Atharva Shah > Atharva's Quotes

“As you all know first prize is a Cadillac El Dorado. Anyone wanna see second prize? Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third prize is you're fired.”
― David Mamet, Glengarry Glen Ross

“Life in the movie business is like the beginning of a new love affair: it's full of surprises, and you're constantly getting fucked.”
― David Mamet, Speed-The-Plow

“So many books, so little time.”
― Frank Zappa

“Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

“My dear, I don't give a damn.”
― Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind

“If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”
― J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

“By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.”
― Confucious

“I’m no cactus expert, but I know a prick when I see one.”
― Mark A. Cooper, Royal Decree

“Books. They are lined up on shelves or stacked on a table. There they are wrapped up in their jackets, lines of neat print on nicely bound pages. They look like such orderly, static things. Then you, the reader come along. You open the book jacket, and it can be like opening the gates to an unknown city, or opening the lid of a treasure chest. You read the first word and you're off on a journey of exploration and discovery.”
― David Almond

“Ranger plays by his own set of rules, and I don't have a complete copy.”
― Janet Evanovich, Lean Mean Thirteen

“He's a good man," Ranger said.
"And you?"
"I'm better.”
― Janet Evanovich, Lean Mean Thirteen

“What are you?" I whispered.
He shrugged again.
"Something," he said. "Something like you, something like a beast, something like a bird, something like an angel." He laughed. "Something like that.”
― David Almond, Skellig

“The price is the blood of the girl who cowers behind you. - Hecate to Grimalkin about Thorne”
― Joseph Delaney, Spook's: Dark Assassin

“You are feeling better, no?' he asked.
My mouth dropped open. 'I thought you didn't speak our language...' I said.
He shrugged. 'I do not speak well, but I can say enough. I understand more what I hear than I am able to reply. To rule, you must learn. I study many languages. You learn more by listening than speaking, no? So that is what I do. I have learned much already by listening to your conversation with the sorceress. I know you false. I know you to be farmer boy, not prince.”
― Joseph Delaney, Spook's: Dark Assassin

“What direction are we heading in, Jenny?' he asked.
'East,' she replied promptly.
'How do you know that?'
'Because you told me that's the direction we were taking.”
― Joseph Delaney, Spook's: Dark Assassin

“I maintain a balanced view of the world, but that balance is always in my favour.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“Men who are certain of everything—well perhaps they're not men at all.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“A man can reach into anything and turn it to his cause. It's not want, or desire, just certainty. Only be assured that whatever you reach into will reach into you in turn.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“The Queen of Red watched on, with Katherine and the Silent Sister, all three of them studying me as if I were some puzzle that might be solved.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“To look into what will be isn’t unlike self-abuse. To watch yourself march through possibilities, to follow the truth through all those twists and turns. Just a little might stunt your growth.” I thought of Jane, tiny and older than Gorgoth. “Or make you go blind.” His cataracts seemed opalescent in the Builder light. “And if you look too far, if you look to see what waits for us all at the end . . .” “Tell me.” Father Merrin shook his head. “It burns.” And for an instant I glimpsed a skinless hand holding a copper box.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“there are few problems that won’t go away if you ignore them long enough.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“Tents are boasters, telling exaggerated tales of the weather they save you from.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“when age speaks to youth it goes unheard”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“I have read that the Builders made toys that could play chess. Toys, as small as the silver bishop in my hand, that could defeat any player, taking no time to select moves that undid even the best minds amongst their makers. The bishop made a satisfying click when tapped to the board. I beat out a little rhythm, wondering if any point remained in playing a game that toys could own. If we couldn't find a better game then perhaps the mechanical minds the Builders left behind would always win.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“within such walls are just slower deaths.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“gone, a wisp of smoke, nothing more. Katherine stepped forward, a quick step.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“Never go questing without a bit of rope, at least that’s how the stories have it.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“Time heals all wounds, but often it’s only by the application of the grave, and while we live some hurts live with us, burning, making us twist and turn to escape them. And as we twist, we turn into other men.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“Kosson threw me a hurt look, for a moment a child with his enthusiasm dashed. “Yes, but see who we have here!” We edged around the invisible glass surrounding the man. That was how it felt. Slick glass, cold to touch, the edge of time where hours and minutes die to nothing. “See?” Kosson pointed to a white rectangle attached to the man’s chest, to the left. It looked to be a piece of plasteek and bore the legend “CUSTODIAN” in black. “That means he’s the guardian, the protector. The guard archivists have books that tell the meanings of ancient words.” “He looks soft to me.” Weak, white, fear in his eyes. “The”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

“They warned of taints lingering from the Builders’ war, stains from their poisons, or shadows from the Day of a Thousand Suns.”
― Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns