The Quotable Woman: Witty, Poignant, And Insightful Observations From Notable Women

by Running Press (Editor)

More than 300 celebrated women share their insights on a wide range of timeless topics, from love and friendship to ambition and the gender gap.

Genres: Reference, Nonfiction, Humor, History, Womens, Writing

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Imprint of Hachette Book Group.

Reviews

[Chesca]

A enjoyable little romp through quotes from women on a variety of topics. I love the chapters about family and life. The chapters on marriage and men are pretty jaded and cynical.

Here are a few:

The most exhausting thing in life is being insincere. —Anne Morrow Lindbergh

Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use. — Emily Post

It is sad to grow old but nice to ripen. — Briggit Bardot

I don’t think of all the misery, but of all the beauty that still remains. — Anne Frank

Fiction reveals truths that reality obscures. — Jessamyn West

[Betty]

This is the best compilation of women's wisdom that I've ever read and I've read or browsed many others. None of those were in the same league as this one. The quotes will make you want to share them with your ten closest friends. The greatest humor and philosophy, from over 300 famous women, has been amassed and packed into this 192 page book. Another especially nice feature is that an artist has created sketches/drawings of over two dozen of the most famous women and those are placed throughout the book at the beginning of each topic page.

Topics covered include marriage, family, beauty, men, happiness, challenges, sex, life lessons, mistakes, mind and body, the gender gap, time and change, age, opportunity, power, individuality, words, manners, spirituality, dreams, career and success, self-esteem, love and relationships, being a woman, achievement, and ambition.

I've given this book to several of my favorite friends and each has treasured it and asked where they can buy it for their other female friends.

[Atlanta]

Lots of quotes from famous women, separated by subject. Once you've read the first few in a chapter, you seem to have read the whole thing. Interesting enough to flip through and take some notes on poignant quotes.

[Brigitte]

Read this in one sitting to get one more book under my belt for the month. It was a fun collection from delightfully witty women, including some of my favorites: Bette Midler, Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton, Carol Burnett, Jane Austen, Louisa May Alcott, Helen Keller, etc.
Women are fierce and clever and insightful and often very funny. Don’t underestimate them!

[Annburnett]

The book has some interesting quotes that still apply to current times. I was partial to the Katharine Hepburn quotes.

[Bridget]

Published in 1991 and showing it's age. Sometimes I'm reminded that we've come farther than we think.

[Sonja]

So many gems! Many of these women were unfamiliar to me, now I'll be trying to expand my knowledge of notable women.

[Andrea]

How you do rate a book of quotes!? Putting under "book you can read in one sitting! LOL

[John Tallett]

Pithy

[Karen]

I read books of quotes for inspiration and motivation. I'm impressed how someone can boil a complicated thought down to 12 words or less.

As the title indicates, each quote in this compilation is from a woman. The book covers a wide range of subjects from a variety of writers, singers, actors and politicians. Three to four quotes are nicely spaced on each page. The pen-and-ink illustrations at the beginning of each chapter are simple and elegant. An index of each contributor, the year of her birth and her occupation is provided at the end. I wonder why there is no editor attributed to this collection. Maybe it was a team effort?

My favorite quotes are as follows:

Dorothy Parker on the subject of life lessons:

I might repeat to myself, slowly and soothingly, a list of quotations beautiful from minds profound; if I can remember any of the damn things.

Gail Rubin Bereny on mind and body:

Above all, remember that the most important thing you can take with anywhere is not a Gucci bag or French-cut jeans; it's an open mind.

Mignon McLaughlin on day-to-day living:

The only courage that matters is the kind that gets you from one minute to the next.

Sally Kempton on self-esteem;

It is hard to fight an enemy that has outposts in your head.

I was surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I intend to keep it handy whenever the need for inspiration hits me.

[✨ Anna ✨ | ReadAllNight]

Was a gift.

[Fran]

There are some clever and cute quotes published in this book, all attributed to women.