Stephen Alff (AlffBooks) > Stephen 's Quotes

“Of course I loved books more than people.”
― Diane Setterfield, The Thirteenth Tale

“That's the thing about books. They let you travel without moving your feet.”
― Jhumpa Lahiri, The Namesake

“We do not need magic to transform our world. We carry all the power we need inside ourselves already.”
― J.K. Rowling

“We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. So medicine, law, business, engineering... these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love... these are what we stay alive for.”
― Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

“So avoid using the word ‘very’ because it’s lazy. A man is not very tired, he is exhausted. Don’t use very sad, use morose. Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women - and, in that endeavor, laziness will not do. It also won’t do in your essays.”
― N.H. Kleinbaum, Dead Poets Society

“N'oublie jamais, celui qui croit savoir n'apprend plus.”
― Pierre Bottero, Ellana

“- Que devient une étoile qui meurt ?
- Un rêve qui vit.”
― Pierre Bottero, Ellana

“- Les hommes sont-ils capables de voler?
- La réponse du...savant est...non.
- Et celle du poète?
- Oui. Oui les hommes sont capables de voler.”
― Pierre Bottero, Ellana, l'Envol

“La liberté n'induit pas l'égoïsme et il n'y a pas d'homme plus libre que celui qui agit parce qu'il pense ses actes justes.”
― Pierre Bottero, Ellana, l'Envol

“Tout parle à qui sait lire, voir et écouter.”
― Pierre Bottero, Ellana

“- A qui la nuit fait-elle peur ?
- A ceux qui attendent le jour pour voir.”
― Pierre Bottero, Ellana

“Un homme se mesure au poids de ses actes, pas à la longueur de ses phrases.”
― Pierre Bottero, L'île du destin

“Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.”
― Neil Gaiman

“Humanity is good. Some people are terrible and broken, but humanity is good. I believe that.”
― Hank Green

“Do you think I am an automaton? — a machine without feelings? and can bear to have my morsel of bread snatched from my lips, and my drop of living water dashed from my cup? Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! — I have as much soul as you — and full as much heart! And if God had gifted me with some beauty and much wealth, I should have made it as hard for you to leave me, as it is now for me to leave you. I am not talking to you now through the medium of custom, conventionalities, nor even of mortal flesh: it is my spirit that addresses your spirit; just as if both had passed through the grave, and we stood at God's feet, equal — as we are!”
― Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre

“Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.”
― Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind

“Perhaps the greatest faculty our minds possess is the ability to cope with pain. Classic thinking teaches us of the four doors of the mind, which everyone moves through according to their need.

First is the door of sleep. Sleep offers us a retreat from the world and all its pain. Sleep marks passing time, giving us distance from the things that have hurt us. When a person is wounded they will often fall unconscious. Similarly, someone who hears traumatic news will often swoon or faint. This is the mind's way of protecting itself from pain by stepping through the first door.

Second is the door of forgetting. Some wounds are too deep to heal, or too deep to heal quickly. In addition, many memories are simply painful, and there is no healing to be done. The saying 'time heals all wounds' is false. Time heals most wounds. The rest are hidden behind this door.

Third is the door of madness. There are times when the mind is dealt such a blow it hides itself in insanity. While this may not seem beneficial, it is. There are times when reality is nothing but pain, and to escape that pain the mind must leave reality behind.

Last is the door of death. The final resort. Nothing can hurt us after we are dead, or so we have been told.”
― Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind

“I should be very much obliged if you would slip your revolver into your pocket. An Eley's No. 2 is an excellent argument with gentlemen who can twist steel pokers into knots. That and a tooth-brush are, I think, all that we need.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle

“It wasn't the sad things that made him emotional, or the hurtful, and it certainly wasn't fear ...it was simple kindness. It was the decency in the hearts of ordinary people.”
― Charlie Higson, By Royal Command

“Dix rêves pour un marchombre :

Se glisser derrière l’ombre de la lune.
Rêver le vent.
Chevaucher la brume.
Découvrir la frontière absolue.
La franchir.
D’une phrase, lier la Terre aux étoiles.
Danser sur ce lien.
Capter la lumière.
Vivre l’ombre.
Tendre vers l’harmonie. Toujours.”
― Pierre Bottero, Ellana

“Ils ignoraient que le Dragon n'existait pas, alors ils l'ont rencontré.”
― Pierre Bottero, L'île du destin