Quotes about making
page 37

“What, I should only trust good people? Man, good people get bought and sold every day. Might as well trust somebody evil once in a while, it makes no more or less sense.”

Thomas Pynchon book Inherent Vice

Source: Inherent Vice

People, Sense, Evil

“I'm learning that you have to make time for what's important. You have to fight to carve little pieces of happiness out of your life, or the everyday emergencies will eat up everything.”

Laurell K. Hamilton book Cerulean Sins

Source: Cerulean Sins

Life, Happiness, Learning, Time

“Just because a man glances up at the sky at night does not make him an astronomer, you know.”

John Boyne book The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Source: The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Night

“But still there are moments when a brother and sister can lay down their instruments of torture for a moment and speak as civilized human beings and Bruno decided to make this one of those moments.”

John Boyne (1971) Irish novelist, author of children's and youth fiction

Source: The Boy in the Striped Pajamas

Sister

“Whatever makes you weird, is probably your greatest asset.”

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

“V had a passing thought that she used the word "anyway" like an eraser on a crowded chalkboard. She said it whenever she needed to clear off the things she'd just shared to make room for more.”

Jessica Bird book Lover Unbound

Source: Lover Unbound

“Going to another country doesn’t make any difference. I’ve tried all that. You can’t get away from yourself by moving from one place to another. There’s nothing to that.”

Ernest Hemingway book The Sun Also Rises

Source: The Sun Also Rises

Country

“It isn't what you have or who you are or where you are or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about it.”

Dale Carnegie How to Win Friends and Influence People

Variant: It isn't what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.
Source: How to Win Friends and Influence People

Happiness, Thinking, Happy, Attitude

“The world is only as fair as you can make it. Takes a lot of fight. A lot of fight. But if you stay in here, in your little cave, that's one less fighter on the side of fair.”

Libba Bray (1964) American teen writer

Source: Beauty Queens

World, Fight

“Perhaps it sounds ridiculous, but the best thing that young filmmakers should do is to get hold of a camera and some film and make a movie of any kind at all.”

Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999) American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor

“To increase desires to an unbearable level whilst making the fulfillment of them more and more inaccessible: this was the single principle upon which Western society was based.”

Michel Houellebecq book The Possibility of an Island

Source: The Possibility of an Island

“Do you know how pale & wanton thrillful
comes death on a strange hour
unannounced, unplanned for
like a scaring over-friendly guest you've
brought to bed
Death makes angels of us all
& gives us wings
where we had shoulders
smooth as raven's
claws”

Jim Morrison (1943–1971) lead singer of The Doors

Death, Angels

“Tell me how bad I am… it makes me feel so good.”

Anne Rice book The Queen of the Damned

Last line
Source: The Queen of the Damned (1988)

Feeling

“I know he was desperate. That makes people do all kinds of crazy things.”

Suzanne Collins book Mockingjay

Source: Mockingjay

People

“Never assume. Never make plans. Keep doing the press-ups and deep knee bends: you'll need all your strength and flexibility when your life suddenly implodes. Maybe it won't — some people do lead enchanted lives — but odds are that it will. Some time.”

Robin McKinley (1952) American fantasy writer

Life, People, Time

“What makes a treasure a treasure." Marine replied, "is how rare a find it is, when you need it the most.”

Jodi Picoult (1966) Author

Source: Between the Lines

“If there was anything I learned from John the Baptist, it was that the sooner you confess a mistake, the quicker you can get on to making new and better mistakes.”

Christopher Moore book Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

Source: Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

Learning

“That no matter what i did, I would always be missing something else. And the only way to live, the only way to be happy, was to make sure the things I didn't miss meant more to me than the things I missed.”

David Levithan (1972) American author and editor

Source: How They Met, and Other Stories

Happiness, Way

“Without opium, plans, marriages and journeys appear to me just as foolish as if someone falling out of a window were to hope to make friends with the occupants of the room before which he passes.”

Jean Cocteau (1889–1963) French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager and filmmaker

Source: Opium: The Diary of His Cure

Marriage, Hope, Appearance

David Benioff book City of Thieves

Source: City of Thieves

Fear, Time

“You make yourself strong because it's expected of you. You become confident because someone beside you is unsure. You turn into the person others need you to be.”

Jodi Picoult (1966) Author

Source: Vanishing Acts

Confidence, Strong, Personality

“Normally, small talk is enough for me to form an opinion of someone. I make quick judgments, often completely wrong, and then stick by them rigidly.”

Alex Garland (1970) English novelist, screenwriter, film producer and director

“It was such a spring day as breathes into a man an ineffable yearning, a painful sweetness, a longing that makes him stand motionless, looking at the leaves or grass, and fling out his arms to embrace he knows not what.”

John Galsworthy book The Forsyte Saga

Source: The Forsyte Saga

Pain, Spring, Grass

“You can find meanness in the least of creatures, but when God made man the devil was at his elbow. A creature that can do anything. Make a machine. And a machine to make the machine. And evil that can run itself a thousand years, no need to tend it.”

Cormac McCarthy (1933) American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter

Source: Blood Meridian (1985), Chapter II
Source: Blood Meridian, or the Evening Redness in the West
Context: A man’ s at odds to know his mind cause his mind is aught he has to know it with. He can know his heart, but he dont want to. Rightly so. Best not to look in there. It aint the heart of a creature that is bound in the way that God has set for it. You can find meanness in the least of creatures, but when God made man the devil was at his elbow. A creature that can do anything. Make a machine. And a machine to make the machine. And evil that can run itself a thousand years, no need to tend it.

God, Evil

“would never make up anything like that.”
"That's because Aaron doesn't say anything that requires words of more than one syllable.”

Richelle Mead Vampire Academy

Source: Vampire Academy

“Then why haven’t you killed yourself? (Astrid)
Why should I? The only enjoyment I have in my life is knowing I piss off everyone around me. If I were dead, it would make them all happy. God forbid I should ever do that. (Zarek)”

Sherrilyn Kenyon book Dance with the Devil

Source: Dance with the Devil

Life, God, Happiness, Dead

“But art is not simply works of art; it is the spirit that knows Beauty, that has music in its being and the color of sunsets in its headkerchiefs; that can dance on a flaming world and make the world dance, too.”

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963) American sociologist, historian, activist and writer

World, Beauty, Art, Music

“I've always thought there are two ways of getting what you wanted in life. Forcing people to give it to you, or making them want to give it to you.”

Candace Bushnell book The Carrie Diaries

Source: The Carrie Diaries

Life, People, Way

“They're a little strange, but I'm pretty sure neither of them is going to try to make me uncomfortable by stripping naked.”

Suzanne Collins book Catching Fire

Source: Catching Fire

“The things that make me different are the things that make me ME. -Piglet”

A.A. Milne (1882–1956) British author

Variant: The things that make me different are the things that make me.

“God promised to make you free. He never promised to make you independent.”

Madeleine L'Engle (1918–2007) American writer

Source: The Irrational Season

God

“There are certain kinds of silence that make you walk on air.”

Cecelia Ahern (1981) Irish novelist

Silence

“‎You cannot correct an old person every time they say something offensive. You would never make it through Thanksgiving dinner!”

Stephen Colbert (1964) American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor

Time, Personality

“There is an art to the business of making sandwiches which it is given to few ever to find the time to explore in depth. It is a simple task, but the opportunities for satisfaction are many and profound.”

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English writer and humorist

Source: The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide: Five Complete Novels and One Story

Art, Business, Time

“Love doesn't mean anything if you're not willing to make a commitment, and you have to think not only about what you want, but about what he wants. Not just now, but in the future.”

Nicholas Sparks book Safe Haven

Jo, Chapter 23, p. 192
Source: 2009, Safe Haven (2010)

Love, Thinking, Future

“You'se something tuh make uh man forgit to git old and forgit tuh die.”

Zora Neale Hurston book Their Eyes Were Watching God

Source: Their Eyes Were Watching God

“Life is a miracle, and being aware of simply this can already make us very happy.”

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist

Source: Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

Life, Happiness

“Charm is the ability to make someone else think that both of you are pretty wonderful.”

Kathleen Winsor (1919–2003) American author

Thinking

“Us sing and dance, make faces and give flower bouquets, trying to be loved. You ever notice that trees do everything to get attention we do, except walk?”

Alice Walker book The Color Purple

Source: The Color Purple (1982)

Love, Flowers, Tree, Singing

“You sense that he's dangerous but don't now why - and wonder if it's because he makes you feel safer than you've ever felt.”

Melissa Bank book The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

Source: The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing

Feeling, Sense

“May I make a suggestion," said Will. "About twenty paces behind us, in the Council room, is Benedict. If you'd like to go back in there and try kicking him, I recommend aiming upward and a little to the left-”

Cassandra Clare book Clockwork Prince

Variant: If I might make a suggestion,” said Will. “About twenty paces behind us, in the Council room, is Benedict. If you’d like to go back in there and try kicking him, I recommend aiming upward and a bit to the left—
Source: Clockwork Prince

“Is he making you happy? I don’t mean some of the time, on rare occasions, not that often, “but the good still outweighs the bad.” Does he make it clear in his actions every day that your happiness is important to him?”

Greg Behrendt (1963) American comedian

Source: He's Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys

Happiness, Time

“Does my new feminism make me look fat?”

Libba Bray (1964) American teen writer

Source: Beauty Queens

“When you say something really unkind, when you do something in retaliation your anger increases. You make the other person suffer, and he will try hard to say or to do something back to get relief from his suffering. That is how conflict escalates.”

Thich Nhat Hanh (1926) Religious leader and peace activist

Source: Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames

Suffering, Personality, Anger

“Authenticity is a collection of choices that we have to make every day. It's about the choice to show up and be real. The choice to be honest. The choice to let our true selves be seen.”

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

“If you care about something enough, it’s going to make you cry. But you have to use it. Use your tears. Use your pain. Use your fear. Get mad. Arnold, get mad.”

Sherman Alexie book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Source: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Pain, Fear, Tear, Cry

“Love is dangerous, if you know it's dangerous, that makes you treasure it, and you'll work harder to keep it.”

Candace Bushnell book Sex and the City

Source: Sex and the City

Love

“Real life doesn’t have many happy endings. Why shouldn’t books make up the difference?”

Scott Westerfeld book Afterworlds

Source: Afterworlds

Life, Happiness, Books

“What I think is all I have left. My mind is the only thing that makes me different from a fancy toaster. What we think does matter-it's all we truly have.”

Mary E. Pearson (1955) young-adult fiction writer

Source: The Fox Inheritance

Thinking

“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep.”

Scott Adams (1957) cartoonist, writer

Source: Books, The Dilbert Principle (1996)

Art, Back To Work

“Ah men,
why do you want
all this attention?
I can write poems for myself, make
love to a doorknob if absolutely
necessary. What do you have to offer me
I can't find otherwise
except humiliation? Which I no longer
need.”

Margaret Atwood (1939) Canadian writer

Love, Men, Making love

“Why should I tell you everything about how I feel when you never tell me anything? It's like banging my head on a wall, except at least if I were banging my head on a wall, I'd be able to make myself stop. - Jace Wayland.”

Cassandra Clare book City of Ashes

Jace and Clary, pg. 244
Source: The Mortal Instruments, City of Ashes (2008)
Context: "I wish I could hate you. I want to hate you. I try to hate you. It would be so much easier if I did hate you. Sometimes I think I do hate you and then I see you and I-"
"And you what?"
"What do you think? Why should I tell you everything about how I feel when you never tell me anything. It's like banging my head on a wall, except at least if I were banging my head on a wall, I'd be able to make myself stop."

Feeling

“A man is just a woman’s strategy for making other women.”

Margaret Atwood (1939) Canadian writer

Source: The Handmaid’s Tale (1985), Chapter 20 (p. 121)

Women

“Good people don’t make fewer mistakes, they’re just better at apologizing.”

Jonathan Safran Foer book Here I Am

Source: Here I Am

People

“A lie preserved in stained glass doesn't make it more true.”

Saul Williams (1972) American singer, musician, poet, writer, and actor

Source: The Dead Emcee Scrolls: The Lost Teachings of Hip-Hop

Lie

“Did you just grab my butt?” I whispered. “What?” “Curran!” “Yes?” I could hear controlled laughter in his voice. Unbelievable. I sped up. “We’re tracking ghouls and you’re grabbing my butt.” “I always make sure to pay attention to important things.”

Ilona Andrews American husband-and-wife novelist duo

Source: Magic Shifts

Laughter

“Peter loves to make promises. He has the best intentions of keeping them. It makes it worse, somehow, that he doesn’t know how to. He thinks he’s a nice boy, that’s the worst part.”

Jodi Lynn Anderson American children's writer

Source: Tiger Lily

Love, Boy, Thinking, Parting

“Why do I write? I write because I have to, because it is all I know, because it is my truth, because I am compelled, because I am driven to make the world
acknowledge that women like me exist, and we possess a dangerous wisdom.”

Patrick Califia-Rice (1954) American writer

Variant: Why do I write? I write because I have to, because it is all I know, because it is my truth, because I am compelled, because I am driven to make the world acknowledge that women like me exist, and we possess a dangerous wisdom.

Wisdom, Women, Truth, World

“Hardships make or break people.”

Margaret Mitchell book Vom Winde verweht (1937 German edition)

Source: Gone with the Wind

People

“Novels aren’t just happy escapes; they are slivers of people’s souls, nailed to the pages, dripping ink from veins of wood pulp. Reading the right one at the right time can make all the difference.”

Brandon Sanderson (1975) American fantasy writer

Happiness, People, Soul, Time

“Really, it had been stupid to expect anything anyway. A few late nights does not a habit, or a relationship, make.”

Sarah Dessen book Along for the Ride

Source: Along for the Ride

Stupidity, Night

“She genuinely likes people. All people, not just a select few she's spent years making up her mind about.”

Suzanne Collins book Mockingjay

Source: Mockingjay

People

“It’s not when you start that makes your success in the world, but when you quit.”

Richard Bach book Nothing by Chance

Source: Nothing by Chance

World, Success

“takes a devil to make a decent angel.”

Tom Spanbauer (1946) American writer

Angels

“When you have to make a choice and don't make it, that is in itself a choice.”

William James (1842–1910) American philosopher, psychologist, and pragmatist

“No amount of saying ‘I love you’ and ‘I trust you’ makes it true when it isn’t.”

Maya Banks (1964) Author

Source: Fever

Love

“Happiness is a myth. It was invented to make us buy new things.”

Gregory David Roberts book Shantaram

Source: Shantaram

Happiness

“A perfectly evil Devil makes even less sense than a perfect God.”

Anne Rice (1941) American writer

God, Sense, Evil, Perfection

“There are fights that you may lose without losing your honor; what makes you lose your honor is not to fight.
-Jaques Jaujard”

Robert M. Edsel (1956) American art historian

Source: The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History

Fight

“I realize now that the reality of things is not something you convey to people but something you make.”

Haruki Murakami book The Elephant Vanishes

Source: The Elephant Vanishes

People, Reality

“The fiction of Ayn Rand is as low as you can get re fiction. I hope you picked it up off the floor of the subway and threw it in the nearest garbage pail. She makes Mickey Spillane look like Dostoevsky.”

Flannery O’Connor (1925–1964) American novelist, short story writer

Hope

“If a man does not make new acquaintance as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone. A man, Sir, should keep his friendship in a constant repair.”

Samuel Johnson (1709–1784) English writer

1755, p. 83
Life of Samuel Johnson (1791), Vol I

Life, Friendship

“One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.”

John Muir book Our National Parks

The Cruise of the Corwin http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir_exhibit/writings/cruise_of_the_corwin/default.aspx (1917), chapter 3: Siberian Adventures <br>(Echoing William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, iii, 3: "One touch of nature makes the whole world kin.") <br class="br">1910s <br class="br">Variant: One touch of nature makes all the world kin. <br class="br">Source: Our National Parks

World, Nature, Beauty, Peaceful

“I looked around. As flock leader, everyone was expecting me to make a decision. Jeb's presence here would bring uncertainty, chaos, probably danger.
It would perk up my day.”

James Patterson (1947) American author

Source: Angel

Decision

“Teaching is only demonstrating that it is possible. Learning is making it possible for yourself.”

Paulo Coelho book The Pilgrimage

Source: The Pilgrimage

Learning, Teachers' Day

“We have to make mistakes, it's how we learn compassion for others.”

Curtis Sittenfeld (1975) Novelist, short story writer

Source: American Wife

Learning

“I will not be just a tourist in the world of images, just watching images passing by which I cannot live in, make love to, possess as permanent sources of joy and ecstasy.”

Anaïs Nin (1903–1977) writer of novels, short stories, and erotica

Love, World, Making love, Joy

“It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think that's pretty important.”

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

Love, Law, Thinking

“An onion can make people cry, but there has never been a vegetable invented to make them laugh.”

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist and entertainer

As quoted in You Must Remember This (1975) by Walter Wagner, p. 175
As quoted in ...

People, Cry

“If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving.”

James Baldwin book The Fire Next Time

Source: "Letter from a Region of My Mind" in The New Yorker (17 November 1962); republished as "Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region in My Mind" in The Fire Next Time (1963)
Context: If the concept of God has any validity or any use, it can only be to make us larger, freer, and more loving. If God cannot do this, then it is time we got rid of Him.

Love, God