19 Powerful Book Quotes We’ve Read
Book quotes can be super powerful and memorable.
Writers can leave us with an imprint of emotions summing up so many things we’ve known about the world or about some characters that could have taken us ages to explain. Or things we had no idea existed.
In this article, we’ve gathered 19 of the most sensational quotes to make you stop and think, either about the world around us or about the characters in the book. Number 7 is my favourite (seriously).
1. “There is always something left to love.”
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
This important quote reminds us that no matter how cruel things may seem in the world at times, we can always find something to hold onto … always.
2. “The clouds I can handle. But I can’t fight with an eclipse.”
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer
Jacob has been fruitlessly chasing Bella, trying to get her away from Edward, whom she has fallen hopelessly in love with. In this difficult moment, when Bella refers to Jacob as her “personal sun” that “balanced out the clouds nicely” for her, Jacob utters this quote, encapsulating all the difficulties in their love triangle, and how, no matter how strong he is or how hard he tries, he can’t prise Bela away from Edward.
3. “It’s your one last chance … it’s all you’ve got left. … I’ve seen what you’ll be otherwise. … Be a man … try … Try for some remorse.”
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. Rowling
This last book of the famous series teaches an important lesson about remorse: the ability to humbly confess mistakes and past sins, mainly growing out of love and empathy for other people. It is a virtue that many in our world have consistently shown that they lack, and no one represents this more than Lord Voldemort, Harry Potter’s mortal enemy. His soul has been badly shattered and torn due to the death and pain he has brought upon so many people, but it is revealed, perhaps in a betrayal of Rowling’s own Christian background, that remorse has the magical power to heal and repair the soul of even Lord Voldemort, and so Harry says these lines to try and get him to choose this path.
4. “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.”
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Frankenstein is a novel featuring a brilliant scientist who creates a monster that turned on him due to its loneliness and inability to fit in. In this quote, Frankenstein’s monster strongly asserts its desire and capacity for vengeance. The quote emphasises the fact that bravery allows us to present the best version of ourselves and also unlock hidden potential.
5. “It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
The Little Prince is a story that embraces the innocence and sweetness of childhood. However, this quote exhibits more than child-like wisdom, stressing the common phenomenon that human beings are easily deceived by what they see.
6. “I am Heathcliff!”
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights centres around the tumultuous relationship that exists between Heathcliff and Catherine, and Heathcliff’s revenge mission after he is denied the opportunity to be with her. The tempestuous love and the consequent entanglement of their destinies is best described by these three famous words that Catherine herself utters: “I am Heathcliff”, signifying that they are part and parcel of each other.
7. “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
“The Fellowship of the Ring”, Part one of Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
I said this was my favourite. In this quote, Gandalf explains an important truth to Frodo after the latter insists that the creature Gollum should have been killed for its crimes. It is, according to Gandalf, always so easy for human beings to demand death as punishment to those who supposedly deserve it, when they cannot equally give life as reward to those who deserve to live.
7. “Home isn’t where you land; home is where you launch. You can’t pick your home any more than you can choose your family.”
An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
This quote captures the importance of the home as where everybody begins. Nobody can choose their own home, just like they cannot choose where or to whom they are born.
8. “Enthusiasm makes up for a host of deficiencies.”
A Promised Land by Barack Obama
With this quote, America’s former president reminds us of the importance of eagerness and how it can sometimes make the difference.
9. “One person alone is not a full person: we exist in relation to others.”
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
This quote encapsulates the importance of our relationships with others. “You’d be surprised how quickly the mind goes soggy in the absence of other people. One person alone is not a full person: we exist in relation to others.”
10. “First we only want to be seen, but once we’re seen, that’s not enough anymore. After that, we want to be remembered.”
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Station Eleven takes place in an alternate universe where most of the world’s population is dead, killed by a global pandemic. In the midst of the ugly reality, this quote reminds us that every human being strives to be acknowledged, strives to be immortal.
11. “What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?”
The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give revolves around the murder of an African-American boy by the police, and all the social tensions that arise from it. The protagonist, Starr Carter, a 16-year-old African-American girl from a poor neighbourhood who attends an elite private school in a predominantly white, affluent part of the city, was a witness to the murder. She refuses to be silenced and speaks up against racism. This quote is a chilling reminder of Starr’s courage – and the weakness a lot of us often harbour.
12. “It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a magical realism novel about learning to listen to one’s heart, paying attention to signs in one’s life and above all, following one’s dreams. The quote above neatly encapsulates the message of the entire novel as well as letting us know what mostly keeps us going at the times when we are at our lowest.
13. “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Like most things about this most cherished novel, this quote reminds us not to live only from our own perspective, but to consider the trials and challenges of others who are on the one hand very much like us, but on the other hand vastly different.
14. “Human beings need loyalty. It does not necessarily produce happiness, and can even be painful, but we all require devotion to something more than ourselves for our lives to be endurable. Without it, we have only our desires to guide us, and they are fleeting, capricious, and insatiable.”
Being Mortal by Atul Gawande
Devotion to a particular cause, Gawande tells us, is necessary in the life of every human. Without such a focus, life would hardly be worth it.
15. “I am not worried. I am with you.”
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. Rowling
Dumbledore’s remark is so chilling and so memorable because it represents nearly everything the Harry Potter books stand for: trust, friendship, growth. Dumbledore is severely weakened at the end of this chapter and his life is in danger. However, he chooses to rely on Harry’s protection, showing not just his trust in Harry’s capacity or the changing relationship between the two, but also Harry’s growth from the start of the series to this penultimate book. Harry has grown and Dumbledore acknowledges it.
16. “People are less quick to applaud you as you grow older. Life starts out with everyone clapping when you take a poo and goes downhill from there.”
I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley
Here, Crosley emphasises the difference between childhood and adulthood. You find that in the latter stage you need to work much harder, but face more criticism and less appreciation.
17. “You only have to forgive once. To resent, you have to do it all day, every day.”
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Through Frank, the much-maligned father of the baby in The Light Between Oceans, we learn a major lesson on forgiveness: that it is much easier to forgive and forget, because the burden of holding hate or resentment is just far more difficult to bear.
18. “You forgave faults, found perfection, fell madly; then the next day the sun came up and it was over.”
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
William Goldman’s The Princess Bride is a modern fantasy classic featuring everything we love to read in that genre: riches, revenge, power, quests and of course, the twists and turns of love. The latter is captured vividly by this quote.
19. “Never forget what you are, the rest of the world will not. Wear it like armour and it can never be used to hurt you.”
A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
One of the most fascinating characters in the A Song of Ice and Fire Series, the much-disliked but sagacious dwarf Tyrion Lannister reminds us all that getting to our weaknesses first, before everyone else, is the best way to guard ourselves against them.
Which quote struck you the most?
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