Maria > Maria's Quotes

“She had always been an unashamed reader of novels.”
― Barbara Pym, Quartet in Autumn

“Perhaps there can be too much making of cups of tea, I thought, as I watched Miss Statham filling the heavy teapot. Did we really need a cup of tea? I even said as much to Miss Statham and she looked at me with a hurt, almost angry look, 'Do we need tea? she echoed. 'But Miss Lathbury...' She sounded puzzled and distressed and I began to realise that my question had struck at something deep and fundamental. It was the kind of question that starts a landslide in the mind. I mumbled something about making a joke and that of course one needed tea always, at every hour of the day or night.”
― Barbara Pym, Excellent Women

“If you think about the unthinkable long enough it becomes quite reasonable.”
― Josephine Tey

“We are all alone, born alone, die alone, and—in spite of True Romance magazines—we shall all someday look back on our lives and see that, in spite of our company, we were alone the whole way. I do not say lonely—at least, not all the time—but essentially, and finally, alone. This is what makes your self-respect so important, and I don't see how you can respect yourself if you must look in the hearts and minds of others for your happiness.”
― Hunter S. Thompson, The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, 1955-1967

“People don't read any more. It's a sad state of affairs. Reading's the only thing that allows you to use your imagination. When you watch films it's someone else's vision, isn't it?"

[Interview in The Independent, 15 October 2005]”
― Lemmy Kilmister

“A mind is like a parachute. It doesn't work if it is not open.”
― Frank Zappa

“Never laugh at live dragons.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

“Always speak politely to an enraged dragon.”
― Steven Brust, Jhereg

“Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears.”
― Gregory David Roberts, Shantaram

“Why can't people just sit and read books and be nice to each other?”
― David Baldacci, The Camel Club

“It's like learning to ride a unicorn. You never forget.”
― Eoin Colfer, Artemis Fowl

“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”
― Margaret Fuller

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