Jean Paul Sartre (1905–1980) French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and …
Source: Nausea, The Wall and Other Stories
Quotes about books page 14
“I think a good book is a good book forever.
I don't think they get less good because times change.”
Megan Whalen Turner (1965) American children's writer
Charles Frazier (1950) American writer
Source: Nightwoods
“Listen you have to read a book three times before you know it.”
Sherman Alexie book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Source: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
“All good research-whether for science or for a book-is a form of obsession.”
Mary Roach (1959) American science writer
“I love the smell of book ink in the morning.”
Umberto Eco (1932–2016) Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist
“That's right, I am a book kisser.”
Sherman Alexie book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Source: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
“If a book is well written, I always find it too short.”
Jane Austen book Sense and Sensibility
Variant: [I]f a book is well written, I always find it too short.
Source: Sense and Sensibility
“A book lying idle on a shelf is wasted ammunition.”
Henry Miller (1891–1980) American novelist
Source: The Books in My Life
Italo Calvino (1923–1985) Italian journalist and writer of short stories and novels
Source: If on a Winter's Night a Traveler
Rick Riordan book The Demigod Diaries
Variant: Cacus.” I’d had years of practice looking dumb when people threw out Greek names I didn’t know. It’s a skill of mine. Annabeth keeps telling me to read a book of Greek myths, but I don’t see the need. It’s easier just to have folks explain stuff.
Source: The Demigod Diaries
“Readers, censors know, are defined by the books they read.”
Alberto Manguel (1948) writer
Source: The Library at Night
“…the book creates meaning, the meaning creates life.”
Roland Barthes book The Pleasure of the Text
Source: The Pleasure of the Text
Jayne Ann Krentz (1948) American novelist
“Did you read the book or did you just read the words in order?”
Gail Giles (1955) American writer
Source: Right Behind You
“I know she is coming
I know she will look
And that is the longing
And this is the book.”
Leonard Cohen book Book of Longing
Source: Book of Longing
“And each book has to receive your best effort every single time. No slacking.”
Nora Roberts (1950) American romance writer
Alain de Botton book The Consolations of Philosophy
Source: The Consolations of Philosophy (2000), Chapter IV, Consolation For Inadequacy, p. 148
“The covers of this book are too far apart.”
Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist
“How can you not care?"
"Practice," Magnus said, looking back to his book and turning the page.”
Cassandra Clare (1973) American author
Source: The Rise of the Hotel Dumort
“But the books brought me things. This is my point. They made me feel less alone.”
Elizabeth Strout (1956) American writer
Source: My Name is Lucy Barton
“I have never been able to resist a book about books.”
Anne Fadiman (1953) American essayist, journalist and magazine editor
Source: Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
“The dirtiest book of all is the expurgated book.”
Walt Whitman (1819–1892) American poet, essayist and journalist
“Only in books the flat and final happens,
Only in dreams we meet and interlock….”
Philip Larkin (1922–1985) English poet, novelist, jazz critic and librarian
“I drank coffee and read old books and waited for the year to end.”
Richard Brautigan book Trout Fishing in America
Source: Trout Fishing in America
“Lately, I feel like my life is a book written in a language I don't know how to read.”
Brandon Sanderson (1975) American fantasy writer
Source: The Hero of Ages
“No; that doesn't interest me.'
'That's because you never read a book about it.”
Ernest Hemingway book The Sun Also Rises
Source: The Sun Also Rises
“If there are no books. There is no civilization.”
Thomas Cahill (1940) American scholar and writer
“History proves there is no better advertisement for a book than to condemn it for obscenity.”
Holbrook Jackson (1874–1948) British journalist
“Good books, like good friends, are few and chosen; the more select, the more enjoyable.”
Amos Bronson Alcott (1799–1888) American teacher and writer
Source: Tablets
“You can cover a great deal of country in books.”
Andrew Lang (1844–1912) Scots poet, novelist and literary critic
Walter Benjamin (1892–1940) German literary critic, philosopher and social critic (1892-1940)
Source: Illuminations: Essays and Reflections
William Ewart Gladstone (1809–1898) British Liberal politician and prime minister of the United Kingdom
Source: Gilead
Lisa Kleypas (1964) American writer
Source: Scandal in Spring
“Too bad you got so bogged down in books. You've got the spirit of a warrior.”
Richelle Mead book The Golden Lily
Source: The Golden Lily
“No book, however good, can survive a hostile reading.”
Orson Scott Card book Ender's Game
Source: Ender's Game
Meher Baba (1894–1969) Indian mystic
Part of his public message upon arrival on his second visit to America (19 May 1932).
General sources
“Bad books engender bad habits, but bad habits engender good books.”
René Descartes (1596–1650) French philosopher, mathematician, and scientist
“Food. Drink. Sleep. Books. They are all drugs.”
Fay Weldon (1931) English author, essayist and playwright
Source: The Fat Woman's Joke
“Why be so bloody miserable when you can pick up a good book or watch a great television drama?”
Michael Dobbs (1948) British conservative politician and best-selling author
“my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways" from the book of Isaiah”
Mitch Albom (1958) American author
Source: Have a Little Faith: A True Story
“It is only by struggling with difficult books, books over one's head, that anyone learns to read.”
Mortimer J. Adler (1902–2001) American philosopher and educator
Source: Reforming Education: The Opening of the American Mind (1990), p. 315
“The wise man reads both books and life itself.”
Lin Yutang book The Importance of Living
Source: The Importance of Living (1937), p. 388
“A book is a device to ignite the imagination.”
Alan Bennett book The Uncommon Reader
Source: The Uncommon Reader
“opening the book, i inhaled. the smell of old books, so sharp, so dry you can taste it.”
Diane Setterfield book The Thirteenth Tale
Source: The Thirteenth Tale
“I like the idea of someone else’s love safely sealed in a song or a book.”
Henry Rollins (1961) American singer-songwriter
Source: Solipsist
“A book comes and says, 'Write me.”
Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer
