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Book Quotes

Why books work the way they do.

This page highlights what books can do that film can't, including slower pacing and quiet stretches, alongside a reminder that some things simply translate poorly to screen. For a companion collection, see Books.

A journalist also needs to be disciplined, and so do I. I am, essentially, lazy. Without discipline I'd be just a mass of gummy bears on the sofa instead of on book tour with my eighth novel.

Quotes by Louise Penny

When I was a child and teenager I read whenever I had the opportunity, but since then I've found it hard to read as much as I'd like, children, work, and pets all providing powerful incentives to escape into a...

Quotes by Louise Brown

It took a brave editor in the U.S. to sign a contract for Dancing Girls, and without her belief in the book, I'm not sure it would ever have found its way into print.

Quotes by Louise Brown

I'm working on a nonfiction book on Nepal and a novel about diasporas.

Quotes by Louise Brown

I can't pick out one single book that had such a profound personal impact.

Quotes by Louise Brown

I bought a selection of short, romantic fiction novels, studied them, decided that I had found a formula and then wrote a book that I figured was the perfect story. Thank goodness it was rejected.

Quotes by Louise Brown

Don't write the book you think publishers want to commission. Plenty of other writers will be doing the same thing.

Quotes by Louise Brown

Talking about how I might write the next book is like talking about whether or not to have sex. Any dithering ruins it.

Quotes by Louise Erdrich

What I see in the book is an exquisite form of technology: one that doesn't require a power source and can be passed from hand to hand and lasts a lot longer than an electronic reader.

Quotes by Louise Erdrich

I never think of an entire book at once. I always just start with a very small idea. In 'Holes,' I just began with the setting; a juvenile correctional facility located in the Texas desert. Then I slowly make up...

Quotes by Louis Sachar

I'm no good at describing my books. 'Holes' has been out now for seven years, and I still can't come up with a good answer when asked what that book is about.

Quotes by Louis Sachar

I want kids to think that reading can be just as much fun and more so than TV or video games or whatever else they do. I think any other kind of message or morals that I might teach is...

Quotes by Louis Sachar

I actually started an adult book, worked on it for about two years, and then decided it just wasn't coming together for me, and thought I'll go back to children's books, and almost immediately I started 'Holes,' and it just...

Quotes by Louis Sachar

I think of a book and a play, or a book and a movie, as two separate things - I don't think of it as my novel having a new life.

Quotes by Louis Sachar

'The Cardturner,' while it has bridge in it, you certainly don't need to know how to play bridge to read it. It's basically a book about relationships - between Alton and his great-uncle, and Alton and his friends, and how...

Quotes by Louis Sachar

How precious a book is in light of the offering, in the light of the one who has the privilege of this offering. The library tells you of this offering.

Quotes by Louis Kahn

My views about the safety of Jews in the world have not been changed by the work on the Dreyfus affair or, for that matter, by the work I did on Franz Kafka for the book on him I published...

Quotes by Louis Begley

My mother is old-fashioned; she raised us like girls from a 19th-century book. My sisters and I are known for being the most polite girls in France. My mother wanted us to be like royalty: never ever will you be...

Quotes by Lou Doillon

To be honest, I chose romance because writing a book seemed so dauntingly long. I looked around for something short, discovered Harlequin romances, and decided to read a few to see if I could do it.

Quotes by Lori Wilde

I was a latecomer to romance, although I did read gothics. My father used to work for the 'Fort Worth Star-Telegram,' and their book reviewer, author Leonard Sanders, would pass on the gothics for my dad to give to me...

Quotes by Lori Wilde

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a quote about pacing in books versus other media?
Yes. One quote observes: "In a book, you can kind of take time and have lulls in places." It highlights something books can do that faster-paced formats often can't.
Is there a quote about the difference between books and movies?
Yes - one quote notes that things that might work in a book just do not work in the visual medium of movies. It's a useful reminder that not every story translates directly from page to screen. For more on the reading side of storytelling, browse Books quotes.
Is there a quote about why books offer escapism?
Yes. One quote calls a great book "escapism" and says the artistry and the creativity in a story are better than any drugs. It's a strong statement about the emotional pull of good writing. For more on the community side of reading, see Book Club quotes.
Is there a quote about literature guiding how kids grow up?
Yes - one quote reflects that what sort of person you grow into shouldn't happen by default, which is often exactly what happens to kids, and describes seeing literature as a method of guidance, information, and contemplation. It's a thoughtful take on the role books can play in shaping character. For more on where to find these books, check out Bookstore quotes.
What different things do these "book" quotes celebrate?
The slower pacing only a book allows, the limits of adapting books into movies, books as a form of escapism, and literature's role in shaping how people grow up. If you're touring or exploring more book-related content, Book Tour quotes round things out.

One entry treats a great book as pure escapism, while another argues literature plays a real role in guiding how young people grow up. Explore further with Book Club or Bookstore.