Book Quotes by John Irving

In a school community, someone who reads a book for some secretive purpose, other than discussing it, is strange. What was she…

— John Irving

I write very quickly; I rewrite very slowly. It takes me nearly as long to rewrite a book as it does to…

— John Irving

“And maybe it was fair; if a book was any good, it was a slap in the face to someone.”

— John Irving

I write very quickly; I rewrite very slowly. It takes me nearly as long to rewrite a book as it does to…

— John Irving

I sometimes think that what I do as a writer is make a kind of colouring book, where all the lines are…

— John Irving

“There’s nothing I need or want to know from the writers I admire that isn’t in their books. It’s better to read…

— John Irving

Titles are important; I have them before I have books that belong to them. I have last chapters in my mind before…

— John Irving

And when you love a book, commit one glorious sentence of it-perhaps your favorite sentence-to memory. That way you won't forget the…

— John Irving

With every book, you go back to school. You become a student. You become an investigative reporter. You spend a little time…

— John Irving

For most of my life, when I've finished the book I'm writing, there've always been as many as two or three other…

— John Irving

I have no respect for the right-to-life position, though I have every respect for an individual who says, "I could never have…

— John Irving

So, you see, it's a real chore for me to write a book review because it's like a contest. It's like I'm…

— John Irving

You don't want to dwell on your enemies, you know. I basically feel so superior to my critics for the simple reason…

— John Irving

I grew up around books - my grandmother's house, where I lived as a small child, was full of books. My father…

— John Irving

The book works better if I know everything I can about the ending. Not just what happens, but how it happens and…

— John Irving

It's magical thinking to imagine that the reason unspeakable things are being perpetrated by younger and younger people is that they've fallen…

— John Irving

Along the (writing) way accidents happen, detours get taken... But these are not "divine" accidents; I don't believe in those. I believe…

— John Irving

There was no manifestation of contemporary culture that did not indicate to my grandmother how steadfast was the nation's decline, how merciless…

— John Irving

Grown-ups shouldn’t finish books they’re not enjoying. When you’re no longer a child, and you no longer live at home, you don’t…

— John Irving