Quotes about thinking
page 45

“Look, Sage. I don't know much about chemistry or computer hacking or photosynthery, but this is something I've got a lot of experience with." I think he mean photosynthesis, but I didn't correct him. "Use my knowledge. Don't let it go to waste.”

Richelle Mead book The Indigo Spell

Source: The Indigo Spell

Knowledge

“I'm not who you think i am. If you love me, you love me for the wrong reasons.”

Sister Souljah (1964) American hip hop-generation author, activist, recording artist, and film producer

Source: Midnight

Love

“He smiles a lot. But I think there might be worms inside him making him smile.”

Stephen King book The Stand

Source: The Stand

Smile

“… for it is the small temptations which undermine integrity unless we watch and pray and never think them too trivial to be resisted.”

Louisa May Alcott (1832–1888) American novelist

“The Beast Lord walked out of the warehouse. The screen went dark.
My knight in furry armor.
Saiman opened his mouth. "This is why I didn't. Personally, I think your smile is inappropriate.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Magic Slays

Smile, Personality

“Because women never say what they think.”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Prince

Source: Clockwork Prince

Women

“This is the biggest mistake I could think would save me. I wanted to give up the idea that I had any control. Shake things up. To be saved by chaos. To see if I could cope, I wanted to force myself to grow again. To explode my comfort zone.”

Chuck Palahniuk (1962) American novelist, essayist

Idea

“Mediocrity is a constant, as one Russian writer put it. Russians have a way with aphorisms. They probably spend all winter thinking them up.”

Haruki Murakami book A Wild Sheep Chase

Source: A Wild Sheep Chase: A Novel (1982)

Way, Winter

“Calvin: I think nighttime is dark so you can imagine your fears with less distraction.
p77”

Bill Watterson (1958) American comic artist

Source: The Indispensable Calvin and Hobbes

Fear, Imagination

“A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely
rearranging their prejudices.”

David Bohm (1917–1992) American theoretical physicist

People

“Dimitri: "Don't look at me like that."
Rose: "Like what?"
Dimitri: "You've got this look on your face that says you think I'm delusional, but you're too nice to say anything.”

Richelle Mead Shadow Kiss

Source: Shadow Kiss

“Next you will cry about taxation without representation, and throw a basket of tea into the harbor. You are indeed a very Jacobin at heart, and I think I must give up trying to cure you of it; I can but wash my hands and deny responsibility”

Naomi Novik book His Majesty's Dragon

Source: His Majesty's Dragon

Heart, Tea, Cry

“And I can't die easy thinking maybe the menfolks white or black is making a spit cup out of you. Have some sympathy for me. Put me down easy, Janie, I'm a cracked plate.”

Zora Neale Hurston book Their Eyes Were Watching God

Source: Their Eyes Were Watching God

“Public opinion is a weak tyrant compared with our own private opinion. what a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate.”

Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862) 1817-1862 American poet, essayist, naturalist, and abolitionist

Fate

“Just think! This whole world of ours is only a speck of mildew sprung up on a tiny planet, yet we think we can have something great - thoughts,, actions! They are all but grains of sand”

Leo Tolstoy book Anna Karenina

Source: Anna Karenina

World

“Dearest Cecilia, You’d be forgiven for thinking me mad, the way I acted this afternoon. The truth is I feel rather light headed and foolish in your presence, Cee, and I don’t think I can blame the heat.”

Ian McEwan book Atonement

Source: Atonement

Truth, Way, Feeling, Light

“think about it: Romeo and Juliet bucked the system, and look where it got them. Superman has the hots for Lois Lane, when the better match, of course, would be with Wonder Woman.”

Jodi Picoult My Sister's Keeper

Source: My Sister's Keeper

“And often enough, when we think we are protecting ourselves, we are struggling against our rescuer.”

Marilynne Robinson Gilead

Source: Gilead

“He didn't say anything more, just waited for me to tell him what I'd been thinking. It was pure speculation, and I was opening myself up to ridicule by saying anything at all. I sat on the stool and realized that I had my loyalties, too.”

Patricia Briggs (1965) American writer

Waiting, Loyalty

“Love, I think, is a gateway to the world, not an escape from it.”

Mark Doty (1953) Novelist, memoirist

Love, World

“Sure I loved him - too much. And he loved me, only not enough. I just want someone who thinks I'm number one in his life. I'm not willing to accept emotional scraps anymore.”

Amy Tan The Hundred Secret Senses

Source: The Hundred Secret Senses

Love, Life

“could i have loved you better? maybe. if that's true, then i'm sorry. could i have loved you more? i don't think it's possible.”

Elizabeth Noble (1968) British novelist

Source: Things I Want My Daughters to Know

Love

“Always be reading something, he said. Even when we're not physically reading. How else will we read the world? Think of it as a constant.”

Ali Smith book Autumn

Source: Autumn

World, Reading

“I passionately hate the idea of being with it, I think an artist has always to be out of step with his time.”

Orson Welles (1915–1985) American actor, director, writer and producer

Hate, Idea, Passion, Time

“And that's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.”

Khaled Hosseini book The Kite Runner

Source: The Kite Runner

People

“If your life is worth thinking about, it is worth writing about.”

Robin S. Sharma (1965) Canadian self help writer

Life

“We're constantly being told what other people think we are, and that's why it is so important to know yourself.”

Sarah McLachlan (1968) Canadian musician, singer, and songwriter

People

“They adore you beacause they think you offer up your friendship and ask for nothing in return. But that's not true-' He took a deep breath. 'You do ask for something. You ask that we never expect you to need us.”

Kamila Shamsie (1973) Pakistani writer

Source: Kartography

Friendship

“You think I led him on? For what? Kicks? I don't have enough exictement in my life, so maybe I'll tease a nice guy, get his hopes up, then laugh and skip away?”

Kelley Armstrong The Reckoning

Source: The Reckoning

Life, Hope, Guy

“I'm trying to think of a witty comeback, when Boggs says brusquely, “Well, don't expect us to be too impressed. We just saw Finnick Odair in his underwear.” I decide to go ahead and like Boggs.”

Suzanne Collins book Mockingjay

Source: Mockingjay

“Never before did I realize that mental illness could have the aspect of power, power. Think of it: perhaps the more insane a man is, the more powerful he could become. Hitler an example. Fair makes the old brain reel, doesn't it?”

Ken Kesey book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Source: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

“Now they show you how detergents take out bloodstains, a pretty violent image there. I think if you've got a T-shirt with a bloodstain all over it, maybe laundry isn't your biggest problem. Maybe you should get rid of the body before you do the wash.”

Jerry Seinfeld (1954) American comedian and actor

I'm Telling You for the Last Time (1998)

Problem

“Just think how many thoughts a blanket smothers while one lies alone in bed, and how many unhappy dreams it keeps warm.”

Franz Kafka (1883–1924) author

Variant: But sleep? On a night like this? What an idea! Just think of how many thoughts a blanket smothers while one lies alone in bed, and how many unhappy dreams it keeps warm.
Source: The Complete Stories

Dreams

“Men," he began his address to the officers, measuring his pauses carefully. "You're American officers. The officers of no other army in the world can make that statement. Think about it.”

Joseph Heller book Catch-22

Source: Catch-22

Men, World

“Parents are like God because you wanna know they're out there, and you want them to think well of you, but you really only call when you need something.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Invisible Monsters

Source: Invisible Monsters

God, Parent, Family, For Parents

“If you think that happiness means total peace, you will never be happy. Peace comes from the acceptance of the part of you that can never be at peace. It will always be in conflict. If you accept that, everything gets a lot better.”

Joss Whedon (1964) American director, writer, and producer for television and film

Happiness, Peace, Parting

“You’re not alone, and you’re not the one in charge,” Mother said gently. “Ask for help when you need it, and give help when you can. I think that is how we serve God—and each other and ourselves—in times as dark as these.”

Kristin Hannah book The Nightingale

Source: The Nightingale

God, Time, Help

“I think I'm what they call a never-was.”

Christopher Moore book The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

Source: The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove

“You can’t concentrate on doing anything if you are thinking, “What’s gonna happen if it doesn’t go right?”

Malcolm Gladwell (1963) journalist and science writer

Source: David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants

“Sometimes I think all the trouble in the world is caused by men. If there were no men, women would always be happy. ~Carrie”

Candace Bushnell book The Carrie Diaries

Source: The Carrie Diaries

Women, Men, Happiness, World

“There are two kinds of writer: those that make you think, and those that make you wonder.”

Brian W. Aldiss (1925–2017) British science fiction author

“Should-haves solve nothing. It's the next thing to happen that needs thinking about.”

Alexandra Ripley (1934–2004) American writer

“We demand that sex speak the truth […] and we demand that it tell us our truth, or rather, the deeply buried truth of that truth about ourselves wich we think we possess in our immediate consciousness.”

Michel Foucault (1926–1984) French philosopher

Source: The History of Sexuality, Volume 1: An Introduction

Truth, Sex

“You're not so bad. You'll get there. You should have seen Alec do flips at first. I think he kicked himself in the head once.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Fallen Angels

Source: City of Fallen Angels

“If you’re in the luckiest one per cent of humanity, you owe it to the rest of humanity to think about the other 99 per cent.”

Warren Buffett (1930) American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist

“I think it's a shame that something as creative and vital to the nature of the human species as story-telling is largely controlled by the soulless cretins known as publishers.”

Piers Anthony (1934) English-American writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres

Nature

“I came to think that maybe God was what you believed in because you needed to feel you weren’t alone. Maybe God was simply that part of yourself that was always there and always strong, even when you were not.”

Augusten Burroughs book A Wolf at the Table

Source: A Wolf at the Table

God, Feeling, Strong, Parting

“It's funny how you can think you know someone pretty well, and then something happens or they do something that makes you understand that you didn't really know them at all.”

Wendelin Van Draanen (1965) American writer

Source: Sammy Keyes And the Dead Giveaway

Understanding

“I think religion is a neurological disorder.”

Bill Maher (1956) American stand-up comedian

Religion

“Sometimes it's a good idea to think about what youfrom a situation, and try to get it, rather than just blurt out the first thing that comes into your head.”

E. Lockhart (1967) American writer of novels as E. Lockhart (mainly for teenage girls) and of picture books under real name Emily J…

Source: The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs and Me, Ruby Oliver

Idea

“You know what it was like? It was like thinking I was heading to a surprise party and instead it was a surprise pap smear.”

Jen Lancaster (1967) American writer

Source: Such a Pretty Fat: One Narcissist's Quest to Discover If Her Life Makes Her Ass Look Big, or Why Pie Is Not the Answer

“But perhaps the best part of all was that I, Sydney Katherine Sage, guilty of constantly analyzing the world around me, well, I stopped thinking.”

Richelle Mead book The Golden Lily

Source: The Golden Lily

World, Parting

“You think you can say a few words and end us? There is no end, Eva.”

Sylvia Day (1973) American writer

Source: Reflected in You

“I think people understand things different when they get older. It’s not a question of getting soft, or seeing things in the gray areas instead of black and white. I really believe I’m just understanding things different. Better.”

Jeff Lindsay book Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Source: Darkly Dreaming Dexter

People, Understanding, Question

“Wanna hear something funny?”
“What?”
“I think I started liking you.”

Jenny Han (1980) American writer

“You don’t think in depression that you’ve put on a grey veil and are seeing the world through the haze of a bad mood. You think that the veil has been taken away, the veil of happiness, and that now you’re seeing truly.”

Andrew Solomon (1963) American journalist

Source: The Noonday Demon

Happiness, World, Mood

“The less people think of you, the more they will reveal to you or in your presence.”

Gillian Rubinstein Tales of the Otori

Source: Across the Nightingale Floor

People

“I love you for who you are, not who the world thinks you should be.”

Libba Bray (1964) American teen writer

Source: Beauty Queens

Love, World, For Her, For Him

“Don't think I was the only reason he healed. You're his light, Marissa. Don't ever forget that.”

Jessica Bird book Lover Revealed

Source: Lover Revealed

Light, Forgetting

“Look, I'll fight, too. What do you think it is? Bear, coyote…?"
"My brother."
"Your…" Dismay pooled in Mark. She'd just stepped over the line of acceptable craziness. "Oh.”

L.J. Smith book Daughters of Darkness

Source: Daughters of Darkness

Fight

“Oh, lord. I was beginning to think like Neith. Soon I'd be huddled in an underground bunker eating army rations and cackling as I sewed together the pockets of all the boys who'd jilted me.”

Rick Riordan book The Serpent's Shadow

Source: The Serpent's Shadow

Boy

“If only it were that easy. You forget: I have an addictive personality. I'm addicted to you. Somehow I think you could do all sorts of bad things to me, and I'd still come back to you.”

Richelle Mead (1976) American writer

Personality, Forgetting

“I think that when the lies are all told and forgot the truth will be there yet. It dont move about from place to place and it dont change from time to time. You cant corrupt it any more than you can salt salt.”

Cormac McCarthy book No Country for Old Men

Source: No Country for Old Men (2005)
Context: The stories gets passed on and the truth gets passed over. As the sayin goes. Which I reckon some would take as meanin that the truth cant compete. But I dont believe that. I think that when the lies are all told and forgot the truth will be there yet. It dont move about from place to place and it dont change from time to time. You cant corrupt it any more than you can salt salt. You cant corrupt it because that's what it is. It's the thing you're talkin about. I've heard it compared to the rock — maybe in the bible—and I wouldnt disagree with that. But it'll be here even when the rock is gone. I'm sure they's people would disagree with that. Quite a few, in fact. But I never could find out what any of them did believe.

Truth, Change, Time

“Listen sharp, think deep, and guard your tongue- Tam al'Thor”

Robert Jordan book The Eye of the World

Source: The Eye of the World

“Modern man thinks he loses something - time - when he does not do things quickly. Yet he does not know what to do with the time he gains, except kill it.”

Erich Fromm book The Art of Loving

Source: The Art of Loving

Time

“And it occurred to him that there were two parts to being a better person. One part was thinking about other people. The other part was not giving a toss what other people thought.”

Mark Haddon book A Spot of Bother

Source: A Spot of Bother

People, Parting, Personality

“My last sunrise. That morning, I was not yet a vampire. And I saw my last sunrise. I remember it completely; yet I do not think I remember any other sunrise before it.”

Anne Rice book Interview with the Vampire

Source: Interview with the Vampire

“I'm not sure that insecurity is a good enough excuse for that sort of behavior. We're all insecure, and I really think he's old enough to have discovered the reasons behind his insecurity, and do something about them."

… Lucy”

Jane Green (1968) British writer

Behavior

“So that's who Finnick loves, I think. Not his string of fancy lovers in the Capitol. But a poor, mad girl back home.”

Suzanne Collins book Catching Fire

Source: Catching Fire

Love, Home, Girl, Lovers

“But this isn't a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is. -Connor”

Neal Shusterman book Unwind

Source: Unwind

People, World, Problem, Perfection

“One of my cousins is named Lucifer. I once asked my aunt why and she said, "Because I wanted him to be beautiful and to think for himself.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Magic Breaks

Beauty

“Most of us tend to belittle all suffering except our own," said Mary. "I think it's fear. We don't want to come too near in case we're sucked in and have to share it.”

Elizabeth Goudge (1900–1984) English fiction writer

Source: The Scent of Water

Fear, Suffering

“Don't think. Thinking is the enemy of creativity. It's self-conscious and anything self-conscious is lousy. You can't "try" to do things. You simply "must" do things.”

Ray Bradbury (1920–2012) American writer

“They're certainly entitled to think that, and they're entitled to full respect for their opinions… but before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn’t abide by majority rule is a person’s conscience.”

Harper Lee book To Kill a Mockingbird

Pt. 1, ch. 11
Atticus Finch
Source: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Personality

“Everyone thinks you make mistakes when you're young. But I don't think we make any fewer when we're grown up”

Jodi Picoult (1966) Author

“Atheism is a way of humility. It's to think oneself to be an animal, as we are actually and to allow oneself to become human.”

André Comte-Sponville (1952) French philosopher

Source: Presentations de La Philosophie

Way, Animals

“Only the foolish, blinded by language's conventions, think of fire as red or gold. Fire is blue at it's melancholy rim, green in it's envious heart. It may burn white, or even, in it's greatest rages, black.”

Salman Rushdie (1947) British Indian novelist and essayist

Rage, Heart

“Not being able to think of a reply is not the same thing as accepting another's words.”

Robin Hobb book Assassin's Quest

Source: Assassin's Quest

“Anyone who thinks sitting in church can make you a Christian must also think that sitting in a garage can make you a car.”

Garrison Keillor (1942) American radio host and writer

Though Keillor has been quoted on the internet and in print as having made this or a similar remark, such expressions have been made by others, and may have originated with Billy Sunday, who is quoted as having said "Going to church on Sunday does not make you a Christian any more than going into a garage makes you an automobile!" in Press, Radio, Television, Periodicals, Public Relations, and Advertising, As Seen through Institutes and Special Occasions of the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism (1967) edited by John Eldridge Drewry.
Disputed
Variant: Going to church no more makes you a Christian than standing in a garage makes you a car.

Cars