Quotes about going
page 48

“Go small, go simple, go now”

Larry Pardey

Cruising in "Seraffyn"

“You can't just go out-
No, I'll dream another dream.”

L.J. Smith (1965) American author

Source: The Kill

Dreams

“You don't need a reason to forgive… If you want to go on with someone, that is what you do.”

Melissa Bank (1961) American writer

Forgiveness

“Two things everybody's got tuh do fuh theyselves. They got tuh go tuh God, and they got tuh find out about livin' fuh theyselves.”

Zora Neale Hurston book Their Eyes Were Watching God

Variant: There is two things everybody got to find out for theirselves. They got to find out about love and they got to find out about living.
Source: Their Eyes Were Watching God

God

“When it's all over, you're remembered for what you did, not what you said you were going to do.”

Jodi Picoult Salem Falls

Source: Salem Falls

“It’s okay. Everything’s going to be okay. You can let go of the sword."
"I can’t. I can’t leave him alone. I have to protect him."
"You have.”

Richelle Mead book Frostbite

Source: Frostbite

“You've maddened me for you… have changed everything. So, I'm going to f*ck you long and hard, beauty, because if I'm to be enslaved by you-I want to be your master as well.”

Kresley Cole American writer

Source: Pleasure of a Dark Prince

Beauty, Change

“Any decent person who knows what warfare is can never go into battle with a whole heart.”

Orson Scott Card book Ender's Game

Source: Ender's Game

Heart, Personality

“My first time I jacked off, I thought I'd invented it. I looked down at my sloppy handful of junk and thought, This is going to make me rich.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Choke

Source: Choke

Time

“If your joy is derived from what society thinks of you, you're always going to be disappointed.”

Madonna (1958) American singer, songwriter, and actress

Disappointment, Thinking, Joy

“I am incapable of conceiving infinity, and yet I do not accept finity. I want this adventure that is the context of my life to go on without end.”

Simone de Beauvoir book La Vieillesse

Pt. 2, Ch. 2: Time, activity, history, p. 412
The Coming of Age (1970)
Source: La Vieillesse

Life

“I suppose in the end, the whole of life becomes an act of letting go, but what always hurts the most is not taking a moment to say goodbye.”

Yann Martel book Life of Pi

Source: Life of Pi

Hurtful, Life, Hurt

“Fancy thinking the Beast was something you could hunt and kill! You knew, didn’t you? I’m part of you? Close, close, close! I’m the reason why it’s no go? Why things are what they are?”

William Golding book Lord of the Flies

Source: Lord of the Flies

Thinking, Parting

“Dad: Honey, have you seen my glasses? I can"t find them.
Mom: I haven't seen them.
Calvin: (with glasses, to Dad) Calvin, go do something you hate! Being miserable builds character!”

Bill Watterson (1958) American comic artist

Source: Attack of the Deranged Mutant Killer Monster Snow Goons

Hate, Moms

“Sometimes we want what we want even if we know it’s going to kill us.”

Donna Tartt book The Goldfinch

Source: The Goldfinch

“Everything really is going to be okay. (And if not okay, then at least comic.)”

Elizabeth Gilbert book Eat, Pray, Love

Source: Eat, Pray, Love

“We're going' Anne said firmly.
So soon?' Percy pleaded. 'But stars come out at night.'
Then they fade at dawn', Anne replied. 'This star needs to veil herself in darkness.”

Philippa Gregory book The Other Boleyn Girl

Source: The Other Boleyn Girl

Star, Night

“It is by going down into the abyss that we recover the treasures of life. Where you stumble, there lies your treasure.”

Joseph Campbell (1904–1987) American mythologist, writer and lecturer

Motivational, Back To Work, Moving On, Life

“I can't let you go. I'll never do that. not until I die.”

Kresley Cole book The Warlord Wants Forever

The Warlord Wants Forever

“There is nothing more dangerous than a woman with a shotgun. Because you don't know when it's going to go off… and neither does she.”

Louis L'Amour (1908–1988) Novelist, short story writer

“I'm going to put death in all their food and watch them die.”

Shirley Jackson book We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Source: We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Death, Food

“Ham smiled. "Cett's going to be furious."
Elend shrugged. "He's a paraplegic. What's he going to do? Bite us?”

Brandon Sanderson (1975) American fantasy writer

Source: The Hero of Ages

Smile

“Live well, Ichigo. Live well, age well, go bald well, and die after me. And… if you can, die smiling.
(Isshin Kurosaki)”

Tite Kubo (1977) Japanese manga artist

Age, Smile

“Our real discoveries come from chaos, from going to the place that looks wrong and stupid and foolish.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Invisible Monsters

Source: Invisible Monsters

Stupidity

“Billions of things are going on in this world. You can think about it all you want, but life is still going to keep on happening.”

Michael Singer (1945) American landscape architect

Source: The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself

Life, World, Thinking

“Again, I repeat, don’t ask questions you don’t want answered. Just accept the fact that Acheron is a freak of nature and let it go. (Zarek)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon (1965) Novelist

Source: Kiss of the Night

Question, Nature

“The point is you keep going. You want to. So all the things that make you want to are the point.”

Nick Hornby About a Boy

Source: About a Boy

“Burned and squashed to death in a silver vat of soup. There must be worst ways to go. But not many.”

Jonathan Stroud book Ptolemy's Gate

Source: Ptolemy's Gate

Death, Way

“A stray fact: insects are not drawn to candle flames, they are drawn to the light on the far side of the flame, they go into the flame and sizzle to nothingness because they're so eager to get to the light on the other side.”

Michael Cunningham book By Nightfall

Source: By Nightfall

Light

“I'm dealing with a lot of scary things. I think you have to react to them. And you either laugh at them or you go insane.”

Jim Butcher book Death Masks

Source: Death Masks

Thinking

“A. J. nods out of politeness, but he doesn’t believe in random acts. He is a reader, and what he believes in is narrative construction. If a gun appears in act one, that gun had better go off by act three.”

Gabrielle Zevin (1977) American writer

Source: The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

Appearance

“it does seem
the more we drink
the better the words
go.”

Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) American writer

Source: You Get So Alone at Times That it Just Makes Sense

Drink

“I am not the law, but I represent justice so far as my feeble powers go.”

Arthur Conan Doyle (1859–1930) Scottish physician and author

Justice, Law

“I'm bad and I'm going to hell, and I don't care. I'd rather be in hell than anywhere where you are.”

William Faulkner (1897–1962) American writer

Hell

“Everybody likes to go their own way–to choose their own time and manner of devotion.”

Jane Austen book Mansfield Park

Source: Mansfield Park

Way, Time

“Find what you're afraid of most and go live there.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Invisible Monsters

Variant: Find out what you're afraid of and go live there.
Source: Invisible Monsters

“This is motherhood for you,' said my own mother. 'Going through life with your heart outside your body.”

Jennifer Weiner (1970) American writer

Life, Heart

“You are bad and mean and I'm going to spit on your cupcakes.”

Sarra Manning (1950) British writer

Source: Adorkable

“I don't believe in fate," she said at last. "But I do believe in… loopholes. I think a lot of what keeps the world going is the result of accidents — happy or otherwise — and taking advantage of these.”

Robin McKinley book Sunshine

Source: Sunshine

Fate, World, Thinking, Happiness

“My life has a mysterious purpose that I don't understand, and day by day, conflict by conflict, I learn by going where I have to go.”

Dean Koontz (1945) American author

Source: Odd Interlude: A Special Odd Thomas Adventure

Life, Understanding, Learning

“When I have a terrible need of - shall I say the word - religion. Then I go out and paint the stars.”

Vincent Van Gogh (1853–1890) Dutch post-Impressionist painter (1853-1890)

Quote in a letter to Theo van Gogh, from Arles, c. Saturday, 29 September 1888; as cited in An Examined Faith : Social Context and Religious Commitment (1991) by James Luther Adams and George K. Beach, p. 259
1880s, 1888

Religion, Star, Painting

“Everything I’ve ever let go of had claw marks on it.”

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

Variant: Everything I’ve ever let go of has claw marks on it.

“The big reason why folks leave a small town,' Rant used to say, 'is so they can moon over the idea of going back. And the reason they stay put is so they can moon about getting out.'

Rant meant that no one is happy, anywhere.”

Chuck Palahniuk book Rant

Source: Rant

Idea, Happiness

“Summer came.
For the books thief, everything was going nicely.
For me, the sky was the color of Jews.”

Markus Zusak book The Book Thief

Source: The Book Thief

Books, Color, Summer

“Everywhere we go and move on and change, something's lost--something's left behind. You can't ever quite repeat anything, and I've been so yours, here”

F. Scott Fitzgerald book The Beautiful and Damned

Source: The Beautiful and Damned

Change

“I want to be in fifth grade again. Now, that is a deep dark secret, almost as big as the other one. Fifth grade was easy -- old enough to play outside without Mom, too young to go off the block. The perfect leash length.”

Laurie Halse Anderson Speak

Source: Speak

Secret, Moms, Perfection

“Everyone has to scratch on walls somewhere or they go crazy”

Michael Ondaatje book In the Skin of a Lion

Source: In the Skin of a Lion

“I'm not even going to try.”

David Levithan The Lover's Dictionary

Source: The Lover's Dictionary

“Go and get your things,' he said. 'Dreams mean work.”

Paulo Coelho book By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Source: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Back To Work, Dreams

“You don't need a search warrant to go through someone's trash. Seriously. Once it hits the curb it is totally fair game-you an look it up.”

Ally Carter Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy

Source: Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy

Search, Game

“And if I wanted to kill myself, I wouldn't throw myself off a roof. And if I was going to throw myself off a roof, I would put on some pants before I did it.”

Holly Black book White Cat

Source: White Cat

“if something does go wrong, here is my advice… KEEP CALM and CARRY ON.”

Maira Kalman (1949) Israeli American artist and creator of children's books

Source: The Principles of Uncertainty

“I think housework is far more tiring and frightening than hunting is, no comparison, and yet after hunting we had eggs for tea and were made to rest for hours, but after housework people expect one to go on just as if nothing special had happened.”

Nancy Mitford (1904–1973) British writer

People, Thinking, Tea

“But he stays by the window, remembering that life. They had laughed. They had leaned on each other and laughed until the tears had come, while everything else—the cold and where he'd go in it—was outside, for a while anyway.”

Raymond Carver (1938–1988) American short story author and poet

Source: Distance and other stories

Life, Tear

“If it means something, take it to heart. If it means nothing, it's nothing. Let it go.”

Philippa Gregory book The Other Boleyn Girl

Source: The Other Boleyn Girl

Heart

“I always knew I was going to be rich. I don't think I ever doubted it for a minute.”

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

Thinking

“I want to be that person for him, I want to be the one who keeps him going during this difficult time.”

Jenny Han book To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Source: To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Time, Personality

“Don't think of what's past!" said she. "I am not going to think outside of now. Why should we! Who knows what tomorrow has in store?”

Thomas Hardy (1840–1928) English novelist and poet

Source: Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Thinking, Past

“Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.”

Robert Frost (1874–1963) American poet

"Birches" (1920)
General sources
Source: Swinger of Birches
Context: I’d like to get away from earth awhile
And then come back to it and begin over.
May no fate willfully misunderstand me
And half grant what I wish and snatch me away
Not to return. Earth’s the right place for love:
I don’t know where it’s likely to go better.

Love

“You cannot know where your people are going if you don't know where your people have been.”

Forrest Carter book The Education of Little Tree

Source: The Education of Little Tree

People

“She wondered if it was her stupid mother, the goddess of love, messing with her thoughts. If Piper started getting urges to read fashion magazines, she was going to have to find Aphrodite and smack her.”

Rick Riordan book The Lost Hero

Source: The Lost Hero

Love, Stupidity, Fashion, Reading

“I have been a friend to Shadowhunters. I know many of your families, going back for hundreds of years."
"There is nothing we can do to correct the questionable judgments of our ancestors," Lucian said.
Magnus hated this guy.”

Cassandra Clare (1973) American author

Source: The Last Stand of the New York Institute

Hate, Family, Guy, Question

“I grasped two things: I wasn't as happy as I could be, and my life wasnt going to change unless I made it change.”

Gretchen Rubin (1966) American writer

Source: The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun

Life, Change, Happiness

“Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water…”

Peter Benchley book Jaws

Source: Jaws

Water

“Is it my imagination, or is there some kind of jealousy thing going on here?"-Inuyasha
(gives Inuyasha a really bad look)"It's your imagination."-Sango
(Inuyasha tries to hide behind Kagome)
"Whatever you say."-Kagome”

Rumiko Takahashi (1957) manga artist

Jealousy, Imagination

“It's a f*** you world. Well, keep it going anyhow, what the hell.”

Charles Bukowski (1920–1994) American writer

World, Hell

“No, not you two. Stay here.'
'Does he just not get how unfair and sexist that is?' Eve asked. 'Men.'
'You really want to go first?'
'Of course no. But I'd like the chance toto go first.”

Rachel Caine (1962) American writer

Source: Lord of Misrule

Men, Chance

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”

Brené Brown (1965) US writer and professor

Source: The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You're Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are

People, World

“Dear Diary,
Oh, it's all too much to explain and you wouldn't believe it anyway. I'm going to bed.
Bonnie”

L.J. Smith (1965) American author

Source: Dark Reunion

“It's true. It's like the hidden secret that no one tells you. we can all be beautiful girls, Colie. it's so easy. it's like Dorothy clicking her heels to go home. You could do it all along.”

Sarah Dessen book Keeping the Moon

Source: Keeping the Moon

Secret, Beauty, Home, Girl

“Philosophy is the toil which can never tire persons engaged in it. All ways are strewn with roses, and the farther you go, the more enchanting objects appear before you and invite you on.”

Mary Wortley Montagu (1689–1762) writer and poet from England

Way, Appearance, Personality

“He took her face in his bloody hands. "I’ll come and find you wherever you are. I’ll not stop breathing until I do. So you’re going to have to promise me that you won’t lose hope. That you will keep yourself alive.”

Melina Marchetta (1965) Australian teen writer

Source: Froi of the Exiles

Hope

“The thing I’m most afraid of is me. Of not knowing what I’m going to do. Of not knowing what I’m doing right now”

Haruki Murakami book 1Q84

Source: 1Q84

“I can buy your contract.” “No, you can’t. Any sale of our mortgage requires my consent, and I won’t consent to it.” He grinned. “You don’t want to work under me?” “I’m not even going to dignify that with an answer.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Burn for Me

“Be your own worst critic.
When things go wrong it's tempting to shift the blame. Don't.
Accept responsibility. People will appreciate it, and you will find out what you're capable of.”

Paul Arden (1940–2008) writer

Source: Whatever You Think, Think the Opposite

People

“I don't go out of my way to make friends, that's all.”

Haruki Murakami book Norwegian Wood

Source: Norwegian Wood

For Friend, Way

“I always worked until I had something done and I always stopped when I knew what was going to happen next. That way I could be sure of going on the next day.”

Ernest Hemingway book A Moveable Feast

Source: A Moveable Feast

Way

“I know that sometimes the things we carry become too much for us. We are burned down, but somehow we have to pick ourselves up and keep going”

Paullina Simons book The Summer Garden

Source: The Summer Garden

“Go moan for man. It's the pathos of people that gets us down, all the lovers in this dream.”

Jack Kerouac book On the Road

Source: On the Road

People, Dreams, Lovers

“Your ultimatum didn’t sit well with me, so naturally, I voiced my opinion.”
“Which was?”
“That you should go copulate with a pig. It sounded way cooler in medieval French.”

Kresley Cole American writer

Source: Dreams of a Dark Warrior

Way, Nature

“I'd do almost anything for you. I think I'd kill for you. But I'm not going to comfort you while you cry in my arms over another man. - Gage Travis”

Lisa Kleypas (1964) American writer

Source: Sugar Daddy

Thinking, Cry

“After a while, though the grief did not go away from us, it grew quiet. What had seemed a storm wailing through the entire darkness seemed to come in at last and lie down.”

Wendell Berry (1934) author

Source: Jayber Crow

Lie

“As I rolled over, stretching out, my only thought was to go back to the dream I'd been having, which I couldn't remember, other than that it had been good, in that distant, hopeful way unreal things can be.”

Sarah Dessen (1970) American writer

Dreams, Hope, Way, Distant

“She was pleased to have him come and never sorry to see him go.”

Dorothy Parker (1893–1967) American poet, short story writer, critic and satirist

“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There's plenty of movement, but you never know if it's going to be forward, backwards, or sideways.”

H. Jackson Brown, Jr. (1940) American writer

“Fear urged him to go back, but growth drove him on.”

Jack London Index:London - White Fang, 1906.djvu

Source: White Fang

Fear

“Is it fair your life burns so short and bright? Death had asked.

"No such thing as fair," Frank told himself. "If I'm going to burn, it might as well be bright.”

Rick Riordan (1964) American writer

Life, Death

“Give me a few minutes.”
“You have time.” He sat in the grass.
“Are you just going to sit there and watch me?”
“Yes. Watching pretty peasant girls is what we poor little rich boys do best.”
“Peasant?”
He shrugged. “You started the name calling.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: On the Edge

Girl, Boy, Grass, Time

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you
want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.”

Dale Carnegie (1888–1955) American writer and lecturer

Courageous, Moving On, Fear, Home

“You're Clary Fray. You go charging into every situation without knowing how the hell it's going to turn out, and then you get through it on sheer guts and craziness.”

Cassandra Clare The City of Lost Souls

Source: City of Lost Souls

Hell

“Some people see things that are and ask, Why?
Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not?
Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that.”

George Carlin (1937–2008) American stand-up comedian

Cf. Bernard Shaw, Back to Methuselah (1921), Pt. I : In the Beginning: I hear you say "Why?" Always "Why?" You see things; and you say "Why?" But I dream things that never were; and I say "Why not?"
Books, Brain Droppings (1997)
Variant: Some people dream of things that never were and ask, Why not? Some people have to go to work and don't have time for all that shit.

People, Dreams, Time