Quotes by famous people, credited to who said them. Your own quotes must not match any of these. More are added all the time. 1,161,747 quotes Who coined it · How we decide
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Books and reading
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“I didn't have children's books when I was growing up in Mexico, but my relative's fantastic stories of little people called chaneques, and the stories of hearing la Llorona at night, filled my imagination with a world that was both unbelievable and fascinating.”
Yuyi Morales (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Libraries are a world where you can be safe and comfortable finding in books the things that you like the most, or things that you are curious about, or you can learn something you didn't know before. That already seems to me a path for a more beautiful world.”
Yuyi Morales (born 1968) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Because there are these books that I have and I have them as a gift for you: the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Federalist Papers and also the Bible," she noted. "These guarantee my freedom and yours and our children’s to breathe oxygen.”
Leigh-Allyn Baker (born 1972) first seen 2023 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Former Disney Channel Actress Condemns Quarantine and Masking as COVID Cases Rise The Messenger Entertainment (24 August 2023)
“Because there are these books that I have and I have them as a gift for you: the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, the Federalist Papers and also the Bible. These guarantee my freedom and yours and our children’s to breathe oxygen,”
Leigh-Allyn Baker (born 1972) first seen 2021 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Former Disney star Leigh-Allyn Baker's anti-mask speech raises ruckus at school board meeting: report Fox News (14 August 2021)
“Anyway, the real part of the clown show is that you all think that you actually have the authority to mandate this. Because there are these books that I have, and I have them as a gift for you: the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights and the Federalist Papers. Also, the Bible.”
Leigh-Allyn Baker (born 1972) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“But what I realized was, I don’t really care about selling books,”
Jennifer Aaker (born 1967) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We enter into all major relationships with no real clue of where we are going: marriage, birth, friendship. We carry maps we believe are true: our parents’ relationship, what it says in the baby books, the landscape of our own childhood. These maps are approximate at best, dangerously misleading at worst.”
Maureen F. McHugh (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“In his India days, Rajneesh was a voracious reader, and he is known to have devoured all of Gurdjieff’s and Ouspensky’s books. In fact, Gurdjieff seems to have served him as a kind of role model in his interaction with devotees.”
Georg Feuerstein (1947–2012) first seen 2006 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: About Osho. Georg Feuerstein - Holy madness _ spirituality, crazy-wise teachers, and enlightenment- (2006)
“Every day I draw breath is a victory against fascism in my books." Mm-hm! If your life is intolerant to them, then live just to spite them.”
Vaush (born 1994) first seen 2024 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 6 November 2024 FINALLY WATCHING TRUMP'S VICTORY SPEECH
“I think the biggest part of me that seeps into my books is my appreciation of the weird, the uncanny and sometimes the horrible.”
Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (born 1963) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“...Concepts are merely empty canvases to hang tales on; what makes books come alive are the small but lively details that populate them...”
Felicia Yap (born 1980) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of Alexandria, the writer of the story of Leucippe and Cleitophon and other love stories in eight books. He became at last a Christian and a bishop. He wrote On the [Heavenly] Sphere, Etymologies, and Historical Miscellany, which mentions many great and admirable men. His style in all of these works is similar to [his style in] the love stories.”
Achilles Tatius (200–300) said by 300 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Of Ephesus, historian. [He wrote] Ephesiaca [Ephesian Histories]; it is a love story in 10 books about [H]abrocomes and Anthia; also On the city of the Ephesians; and other things.”
Xenophon of Ephesus (101–300) said by 300 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Since honour from the honourer proceeds, How well do they deserve that memorize And leave in Books, for all posterities The names of worthies and their virtuous deeds.”
John Florio (1553–1625) said by 1625 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“How poor remembrances are statues, tombs, And other monuments that men erect To princes, which remain in closèd rooms Where but a few behold them, in respect Of Books, that to the universal eye Show how they lived; the other where they lie!”
John Florio (1553–1625) said by 1625 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Free speech is the bedrock of academic inquiry and excellence. The threats it faces are real — many places ban books, curricula are sometimes determined by politicians rather than educational experts and scholars are at serious risk in many countries.”
Minouche Shafik (born 1962) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“So many people ask me, but I don’t know what…er, how I can answer it, because a person who does something for people – not a bad thing o! – will not say this is the best, and that is the best. So I take all my books; I put the same interest in them because when I am writing, I am always happy.”
Amos Tutuola (1920–1997) said by 1997 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“We really hope this great Pope – great in life, great in suffering, great in death – will, even after his death, live on in our hearts, because there is a new generation who only know him through books and through pictures, we have to give testimony to his life and suffering so that people can know the good that John Paul II did for sick people.”
Zygmunt Zimowski (1949–2016) first seen 2011 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Vatican conference examines Bl. John Paul’s suffering (22 November 2011) Catholic News Agency
“There is nothing stopping a beautiful girl from facing her books”
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀ (born 1988) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“[Describing Nixon] Young senator, vice president, writes some bestselling books, is hated by the media. [...] It kind of sounds like JD Vance. I've always liked Richard Nixon.”
J.D. Vance (born 1984) first seen 2026 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Speaking at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library in Yorba Linda, California (June 25, 2026), as cited in "Vance says Watergate would be 'a 12-hour news story' today", NBC News/AP (June 26, 2026).
“The Maestro often wondered if he was retreating into madness or finding solace in the silence of his books.”
Tendai Huchu (born 1982) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“....the weapons were pens, books, chalks and blackboards, the heroes simple teachers.”
Nadifa Mohamed (born 1981) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Imagine if this vast continent, from Europe to Russia, to Kazakhstan, to India, to China, could unite. Imagine what a boom Italy could have, we could sell our fashion, our products, our books. We can do without the Americans and they can't stand it. So they have begun brutal operations, the same ones that today, however, they are no longer able to manage. They are losing everywhere, even here.”
Nicolai Lilin (born 1980) first seen 2014 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: From an interview with Giovanni Mari (28 June 2014), "Maidan, «l'ultimo golpe degli Usa in fallimento», Il Secolo XIX
“This image of the condemned books remains for me one of the strongest images of the repression, this repression of knowledge and of creative freedom. Isn’t that one of the strongest armies used by dictators everywhere?”
Évelyne Trouillot (born 1954) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Her free behaviour, winning looks Will make a Lawyer burn his books; I touched her not, alas! not I, And yet I love her till I die.”
Thomas Ford (composer) first seen 1607 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: There is a Lady sweet and kind", st. 3, in Music of Sundry Kinds (1607)
“The Biographer I came to live in your house restored your pictures, brought back your books, discovered the key to your desk, moved the yellow chair to the window— and now you come in, asking whose house this is.”
Lisel Mueller (1924–2020) said by 2020 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Have you ever noticed how, in all books, people coming into a room always gently close the door behind them? I suppose the reason for this is that if they closed the door in front of themselves they'd still be outside.”
Lennie Lower (1903–1947) said by 1947 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Abracadabra and a Biscuit-Biting Giant", in The Best of Lennie Lower (1963)
“My thoughts are my food and books are my capital.”
Najwa Binshatwan (born 1970) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“‘The change did not come about without obstruction from the representatives of custom thought. An edict of A.D. 1259 forbade the bankers of Florence to use the infidel symbols, and the ecclesiastical authorities of the University of Padua in A.D. 1348 ordered that the price list of books should be prepared not in “ciphers”, but in plain letters.’”
Lancelot Hogben (1895–1975) first seen 1937 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: Hogben, Lancelot. Mathematics for the Million: A Popular Self Educator. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd., 1937. in : Bhaskar Kamble, The Imperishable Seed: How Hindu Mathematics Changed the World and why this History…
“Holly had... toys made from polyhedra and she built one of these things and... it... blew my mind... I... found some mathematics books that described the geometry of polyhedra and convex figures. This wasn't too difficult since I had always been fascinated by math. It was the subject I had spent the most time on in school and... was studying at the time.”
Steve Baer (1938–2024) said by 2024 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I have several books on my bedside table, including A Dream Fulfilled: Memoirs of an African Diplomat by Thandi Lujabe-Rankoe, Sleep In Peace Tonight by James MacManus, The Many Houses of Exile by Richard Jurgens, and the Bible.”
Maureen Thelma Watson (1925–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Maureen Thelma Watson responds to the question, "What books are currently on your nightstand?”
Maureen Thelma Watson (1925–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Maureen Thelma Watson "What are your favorite books about Zimbabwe or written by Zimbabwean authors?”
Maureen Thelma Watson (1925–1994) said by 1994 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The grant will allow me to write and create for a while without having to worry about finances, especially now that I've lost the royalties I get from my books. I'll also be able to give a stipend to someone with production experience to give me technical advice”
Muthoni wa Gichuru wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I'm an author from Kenya who writes under the name Muthoni Wa Gichuru. I have written ten books and several short stories. I am a Burt Award Winner for African Writing and have been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Short Story Prize 2015 and the Queen Mary Wasafiri Writing Prize - Life writing category, 2019.”
Muthoni wa Gichuru wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“If all leaders wrote books you can imagine how much the resource for other leaders who are coming behind us.”
Olive Mugenda (born 1956) first seen 2018 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: she launched her book, Building Blocks For Institutional Transformation, which is an account of her work experience , challenges, and her successes in her years in leadership on May 26, 2018.
“When we look back at history, we now see the past with a gender sensitive lens. We see that at every great gathering of African intellectuals and leadership, women were present as participants. Yet their names are not as prominent in the history books.”
Lulama Xingwana (born 1955) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“They stopped next at a bookstore. "Oh, what a delicious smell of new books!" said Ellen, as they entered. "Mamma, if it wasn't for one thing, I should say I never was so happy in my life.”
Susan Warner (1819–1885) first seen 1850 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: The Wide, Wide World (1850), ch. 3
“On War and Morality, Princeton University Press, New Jersey, 1989. ISBN 978-1-4008-6014-2; quoted on Google Books.”
Robert L. Holmes (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Ethics of Nonviolence: Essays by Robert L. Holmes. Ed. Predrag, Cicovaki. Bloomsbury, 2013 ISBN 978-1-6235-6580-0 quoted on Google Books”
Robert L. Holmes (born 1935) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Gaps which appear in the Bible story, leave open a very large field for scientific speculation. Our high respect for the authority of the sacred books must prevent us from seeking in them what they were not intended to contain, what never entered the minds of those who wrote under the divine inspiration.”
François Lenormant (1837–1883) said by 1883 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I used to think initially that what’s on the page is not our everyday life. It was more like writing about something else. And I think that’s part of our mission as writers to show our lives on page. I think it is getting better now. But we want more children’s books on lives that they identify with. Our everyday lives. Stories with traditional folktales.”
Doreen Baingana (born 1966) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“I grew up in Zambia surrounded by books but I was not much of a reader. I did however talk a lot and tell a lot of stories as a child. I think it was this passion for telling stories that eventually translated into writing much later in my life.”
Ellen Banda-Aaku (born 1965) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“The Brookes ship, built in 1780-81 in Liverpool and co-owned by Liverpudlian Joseph Brooks, is the famous illustrated ship of 454 enslaved Africans, that most British school children are likely to have seen in history books.”
“International recognition will lead to national recognition. Giving up due to a lack of capacity and infrastructure should not be in your books. Study your system to understand the barriers to progress and work hard to develop skills that can help you break those barriers and achieve success.”
“My grandmother was a cat lady. She actually bred s. She also had a lot of books around. So I grew up with that. And the thing is that I found them a bit frightening. ... there is always something slightly odd about Louis Wain's world. ... tensions in people society through cat society ...”
Kathryn Hughes (born 1959) wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“(What is your proudest achievement as a writer?) That the books have touched lives in a way that made a difference.”
Elizabeth Moon (born 1945) first seen 2010 wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
Recorded in: 2010
“The summer of 1855, when next the were in London, was one of uncommon literary agitation. ... ... Above all other books, was the poem of the year. When the Brownings reached London, the critical bombardment of had begun; and all the various passions of mankind were being exercised in his condemnation and defence.”
Arthur Waugh (1866–1943) said by 1943 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Whenever a , or, for that matter, any indoor diversion, becomes too serious and scientific for the average mind it soon ceases to be fashionable. Whenever the professional cuts in, the man-of-the-word cuts off—to seek some new diversion which does not require its votaries to study a shelf-full of text-books.”
E. B. Osborn (1867–1967) said by 1967 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source
“Libraries...he does not much esteem. People should own their books, he holds ; but that, of course, is a counsel of perfection, or would be were it not for the multitude of reprints that are now to be had at the price of a cigar.”
E. V. Lucas (1868–1938) said by 1938 at the latest wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0 source