“It's pathetic, I knew I did from that first moment we met. It was...not love at first sight exactly, but - familiarity. Like: oh, hello, it's you. It's going to be you. Game over."
-Ben”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Do nothing, and nothing happens. Life is about decisions. You either make them or they're made for you, but you can't avoid them.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“I was right I couldn't fall in love with you. Because i never fell out of love with you."
-Ben”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“University's like this little world, a bubble of time separate from everything before and everything after.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Isn't it weird how we make big decisions in life based on the strangest, most random things?”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“I wanted him to be happy and it was also going to be the thing that hurt the most”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“His sadness was almost palpable, like moisture in the air before it rains. Although this was Manchester, it was probably about to rain anyway.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Being with the wrong person is lonelier than being on your own. Or it’s as lonely, in a different way,”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Seems once was enough to infect me. From then on you've been lying dormant, like a virus. Or an incurable chronic condition that flares up from time to time.'
A long pause, where life transforms from black-and-white to colour.
'I'm eczema?'
Ben beams. 'Eczema of the heart. That's it. Psoriasis of the soul.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“I thought it would all fall into place. I've changed my mind. Do nothing, and nothing happens. Life is about decisions. You either make them or they’re made for you, but you can’t avoid them.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“...the life with him you feel like you lost out on, it’s perfect because it’s a fantasy and it’s a fantasy because it’s perfect.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“It's pathetic, I knew I did from that first moment we met. It was...not love at first sight exactly, but - familiarity. Like: oh, hello, it's you. It's going to be you. Game over.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“I don't expect to be happy ever after. Just happier.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“I like the city late at night, the blasts of music and the splashes of light cast from bars that are still open, shoals of brightly-dressed clubber, the beeping taxis and the greasy, savoury smell of meat and onions from the burger vans.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Funny how, when one part of your life falls away, the other bits that are left start looking rather feeble.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“...I think you’re bound to feel guilty, and you’re going to feel sad. You have to simply feel it. Don’t hate yourself. It is what it is.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Refusal to listen isn’t enough of a response.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“... when you love someone, you want their happiness even when it's not going to involve you. Even when it depends on your lack of involvement.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“«Porque la simple idea de que me hayas olvidado, como si fuera un archivo inservible, y me hayas arrastrado hasta el icono de papelera de reciclaje de tu cerebro, hace que tenga pesadillas que me producen la misma ansiedad que soñar que estoy desnuda en medio de la calle con todo el mundo mirándome.»”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“I’m a lawyer, Rachel. We keep going until we get an answer we believe.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“My point is, the life with him you feel like you lost out on, it’s perfect because it’s a fantasy and it’s a fantasy because it’s perfect.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Being single means getting used to your own company and not inventing excuses to keep people around you, None of which makes me feel any less bereft. The latest revelation: you have to relearn being your own again!”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Pensaba que todo pasaría cuando tuviera que pasar. He cambiado de opinión. Si no haces nada, no ocurre nada. La vida es cuestión de decisiones. O las tomas, o alguien las toma por ti, pero no puedes evitarlas.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Estar con la persona equivocada puede hacer que te sientas más sola que si no estuvieras con nadie. O provoca otro tipo de soledad, pero soledad al fin y al cabo.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“that special Manchester rain that manages to be both vertical and horizontal at the same time.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“law that stated you didn't advertise any event you hadn't attended, any place you'd never been, or any band you didn't really listen to.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Present company excepted is such an elegantly insulting term, I think, given it clearly means present company especially. It's up there with with all due respect, meaning with no respect whatsoever.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“La esperanza me ha abandonado. Ha sido como si se filtrara a través de mi cuerpo, se convirtiera en un charco a mis pies y se evaporara a través del techo de la biblioteca.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Es una combinación extraña; por un lado, el ilícito placer que me ha producido el volver a verlo —¡y él quiere repetir!—, y por otro, la desazón de comprobar que su vida va viento en popa y la mía no.”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“A veces pienso que me hace falta llevar un GPS para la vida amarrado al cinturón que me dé órdenes con voz autoritaria. «A la primera oportunidad, cambie de sentido.»”
― Mhairi McFarlane, quote from You Had Me At Hello
“Leah: 'I thought you loved your husband.'
Olivia: 'I love yours too.”
― Tarryn Fisher, quote from Dirty Red
“He's delighted to read what the mayor of Naples says about driving there. Naples is the most chaotic city for drivers on earth. Ed loved it—he got to drive on the sidewalk while the pedestrians filled the street. “A green light is a green light, avanti, avanti,” the mayor explained. “A red light—just a suggestion.” And yellow? he was asked. “Yellow is for gaiety.”
― Frances Mayes, quote from Under the Tuscan Sun
“The gunslinger said, “I used to think the most terrible thing would be to reach the Dark Tower and find the top room empty. The God of all universes either dead or nonexistent in the first place. But now … suppose there is someone there, Eddie? Someone in charge who turns out to be …” He couldn’t finish. Eddie could. “Someone who turns out to be just another bumhug? Is that it? God not dead but feeble-minded and malicious?” Roland nodded. This was not, in fact, precisely what he was afraid of, but he thought Eddie had at least come close.”
― Stephen King, quote from Song of Susannah
“When all’s said and done they’re a strange breed, these South and East Londoners, and they’re amused by little things. Their love of jellied eels and pie ‘n’ mash is astonishing. “Food of the Gods,” they call it, as they enter some filthy hovel to order pie ‘n’ mash, without even knowing what they’re eating. I’ve asked what meat it is and been told, “Meat? Its pie, pie ‘n’ mash with liquor. Food of the Gods.”
But it’s not food of the Gods at all. It’s just pie and mashed potatoes, and that’s it. Nothing special about it. There’s nothing nostalgic about it. It’s not Bermondsey Billy Wells or the Artful Dodger. It’s just a meat pie and mashed potatoes. And it looks like Barry Manilow’s blown his nose in it.”
― Karl Wiggins, quote from Calico Jack in your Garden
“No one should ever compromise the dignity of another human being.”
― Sarah Addison Allen, quote from The Girl Who Chased the Moon
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.