“A strange, pale figure emerged—Pendergast?—and she felt herself suddenly in his arms, lifted bodily as if she were a child again, her head cradled against his chest. She felt his shoulders began to convulse, faintly, regularly, almost as if he was weeping. But that was, of course, impossible, as Pendergast would never cry.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“Carroting, you must understand, was a process by which animal fur is bathed in a solution of mercury nitrate, in order to render the hairs more supple, thus producing a superior felt.” At this last word, he threw a significant glance in my direction. “Felt,” I repeated. “You mean, for the making of hats?” “Precisely. The solution is of an orange colour, hence the term carroting. However, this process had rather severe side effects on those who worked with it, which is why its use today is much reduced. When mercury vapours are inhaled over a long enough period of time—particularly, for our purposes, in the close quarters of a hat-making operation—toxic and irreversible effects almost inevitably follow. One develops tremors of the hands; blackened teeth; slurred speech. In severe cases, dementia or outright insanity can occur. Hence the term mad as a hatter.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“An accident is only a puzzle piece that hasn’t yet found its place in the picture. A good detective collects all ‘accidents,’ no matter how insignificant.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“the shudder of fear is as sensual as the shudder of pleasure, if not more so.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“Fire is often the weapon of choice for the insane.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“It is all about how human beings construct a narrative out of random events, baseless assumptions, and simple-minded prejudices.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“She felt his shoulders began to convulse, faintly, regularly, almost as if he was weeping. But that was, of course, impossible, as Pendergast would never cry.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“I don’t know jack about wine, sorry.” “You should learn. It is one of the true and ancient pleasures that make human existence tolerable.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“as corrie was about to hang up, stacy said, "i hope he shoots at my car. i've got a couple of black talon rounds just itching to explore his inner psyche.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“I am indeed sorry to say this, but I fear your microscopic problems do not interest me.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“Everything he did, he did well, and as a result he was an accomplished asshole indeed.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“I prefer to sleep while the rabble are out and about.”
― Douglas Preston, quote from White Fire
“Think you're escaping and run into yourself. Longest way round is the shortest way home.”
― James Joyce, quote from Ulysses
“Quit voting me down before you even think about what I'm saying.”
― James Dashner, quote from The Maze Runner
“One more step, Mr. Hands," said I, "and I'll blow your brains out! Dead men don't bite, you know," I added with a chuckle.”
― Robert Louis Stevenson, quote from Treasure Island
“If people bring so much courage to this world the world has to kill them to break them, so of course it kills them. The world breaks every one and afterward many are strong at the broken places. But those that will not break it kills. It kills the very good and the very gentle and the very brave impartially. If you are none of these you can be sure it will kill you too but there will be no special hurry.”
― Ernest Hemingway, quote from A Farewell to Arms
“In this dirty minded world, you are either someone's wife or someone's whore. And if you're not either people think there is something wrong with you....but there is nothing wrong with me”
― John Irving, quote from The World According to Garp
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.
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