Quotes about doing
page 97

“If you aren't in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?”

T.S. Eliot (1888–1965) 20th century English author

“Memories do not always soften with time; some grow edges like knives.”

Barbara Kingsolver book The Lacuna

Source: The Lacuna

Memory, Time

“Those who fear the imagination condemn it: something childish, they say, something monsterish, misbegotten. Not all of us dream awake. But those of us who do have no choice.”

Patricia A. McKillip (1948) American fantasy writer

Fear, Dreams, Imagination

“Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.”

Raymond Chandler (1888–1959) Novelist, screenwriter

Attitude, Motivation

“Do not whine… Do not complain. Work harder. Spend more time alone.”

Joan Didion book Blue Nights

Source: Blue Nights

Time

“When things go wrong and will not come right,
Though you do the best you can,
When life looks black as the hour of night,
A PINT OF PLAIN IS YOUR ONLY MAN.”

Flann O'Brien book At Swim-Two-Birds

Source: At Swim-Two-Birds

Life, Night

“But it's writing, damn it, not washing the car or putting on eyeliner. If you can take it seriously, we can do business. If you can't or won't, it's time for you to close the book and do something else.

Wash the car, maybe.”

Stephen King (1947) American author

Source: On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Books, Cars, Business, Time

“We kings do develop a certain ability to recognize objects under our noses.”

Robin McKinley book The Hero and the Crown

Source: The Hero and the Crown

“They more than do their work, they take pride in it. Like Cinna.”

Suzanne Collins book Mockingjay

Source: Mockingjay

“We should not shed tears
That is a surrender of the body to the heart
It is only proof
That we are beings that do not know
What to do with out hearts”

Tite Kubo (1977) Japanese manga artist

Source: Bleach, Volume 01

Tear, Heart

“If you can read and have more imagination than a doorknob, what need do you have for a 'movie version' of a novel?”

Wendell Berry (1934) author

Source: What Matters?: Economics for a Renewed Commonwealth

Imagination, Reading

“What do you do when Mom leaves you alone like this? (Kat)
I write romance novels. (Acheron)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Devil May Cry

Moms

“Maturity, one discovers, has everything to do with the acceptance of ‘not knowing.”

Mark Z. Danielewski book House of Leaves

Source: House of Leaves

“He who waits to do a great deal of good at once will never do anything.”

Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer

Waiting

“it is all very well for you to write simply and the simpler the better. But do not start to think so damned simply. Know how complicated it is and then state it simply.”

Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961) American author and journalist

Thinking

“It might seem as the hardest thing to do, but you have to forget the guy who forgot about you.”

Nicholas Sparks book The Notebook

Source: The Notebook

Guy, Forgetting

“I don’t feel very much like Pooh today," said Pooh.

"There there," said Piglet. "I’ll bring you tea and honey until you do.”

A.A. Milne book Winnie-the-Pooh

Source: Winnie-the-Pooh

Feeling, Tea

“Okay, Shane," Agnes said as Brenda's clock gonged midnight. "I got Joey in the kitchen, a cop in the front hall, a dead body in the basement, and you in my bedroom. Where do you want to start?”

Jennifer Crusie (1949) American writer

Source: Agnes and the Hitman

Dead

“Things do not always happen the way I would have wanted, and it's best that I get used to that.”

Paulo Coelho book Like the Flowing River

Source: Like the Flowing River

Way

“Do you not know that there comes a midnight hour when every one has to throw off his mask? Do you believe that life will always let itself be mocked? Do you think you can slip away a little before midnight to avoid this?”

Sören Kierkegaard (1813–1855) Danish philosopher and theologian, founder of Existentialism

Variant: Don't you know that a midnight hour comes when everyone has to take off his mask? Do you think life always lets itself be trifled with? Do you think you can sneak off a little before midnight to escape this?
Source: Either/Or, Part I

Life, Thinking

“There's ordinary people out there doing extraordinary things.”

Neal Shusterman (1962) American novelist

Source: UnWholly

Inspirational, People

“Do people always act this way around you? (Kiara)
You should have seen the reactions when I wore a League uniform. Those were actually comical. Except for the ones who lost control of their bowels. Then it was just messy. (Nykyrian)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Born of the Night

People, Way

“We're so engaged in doing things to achieve purposes of outer value that we forget the inner value, the rapture that is associated with being alive, is what it is all about.”

Joseph Campbell The Power of Myth

Source: The Power of Myth

Forgetting

“Men do not attract that which they want, but that which they are.”

James Allen book As a Man Thinketh

Source: As a Man Thinketh

Attitude, Men

“Do we still have to floss?" Tommy asked. "I mean, what's the point of being immortal if we have to floss?”

Christopher Moore (1957) American writer of comic fantasy

Source: You Suck

“What term do you employ when you speak of your progenitor?"
I answered with the term I'd always wanted to employ.
"Sonovabitch."
"To his face?" she asked.
"I never see his face."
"He wears a mask?"
"In a way, yes. Of stone. Of absolute stone.”

Erich Segal book Love Story

Source: Love Story

Way

“It does not do to neglect the gods of a place, whoever they may be. In the end, they are all one.”

Mary Stewart Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy

Source: Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy

God

“Sometimes when I'm in a bookstore or library, I am overwhelmed by all the things that I do not know. Then I am seized by a powerful desire to read all the books, one by one.”

Arthur C. Clarke (1917–2008) British science fiction writer, science writer, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host

Books, Reading

“Some say that we shall never know, and that to the gods we are like the flies that the boys kill on a summer's day, and some say, to the contrary, that the very sparrows do not lose a feather that has not been brushed away by the finger of God.”

Thornton Wilder book The Bridge of San Luis Rey

Source: The Bridge of San Luis Rey

God, Boy, Summer

“And this is the forbidden truth, the unspeakable taboo - that evil is not always repellent but frequently attractive; that it has the power to make of us not simply victims, as nature and accident do, but active accomplices.”

Joyce Carol Oates (1938) American author

Truth, Nature, Evil

“Put yourself in a state of mind where you say to yourself, 'Here is an opportunity for me to celebrate like never before, my own power, my own ability to get myself to do whatever is necessary.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

Attitude

“Dying - you can't do that to a cat.”

Wisława Szymborska (1923–2012) Polish writer

Cats

“Don't I ever do anything else but take soulful walks down the Bayswater Road, I thought, as I walked soulfully down the Baywater Road.”

Martin Amis book The Rachel Papers

Source: The Rachel Papers

Soul

“You don’t like people who have money, do you? (Astrid)
I’m not prejudiced against anyone, princess. I hate everyone equally. (Zarek)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon book Dance with the Devil

Source: Dance with the Devil

Money, Hate, People, Princess

“Real leaders are people who “help us overcome the limitations of our own individual laziness and selfishness and weakness and fear and get us to do better, harder things than we can get ourselves to do on our own.”

David Foster Wallace (1962–2008) American fiction writer and essayist

People, Fear, Help, Selfishness

“Separation

Your absence has gone through me
Like thread through a needle.
Everything I do is stitched with its color.”

W.S. Merwin (1927–2019) American poet

Color, Sad

“When the dead are done with the living, the living can go on to other things," Franny said. "What about the dead?" I asked. "Where do we go?”

Alice Sebold book The Lovely Bones

Source: The Lovely Bones

Dead

“Still, he figured, sometimes you've got to do what you've got to do, and then sometimes you've just got to run like hell after it's done.”

Derek Landy (1974) Irish children's writer

Source: Death Bringer

Hell

“Do ye want me?" he whispered. "Sassenach, will ye take me - and risk the man that I am, for the sake of the man ye knew?”

Diana Gabaldon book Voyager

Source: Voyager

“Love isn't about what we did yesterday; it's about what we do today and tomorrow and the day after”

Grace Lee Boggs (1915–2015) social activist and feminist

Source: The Next American Revolution: Sustainable Activism for the Twenty-First Century

Love

“Use me, God. Show me how to take who I am, who I want to be, and what I can do, and use it for a purpose greater than myself.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

God

“… The friends we have lost do not repose under the ground… they are buried deep in our hearts. It has been thus ordained that they may always accompany us…”

Alexandre Dumas book The Count of Monte Cristo

Source: The Count of Monte Cristo

Heart

“Everything matters. Everything you do touches someone in some way, even though you might not understand that.”

Jennifer Ashley (1974) American author

Source: The Duke's Perfect Wife

Way, Understanding

“People don’t like to have somebody knowing more than they do. It aggravates them.”

Harper Lee book To Kill a Mockingbird

Pt. 2, ch. 12
Calpurnia
Variant: Folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ‘em.
Source: To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Context: Folks don’t like to have somebody around knowin’ more than they do. It aggravates ‘em. You’re not gonna change any of them by talkin’ right, they’ve got to want to learn themselves, and when they don’t want to learn there’s nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.

People

“If there’s something I can’t do but want to, I won’t relax until I’m able to do it.”

Haruki Murakami book What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

Source: What I Talk About When I Talk About Running

“Maybe you expected marriage to be perfect - I guess that's where you and I are different. See, I thought it would be all about making mistakes, but doing it with someone who's there to remind you what you learned along the way.”

Jodi Picoult book Handle With Care

Source: Handle with Care

Marriage, Way, Learning, Perfection

“You’re really cute, Midori,” I corrected myself.
“What do you mean really cute?”
“So cute the mountains crumble and the oceans dry up.”

Haruki Murakami book Norwegian Wood

Source: Norwegian Wood

Mountain

“Do the thing and you will have the power.”

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) American philosopher, essayist, and poet

Motivational, Deep, Success, Inspirational

“Do you love him?”

Richelle Mead book Last Sacrifice

Maura asked curiously.
"I'd rather not," Blue replied.
"He has lots of negative qualities I can help you hone in on," her mother offered.
"I'm already aware of them. Infinitely."
pg 82
The Raven Cycle Series, The Raven King (2016)
Source: Last Sacrifice

Love

“[Carter just asked when I became a ram whisperer. Do shut up, Carter]”

Rick Riordan book The Throne of Fire

Source: The Throne of Fire

“I hate handing over money to people for doing what I could just as easily do myself, it makes me nervous.”

Sylvia Plath book The Bell Jar

Source: The Bell Jar

Money, Hate, People

“A good listener is very nearly as attractive as a good talker. You cannot have a beautiful mind if you do not know how to listen.”

Edward de Bono (1933) Maltese physician

Source: How To Have A Beautiful Mind

Beauty

“Seeing something once is better than hearing about it a hundred times. Doing something once is better than seeing it a hundred times.”

Lisa See book Dreams of Joy

Source: Dreams of Joy

Time

“Any damage that's been done, you have to fix yourself because it needs fixing and there is nobody else to do the work. Blame may well be justified, but it's not going to move you forward in your life.”

Augusten Burroughs (1965) American writer

Source: This Is How: Surviving What You Think You Can't

Life

“A problem is a chance for you to do your best.”

Duke Ellington (1899–1974) American jazz musician, composer and band leader

Source: Music is My Mistress

Attitude, Positive, Graduation, Problem

“I only suggest to you: Will you dwell on killing this man? You wish for revenge? If you do, he has already killed you by slow poison. So, let it go. Why waste your time? His life will see to his death.”

Lloyd Alexander (1924–2007) American children's writer

Source: The Golden Dream of Carlo Chuchio

Life, Death, Revenge, Time

“Please be peaceful. We believe in law and order. We are not advocating violence, I want you to love your enemies… for what we are doing is right, what we are doing is just -- and God is with us.”

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement

Love, God, Peace, Law

“I am just mystified by these people telling me I would think Obama was doing a great job if his skin contained less melanin.”

Jonah Goldberg (1969) American political writer and pundit

People, Thinking

“Trust in what you love, continue to do it, and it will take you where you need to go.”

Natalie Goldberg (1948) American writer

Love

“All we can do is go around telling the truth.”

Carson McCullers book The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter

Source: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter

Truth

“Not everyone has a sob story, Charlie, and even if they do, it's no excuse.”

Stephen Chbosky book The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Source: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

“What do ties matter, Jeeves, at a time like this?'
There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter”

P.G. Wodehouse (1881–1975) English author

Time

“… the more he did nothing, the less time he had to do anything.”

Leo Tolstoy book Anna Karenina

Source: Anna Karenina

Time

“You’ll come back
To me…
It’s written in the stars, you see,
you’ll come back.
You’ll come back,
it’s a fact
that I am strong because I do
believe in you.”

Umberto Eco book The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana

Source: The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana

Star, Strong

“Behold, my children!" she said. "The instrument of my revenge. I will call it a scythe!"
The Titans muttered among themselves: What is that for? Why is it curved? How do you spell scythe?”

Rick Riordan (1964) American writer

Source: Percy Jackson's Greek Gods

Children, Revenge

“Why are Americans so fascinated by Ireland?” Keith asked… “you all think you’re Irish. What’s the appeal? Do you like the accent more? Is it all the magical rocks? Oh, look, a leprechaun…”

Maureen Johnson (1973) writer from the USA

Source: The Last Little Blue Envelope

Thinking

“More like some small, fierce bird of prey, something with a sharp bite. An owl perhaps, that speaks only when the rest of the world sleeps.
Jenny will do well enough.”

Juliet Marillier book Daughter of the Forest

Source: Daughter of the Forest

World, Bird, Sleep

“I know what it's like to start something and have it suddenly grow out of control. And you want to get rid of it, because it's hurting you and everyone else around you, but every time you try to do that, it consumes you again.”

Jodi Picoult book Handle With Care

Source: Handle with Care

Time, Hurt

“What we [writers] do might be done in solitude and with great desperation, but it tends to produce exactly the opposite. It tends to produce community and in many people hope and joy.”

Junot Díaz (1968) Dominican-American writer

People, Hope, Communication, Solitude

“And after a while… I mean how do you choose? Who gets to live? Part of life is that… well, some people have to die.”

Richelle Mead Shadow Kiss

Source: Shadow Kiss

Life, People, Parting

“No one ever died from sleeping in an unmade bed. I have known mothers who remake the bed after their children do it because there is wrinkle in the spread or the blanket is on crooked. This is sick.”

Erma Bombeck (1927–1996) When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent le…

Children, Sleep

“I heard your song the moment we were born. And years later, it dragged me back from the lake of the half-dead when all I wanted to do was die. Each time someone tried to kill me, it sang its tune and gave me hope.”

Melina Marchetta (1965) Australian teen writer

Source: Froi of the Exiles

Hope, Time, Dead

“What's your hurry?"
Because now is the only time there ever is to do a thing in," said Miss Ophelia.”

Harriet Beecher Stowe book Uncle Tom's Cabin

Source: Uncle Tom's Cabin

Time

“You could do a lot worse.”

Suzanne Collins book Catching Fire

Variant: We could do it, you know.
Source: Catching Fire

“Remember my titles? I don't get poisoned, I do the poisoning. I'm the Princess of it”

Kresley Cole American writer

Source: Poison Princess

Princess

“Que sçais-je?" (What do I know?)”

Michel De Montaigne book Essays

The notion of skepticism is most clearly understood by asking this question.
Book II, Ch. 12
Essais (1595), Book II
Variant: What know I? (or What do I know?)