“(As human beings) We see everything everything in a glass, darkly. Sometimes we can peer through the glass and catch a glimpse of what is on the other side. If we were to polish the glass clean, we'd see much more. But then we would no longer see ourselves.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“All stars fall at some time. But a star is only a tiny spark from the great beacon in the sky.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Don't you think it's a small mystery that birds can twitter so loudly that they can hear each other's song from several miles away? Those tiny bundles are like living flutes, playing non-stop on themselves.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“I wonder whether the Christmas feeling has anything to do with the sixth sense. Perhaps we're a little more the angels at Christmas than we are during the rest of the year. And Christmas is about all the other senses. I can smell Christmas, I can taste Christmas, and I can see and hear it.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“is it true that sometimes you're so suspicious, you turn quite black inside?”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Alle stjerner falder en dag. Men en stjerne er kun en lille gnist fra det store bål på himlen.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Når jeg dør, brister en sølvstreng med glatte perler, som triller gennem landet og løber hjem til muslingemødrene på havets bund.
Hvem vil dykke efter mine perler, når jeg er borte? Hvem vil vide, at det var mine? Hvem kan gætte, at hele verden engang har hængt om min hals?”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Hvis jeg skulle tegne noget, og jeg vidste, at det, jeg tegnede, ville blive levende, når tegningen var færdig, så ville jeg ikke have turdet tegne noget som helst. Jeg ville aldrig have vovet at give liv til noget, som ikke kunne forsvare sig mod alle de ivrige farveblyanter.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Perhaps we're sad when something's beautiful because we know it won't last forever.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Tu ai trup de animal, dar suflet de înger!”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Banyak orang sangat menderita, sehingga mungkin mereka sudah mati karena kesedihan seandainya saja mereka tidak memimpikan sesuatu yang indah di sela-sela penderitaan mereka.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Jika kita menggosok cermin itu sebersih-bersihnya, kita akan melihat lebih banyak lagi. Tapi, kita tak bisa lagi melihat diri kita sendiri.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Widzimy wszystko jakby w zwierciadle, niejasno. Czasami możemy zajrzeć przez lustro i zobaczyć odrobinę tego, co jest po drugiej stronie. Gdybyśmy całkiem wyczyścili zwierciadło, zobaczylibyśmy o wiele więcej. Ale wtedy nie moglibyśmy już widzieć siebie...”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Ce ne sont pas les enfants chéris qui reçoivent beaucoup de noms. Ce sont les enfants trouvés à qui l'on donne plusieurs noms. Ceux que l'on trouve sur les marches d'un escalier. Ceux dont on ignore les origines. Ceux qui flottent dans le vide.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Toutes les étoiles finissent un jour par mourir. Mais une étoile est une petite étincelle du grand feu de joie allumé dans le ciel.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“I am here only this once. And I shall never return.”
― Jostein Gaarder, quote from Through a Glass, Darkly
“Your state has been seen, and will be reported on. Only it is necessary that you do not yawn. Or, of course, speak. Discretion in all things in all things is needed." She was reminding them, and she hoped they realised it, that they were not circumcised. The circumlocution expected of a high-born Syrian princess was sometimes a trial to Sara Khatun.”
― Dorothy Dunnett, quote from The Spring of the Ram
“She...ran away so often, and with so many different people, that she became known to her family and friends as the Bolter....”
― Nancy Mitford, quote from The Pursuit of Love & Love in a Cold Climate
“For before I met my friend there had been a period when I was prey to a morbid melancholy, if not depression, when I really believed I was lost, when for years I did no proper work but spent most of my days in a state of total apathy and often came close to putting an end to my life by my own hand. For years I had taken refuge in a terrible suicidal brooding, which deadened my mind and made everything unendurable, above all myself—brooding on the utter futility all around me, into which I had been plunged by my general weakness, but above all my weakness of character. For a long time I could not imagine being able to go on living, or even existing. I was no longer capable of seizing upon any purpose in life that would have given me control over myself. Every morning on waking I was inevitably caught up in this mechanism of suicidal brooding, and I remained in its grip throughout the day. And I was deserted by everyone because I had deserted everyone—that is the truth—because I no longer wanted anyone. I no longer wanted anything, but I was too much of a coward to make an end of it all. It was probably at the height of my despair—a word that I am not ashamed to use, as I no longer intend to deceive myself or gloss over anything, since nothing can be glossed over in a society and a world that perpetually seeks to gloss over everything in the most sickening manner—that Paul appeared on the scene at Irina’s apartment in the Blumenstockgasse.”
― Thomas Bernhard, quote from Wittgenstein's Nephew
“Been having a fight with your blankets, Septimus?" A familiar voice echoed down the chimney. "Looks like you lost," the voice continued with a chuckle. "Not wise to take on a pair of blankets, lad. One, maybe, but two blankets always gang up on you. Vicious things, blankets. ”
― Angie Sage, quote from Physik
“Kat embraced her, concealing her dismay as best she could. For these few months, fraught as they were, Elizabeth had been entirely hers again.”
― Alison Weir, quote from The Lady Elizabeth
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.