“...tell them that we have some good in us, too. And the only thing worth living for is the good. That’s why we’ve got to make sure we pass it on.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Then tell them we've all got meanness in us...But tell them we have some good in us too. And the only thing worth living for is the good. That's why we've got to make sure we pass it on.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“You ever think about this? Every year you live, you pass the anniversary of your death. Now you don't know what day it is, of course.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“You're dying right now. Right this minute.' He looked at his watch, said, 'Right this second,' then tapped it with his finger. 'See there? That second passed. It's gone. Not gonna come again. And while I'm talking to you, every second I'm talking, a second is passing. Gone. Count them up. Count them down. They're gone. Each one bringing you closer to your dying time.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Tell them that our lives can change with every breath we take. Lord, we both know that. Tell them to let go of what's gone because men like roger Briscoe never win. And tell them to hold on like hell to what they've got- each other, and a mother who would die for them, and almost did.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Never act like you want it, darlin'. Act like you wouldn't own it if they paid you. Tell them it's dirty, broken...a useless thing. Then make an offer.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Well, sometimes love seems easy. Like... it's easy to love rain... and hawks. And it's easy to love wild plums... and the moon. But with people, seems like love's a hard thing to know. It gets all mixed up. I mean, you can love one person in one way and another person in another way. But how do you know you love the right one in every way?"
"I'm not sure, but I think you'll know. I think if it's the right person, it'll be better than rain and hawks and wild plums. Even better than the moon. I think it'll be better than all that put together.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Our lives can change with every breath we take.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Come on, Forney.'
Novalee, it's a parasite.'
But it's a tradition.'
It's a parasite! And you expect people to stand under it and kiss?'
Yes! it's what people do with mistletoe.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Well, sometimes love seems easy. Like ... it's easy to love rain ... and hawks. And it's easy to love wild plums ... and the moon. But with people, seems like love's a hard thing to know. It gets all mixed up. I mean, you can love one person in one way and another person in another way. But how do you know you love the right one in every way?"
"I'm not sure, but I think you'll know. I think if it's the right person, it'll be better than rain and hawks and wild plums. Even better than the moon. I think it'll be better than all that put together.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“A man can't love you because you haven't read as many books as he has? He can't love you because you don't speak French or because you don't go to operas? You're telling me we have to fall in love with people who are just like us?”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“She always set three alarms for fear that the first employees to arrive would discover her sleeping - a Goldilocks without her bears”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“But if it's something you want, then time doesn't matter. Time doesn't matter at all.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Novalee watched his lips shape the words...the sounds, like whispered secrets, hanging in the air.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Home gives you something no other place can...your history...home is where your history begins.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Awake, she struggled to fill the hours until she could sleep again. But nothing she did made her feel whole. If she ate, she didn't taste the food. If she read, she couldn't remember the words. If she rested, she still felt tired”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“The boy, a ten-year-old copy of the man...”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Novalee Nation, seventeen, seven months pregnant, thirty-seven pounds overweight – and superstitious about sevens – shifted uncomfortably in the seat of the old Plymouth and ran her hands down the curve of her belly.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Tell them our lives can change with every breath we take. Lord, we both know that. Tell them to let go of what's gone because men like Roger Briscoe never win. And, tell them to hold on like hell to what they've got, each other, and a mother who would die for them and almost did. Tell them we've all got meanness in us...
But tell them that we have some good in us, too. And, the only thing worth living for is the good. That's why we've got to make sure we pass it on.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Only Certain offered no enticements, for she knew nothing could ease the pain. Not books or photography or food. Not even love.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“The money" The girl stiffened at something she heard in his voice, something jagged and sharp, like words torn by the blade of a knife.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“We’re alcoholics. We’re generally satisfied just to hurt ourselves.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“the only thing worth living for is the good. That's why we've got to make sure we pass it on.”
― Billie Letts, quote from Where the Heart Is
“Where subtlety fails us we must simply make do with cream pies.”
― David Brin, quote from The Uplift War
“I felt I could turn the earth upside down with my littlest finger. I wanted to dance, to fly in the air and kiss the sun and stars with my singing heart. I, alone with myself, was enjoying myself for the first time as with grandest company.”
― Anzia Yezierska, quote from Bread Givers
“oímos cada vez con mayor claridad la promesa de que la salvación de Dios llegará a todos los pueblos. Oímos cada vez más claramente que el Dios de Israel, que es el mismo único Dios, el verdadero Dios, el creador del cielo y de la tierra, el Dios de todos los pueblos y de todos los hombres, en cuyas manos está su destino, en definitiva que ese Dios no quiere abandonar a los pueblos a su suerte.”
― Pope Benedict XVI, quote from Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration
“She stepped away and considered the couch. “First we have to get this house in order. Would you please move the couch again?” I stared at the couch. I had moved it maybe eight hundred times in the last two days. “Which wall?” She chewed at her thumb, thinking. “Over there.” “That’s where it was two moves ago.” It was a big couch. It probably weighed three thousand pounds. “Yes, but that was when the entertainment center was by the fireplace. Now that we’ve put the entertainment center by the entry, the look will be completely different.” “We?” “Yes. We.” I bent into the couch and dragged it to the opposite wall. Four thousand pounds. I was squaring the couch when the phone rang. Lucy spoke for a minute, then held out the phone. “Joe.” Joe Pike and I are partners in the detective agency that bears my name. He could have his name on it if he wanted, but he doesn’t. He’s like that. I took the phone. “Hernias R Us.” Lucy rolled her eyes and turned away, already contemplating new sofa arrangements.”
― Robert Crais, quote from L.A. Requiem
“Do not look for rest in any pleasure, because you were not created for pleasure: you were created for spiritual joy. And if you do not know the difference between pleasure and spiritual joy you have not yet begun to live.”
― Thomas Merton, quote from New Seeds of Contemplation
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.