Quotes from Where the Heart Is

“...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

About the author

Popular quotes

“What determines our brotherhood is what that man is by reason of Christ. Our community with one another consists solely in what Christ has done to both of us. This is true not merely at the beginning, as though in the course of time something else were to be added to our community; it remains so for all the future and to all eternity. I have community with others and I shall continue to have it only through Jesus Christ. The more genuine and the deeper our community becomes, the more will everything else between us recede, the more clearly and purely will Jesus Christ and his work become the one and only thing that is vital between us. We have one another only through Christ, but through Christ we do have one another, wholly, for eternity.”
― Dietrich Bonhoeffer, quote from Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community

“I mean that you and I know that in this universe, God is a hack," he said. "He's a writer on an awful science fiction television show, and He can't plot His way out of a box. How do you have faith when you know that?”
― John Scalzi, quote from Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas

“I think," said the little Queen, smiling, "that your friend must be the richest man in all the world."

"I am," returned the Scarecrow. "but not on account of my money. For I consider brains far superior to money, in every way. You may have noticed that if one has money without brains, he cannot use it to advantage; but if one has brains without money, they will enable him to live comfortably to the end of his days."

"At the same time," declared the Tin Woodman, "you must acknowledge that a good heart is a thing that brains can not create, and that money can not buy. Perhaps, after all, it is I who am the richest man in all the world.”
― L. Frank Baum, quote from The Marvelous Land of Oz (Books of Wonder)

“You were dropped as a child, weren't you?" Varen asked her.
"Maybe once or twice," Gwen said, "but at least I wasn't raised by highly literate vampires who, every night just before bed, fed me a steady diet of dark sarcasm and gothic horror fiction."
"Every morning before bed," Varen corrected. Stepping forward, he moved toward the headstone. "We slept during the day.”
― Kelly Creagh, quote from Oblivion

“We find our way to the marble kitchen, open the fancy silver fridge, and serve ourselves a heaping plate of coleslaw and chicken fingers. “Mmm,” I say. Prince makes sloppy eating sounds. “Delicious,” says Jonah. He smiles at Frederic. “Tastes just like frog legs.” I laugh so hard I snort coleslaw out of my nose.”
― Sarah Mlynowski, quote from Once Upon a Frog

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.