know what they are.”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“I believe in the absolute and unlimited liberty of reading. I believe in wandering through the stacks and picking out the first thing that strikes me. I believe in choosing books based on the dust jacket. I believe in reading books because others dislike them or find them dangerous. I believe in choosing the hardest book imaginable. I believe in reading up on what others have to say about this difficult book and then making up my own mind. - Rick Moody”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“I am not the lonely human, plunked down on earth to aimlessly wander. I am a part of that earth and not going anywhere- just like the spider up in the corner, the dust on the sill, and the cat I buried in the backyard. -Jamaica Ritcher.”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“Presence is a noun, not a verb; it is a state of being, not doing. States of being are not highly valued in a culture that places a high priority on doing. Yet, true presence or "being with" another person carries with it a silent power.”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“Love is primal. It is comprised of compassion, care, security, and a leap of faith.”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“Soon, a national and international feminist movement was challenging the idea that what happened to men was political but what happened to women was cultural; that the first could be changed but the second could not. - Gloria Steinem”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“I believe in the pursuit of happiness. Not its attainment, nor its final definition, but its pursuit. I believe in the journey, not the arrival; in conversation, not monologues; in multiple questions rather than any single answer. I believe in the struggle to remake ourselves and challenge each other in the spirit of eternal forgiveness, in the awareness that none of us knows for sure what happiness truly is, but each of us knows the imperative to keep searching. I believe in the possibility of surprising joy, of serenity through pain, of homecoming through exile.”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“I BELIEVE IN THE 50-PERCENT THEORY. Half the time things are better than normal; the other half, they are worse. I believe life is a pendulum swing.”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“You only have what you give. It’s by spending yourself that you become rich.”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“IF I HAVE ONE OPERATING PHILOSOPHY ABOUT LIFE, it is this: “Be cool to the pizza delivery dude; it’s good luck.” Four principles guide the pizza dude philosophy.”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“Everything potent, from human love to atomic energy, is dangerous;”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn’t been good versus evil. It’s hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is doing good versus doing nothing. In going”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“Leaving Identity Issues to Other Folks”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“Action is what separates a belief from an opinion. Beliefs are imprinted through actions.”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“So, my credo consists of the pursuit and the act. One without the other is self-indulgence.”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“I believe in the pursuit of happiness. Not its attainment, nor its final definition, but its pursuit. I believe in the journey, not the arrival;”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

“To see what must be done and not to do it, is a crime.”
― quote from This I Believe: The Personal Philosophies of Remarkable Men and Women

Popular quotes

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― Koushun Takami, quote from Battle Royale

“Dad,
Please accept this money to fix the broken window. I’m sure it’s already fixed, considering Lydia’s house pride and her phobia about unconditioned air, but

Dear Al,
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I apologize to both of you for my irrational behavior. I know it’s all my fault, but if you would have listened to ONE THING I had to say, I might not have

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I hope you’ll all be very happy being blond together. May people speak only in inside voices for the rest of your lives.
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― Ann Brashares, quote from The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

“I beg your pardon?" Robson says.

One thing Waterhouse likes about these Brits is that when they don't know what the hell you're talking about, they are at least open to the possibility that it might be their fault.”
― Neal Stephenson, quote from Cryptonomicon

“The Red Cow was very respectable, she always behaved like a perfect lady and she knew What was What.”
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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.