Books Quotes - Page 4

One wants to tell a story, like Scheherezade, in order not to die. It's one of the oldest urges in mankind. It's a way of stalling death.

What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though.

You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.

If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.

After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.

There are books of which the backs and covers are by far the best parts.

Everybody does have a book in them, but in most cases that's where it should stay.

Which of us has not felt that the character we are reading in the printed page is more real than the person standing beside us?

A good novel tells us the truth about its hero; but a bad novel tells us the truth about its author.

Read a thousand books, and your words will flow like a river.

Writers are the exorcists of their own demons.

A good story is always more dazzling than a broken piece of truth.

The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.

Some books are undeservedly forgotten; none are undeservedly remembered.

And that's why books are never going to die. It's impossible. It's the only time we really go into the mind of a stranger, and we find our common humanity doing this. So the book doesn't only belong to the writer, it belongs to the reader as well, and then together you make it what it is.

I just knew there were stories I wanted to tell.

An artist is someone who can hold two opposing viewpoints and still remain fully functional.

What amazes me is that most days feel useless. I don't seem to accomplish anything-just a few pages, most of which don't seem very good. Yet, when I put all those wasted days together, I somehow end up with a book of which I'm very proud.

I wrote a book. It sucked. I wrote nine more books. They sucked, too. Meanwhile, I read every single thing I could find on publishing and writing, went to conferences, joined professional organizations, hooked up with fellow writers in critique groups, and didn’t give up. Then I wrote one more book.

The best way to become acquainted with a subject is to write about it.