Quotes by Novelist | Beyond Motive 30/280

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Quotes by Novelist

"A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities."

"A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities."

Herman Melville, American Novelist

5

"It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it."

"It is one thing to praise discipline, and another to submit to it."

Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish Novelist

Discipline, Praise

5

"Try to leave the Earth a better place than when you arrived."

"Try to leave the Earth a better place than when you arrived."

Sidney Sheldon, American Novelist

5

"Man only likes to count his troubles, but he does not count his joys."

"Man only likes to count his troubles, but he does not count his joys."

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Russian Novelist

5

"You know, I think that allowing somebody, one mere person to believe that he or she is like, the vessel you know, like the font and the essence and the source of all divine, creative, unknowable, eternal mystery is just a smidge too much responsibility to put on one fragile, human psyche. It's like asking somebody to swallow the sun."

"You know, I think that allowing somebody, one mere person to believe that he or she is like, the vessel you know, like the font and the essence and the source of all divine, creative, unknowable, eternal mystery is just a smidge too much responsibility to put on one fragile, human psyche. It's like asking somebody to swallow the sun."

Elizabeth Gilbert, American Novelist

Psychology, Mystery, Responsibility, Sun

5

"Avoid problems, and you'll never be the one who overcame them."

"Avoid problems, and you'll never be the one who overcame them."

Richard Bach, American Novelist

5

"Hercules,huh? Percy frowned. "That guy was like the Starbucks of Ancient Greece. Everywhere you turn--there he is."

"Hercules,huh? Percy frowned. "That guy was like the Starbucks of Ancient Greece. Everywhere you turn--there he is."

Rick Riordan, American Novelist

Popularity, Humor, Truth, Happiness

5

"Memoirs are the backstairs of history."

"Memoirs are the backstairs of history."

George Meredith, English Novelist

5

"Being a husband is a whole-time job. That is why so many husbands fail. They cannot give their entire attention to it."

"Being a husband is a whole-time job. That is why so many husbands fail. They cannot give their entire attention to it."

Arnold Bennett, English Novelist

Marriage, Husbattention, Being, Husbands, Job

5

"I fancied I had some constancy of mind because I could bear my own sufferings, but found through the sufferings of others I could be weakened like a child."

"I fancied I had some constancy of mind because I could bear my own sufferings, but found through the sufferings of others I could be weakened like a child."

Sarah Fielding, British Novelist

Constancy, Mind

5

"There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go."

"There are no mistakes. The events we bring upon ourselves, no matter how unpleasant, are necessary in order to learn what we need to learn; whatever steps we take, they're necessary to reach the places we've chosen to go."

Richard Bach, American Novelist

Events, Mistakes, Order

5

"I come here to speak poetry. It will always be in the grass. It will also be necessary to bend down to hear it. It will always be too simple to be discussed in assemblies."

"I come here to speak poetry. It will always be in the grass. It will also be necessary to bend down to hear it. It will always be too simple to be discussed in assemblies."

Boris Pasternak, Russian Novelist

5

"There are four stages in a marriage. First there's the affair, then the marriage, then children and finally the fourth stage, without which you cannot know a woman, the divorce."

"There are four stages in a marriage. First there's the affair, then the marriage, then children and finally the fourth stage, without which you cannot know a woman, the divorce."

Norman Mailer, American Novelist

Marriage, Children, Divorce, First

5

"Are you guys busy?" Juniper asked. "Well," I said, "we're in the middle of this game against a bunch of monsters and we're trying not to die." "We're not busy," Annabeth said."

"Are you guys busy?" Juniper asked. "Well," I said, "we're in the middle of this game against a bunch of monsters and we're trying not to die." "We're not busy," Annabeth said."

Rick Riordan, American Novelist

Concentration, Focus, Truth, Power, Happiness

5

"How did the war creep up? How did it gather itself together? What was it made from? What secrets, lies, betrayals? What loves and hatreds? What sums of money, what metals?"

"How did the war creep up? How did it gather itself together? What was it made from? What secrets, lies, betrayals? What loves and hatreds? What sums of money, what metals?"

Margaret Atwood, Canadian Novelist

Conflict, War, Secrets, Betrayal, History

5

"I wouldn't take the Pope too seriously. He's a Pole first, a pope second, and maybe a Christian third."

"I wouldn't take the Pope too seriously. He's a Pole first, a pope second, and maybe a Christian third."

Muriel Spark, English Novelist

Christian, First

5

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend."

"The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend."

Robertson Davies, Canadian Novelist

Perception, Eye, Mind

5

"It's clearly more important to treat one's fellow man well than to be always praying and fasting and touching one's head to a prayer mat."

"It's clearly more important to treat one's fellow man well than to be always praying and fasting and touching one's head to a prayer mat."

Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian Novelist

5

"Nelson Mandela is, for me, the single statesman in the world. The single statesman, in that literal sense, who is not solving all his problems with guns. It's truly unbelievable."

"Nelson Mandela is, for me, the single statesman in the world. The single statesman, in that literal sense, who is not solving all his problems with guns. It's truly unbelievable."

Toni Morrison, American Novelist

Leadership, Problems, Sense, World

5

"The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which mean never losing your enthusiasm."

"The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which mean never losing your enthusiasm."

Aldous Huxley, English Novelist

Age, Genius, Enthusiasm, Losing

5

"But the one thing that has power completely is love, because when a man loves, he seeks no power, and therefore he has power."

"But the one thing that has power completely is love, because when a man loves, he seeks no power, and therefore he has power."

Alan Paton, South African Novelist

Power, Love, Man, Southafrican

5

"An answer is always a form of death."

"An answer is always a form of death."

John Fowles, English Novelist

5

"There's no reason you shouldn't, as a writer, not be aware of the necessity to revise yourself constantly."

"There's no reason you shouldn't, as a writer, not be aware of the necessity to revise yourself constantly."

John Irving, American Novelist

Self-Improvement, Necessity, Reason, Writer

5

"Canada was built on dead beavers."

"Canada was built on dead beavers."

Margaret Atwood, Canadian Novelist

Nationalism, Canada

5

"Genre is a bookstore problem, not a literary problem."

"Genre is a bookstore problem, not a literary problem."

Rick Moody, American Novelist

Literature, Literary

5

"You can never trust what you read."

"You can never trust what you read."

William Goldman, American Novelist

5

"He spends his life explaining from his pulpit that the glory of Christianity consists in the fact that though it is not true it has been found necessary to invent it."

"He spends his life explaining from his pulpit that the glory of Christianity consists in the fact that though it is not true it has been found necessary to invent it."

Hector Hugh Munro, British Novelist

Life, Christianity, Fact, Glory

5

"I picked up the writing on the very day he died. It was the only consolation I could find."

"I picked up the writing on the very day he died. It was the only consolation I could find."

Wilfrid Sheed, English Novelist

Grief, Day, Writing

5

"When I die Dublin will be written in my heart."

"When I die Dublin will be written in my heart."

James Joyce, Irish Novelist

5

"Charity never humiliated him who profited from it, nor ever bound him by the chains of gratitude, since it was not to him but to God that the gift was made."

"Charity never humiliated him who profited from it, nor ever bound him by the chains of gratitude, since it was not to him but to God that the gift was made."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery, French Novelist

God, Gratitude, Charity

5

"I did not think much what I was writing them for, except that I knew I wanted my next novel to be in some less conventional form than straight narrative."

"I did not think much what I was writing them for, except that I knew I wanted my next novel to be in some less conventional form than straight narrative."

Nicholas Mosley, British Novelist

5

"If I pick up a book with spaceships on the cover, I want spaceships. If I see one with dragons, I want there to be dragons inside the book. Proper labeling. Ethical labeling. I don't want to open up my cornflakes and find that they're full of pebbles... You need to respect the reader enough not to call it something it isn't."

"If I pick up a book with spaceships on the cover, I want spaceships. If I see one with dragons, I want there to be dragons inside the book. Proper labeling. Ethical labeling. I don't want to open up my cornflakes and find that they're full of pebbles... You need to respect the reader enough not to call it something it isn't."

Margaret Atwood, Canadian Novelist

Authenticity, Honesty, Expectation, Truth, Deception

5

"I was talking aloud to myself. A habit of the old: they choose the wisest person present to speak to."

"I was talking aloud to myself. A habit of the old: they choose the wisest person present to speak to."

J. R. R. Tolkien, English Novelist

Aging, Wisdom, Age, Reflection, Talking

5

"Because I don't live in either my past or my future.I'm interested only in the present"."

"Because I don't live in either my past or my future.I'm interested only in the present"."

Paulo Coelho, Brazilian Novelist

Presence, Present, Focus, Mindfulness, Time

5

"I feel as if I'm clearly part of a trend among writers who take themselves seriously - and I confess to taking myself as seriously as the next writer."

"I feel as if I'm clearly part of a trend among writers who take themselves seriously - and I confess to taking myself as seriously as the next writer."

Jonathan Franzen, American Novelist

Writing, Writer, Writers

5

"Vanity is becoming a nuisance, I can see why women give it up, eventually. But I'm not ready for that yet."

"Vanity is becoming a nuisance, I can see why women give it up, eventually. But I'm not ready for that yet."

Margaret Atwood, Canadian Novelist

Vanity, Womanhood, Aging, Self

5

"Writers never feel comfortable having labels attached to them, however accurate they are."

"Writers never feel comfortable having labels attached to them, however accurate they are."

Jonathan Coe, English Novelist

Writer, Writers

5

"There is no such thing as a homosexual or a heterosexual person. There are only homo- or heterosexual acts. Most people are a mixture of impulses if not practices."

"There is no such thing as a homosexual or a heterosexual person. There are only homo- or heterosexual acts. Most people are a mixture of impulses if not practices."

Gore Vidal, American Novelist

People, Impulses

5

"A man that is born falls into a dream like a man who falls into the sea. If he tries to climb out into the air as inexperienced people endeavor to do, he drowns."

"A man that is born falls into a dream like a man who falls into the sea. If he tries to climb out into the air as inexperienced people endeavor to do, he drowns."

Joseph Conrad, Polish Novelist

People, Dream, Man, Sea

5

"Nico studied his face " his sea-green eyes, his grin, his ruffled black hair. Somehow Percy Jackson seemed like a regular guy now, not a mythical figure. Not someone to idolize or crush on."

"Nico studied his face " his sea-green eyes, his grin, his ruffled black hair. Somehow Percy Jackson seemed like a regular guy now, not a mythical figure. Not someone to idolize or crush on."

Rick Riordan, American Novelist

Identity, Truth, Wisdom, Power, Inspirational

5

"The majority of them give the impression of being men who have been drafted into the job during a period of martial law and are only waiting for the end of the emergency to get back to a really congenial occupation such as slum demolition or debt collecting."

"The majority of them give the impression of being men who have been drafted into the job during a period of martial law and are only waiting for the end of the emergency to get back to a really congenial occupation such as slum demolition or debt collecting."

Alan Brien, English Novelist

Man, Men, Impression, Being, Debt

5

"He willed that the hearts of Men should seek beyond the world and should find no rest therein; but they should have a virtue to shape their life, amid the powers and chances of the world, beyond the Music of the Ainur, which is as fate to all things else."

"He willed that the hearts of Men should seek beyond the world and should find no rest therein; but they should have a virtue to shape their life, amid the powers and chances of the world, beyond the Music of the Ainur, which is as fate to all things else."

J. R. R. Tolkien, English Novelist

Fate, Men, Heart, Life

5

"The mediation by the serpent was necessary. Evil can seduce man, but cannot become man."

"The mediation by the serpent was necessary. Evil can seduce man, but cannot become man."

Franz Kafka, Austrian Novelist

5

"A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much."

"A good editor understands what you're talking and writing about and doesn't meddle too much."

Irwin Shaw, American Novelist

Talk, Talking, Writing

5

"When I write, I'm still imagining a kid reading it on paper. I read e-books when I travel, but in general I still prefer holding an old-fashioned book in my hands. There's a special, tactile experience."

"When I write, I'm still imagining a kid reading it on paper. I read e-books when I travel, but in general I still prefer holding an old-fashioned book in my hands. There's a special, tactile experience."

Rick Riordan, American Novelist

Reading, Happiness, Truth, Wisdom, Power

5

"Americans sometimes say to me that they have no class system themselves. All human beings have class systems. It can be based on a different thing in a different country, but the thing about breeding is, you can't buy it. You can't buy class."

"Americans sometimes say to me that they have no class system themselves. All human beings have class systems. It can be based on a different thing in a different country, but the thing about breeding is, you can't buy it. You can't buy class."

Anne Perry, British Novelist

Compassion, Americans, Breeding, Class, Country

5

"When I can no longer bear to think of the victims of broken homes, I begin to think of the victims of intact ones."

"When I can no longer bear to think of the victims of broken homes, I begin to think of the victims of intact ones."

Peter De Vries, American Novelist

Personal, Victims

5

"Nothing is more sad than the death of an illusion."

"Nothing is more sad than the death of an illusion."

Arthur Koestler, Hungarian Novelist

Death, Illusion, Nothing

5

"I go to great lengths to make certain situations feel right to the reader."

"I go to great lengths to make certain situations feel right to the reader."

Sidney Sheldon, American Novelist

5

"Christopher Columbus, as everyone knows, is honored by posterity because he was the last to discover America."

"Christopher Columbus, as everyone knows, is honored by posterity because he was the last to discover America."

James Joyce, Irish Novelist

History, America, Columbus, Posterity

5

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